Let's Talk BBQ
Other Cooking Equipment => Cast Iron & Campfire Cooking => Topic started by: Smokin Don on March 27, 2016, 02:04:02 AM
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Mar 2016
I am a little reluctant to post this but I guess we should share our failures too! Talk about char burgers; these were char burgers; maybe only fit for Tommy's wife Kimmie!
I found a recipe on food.com that called for mixing grated onions, potates, eggs and breadcrumbs with the ground chuck. I modified the recipe some by using 1 pound of ground chuck, a half small onion grated fine, a medium potato coarse shred, one egg and a half cup of Panko bread crumbs. I made 3 large patties and one smaller one and in the fridge to set up some.
This was my second cook on my new Lodge Sportsman Hibachi. My first one I did burgers and fried some poattao cakes on a griddle. I followed directions and used 40 charcoal briquettes. They filled my chimeney about two thirds. I had trouble getting the griddle hot enough and the burgers ended up rare instead of medium rare.
I thought I would use a full chimeny of Stubbs briquetts this time for more heat. I got the Hibachi fired up and started my lime corn inside. I toasted the buns on the Hibachi. I sauteed some onions and peppers in the skillet on my stove and then added the corn. I placed it out on the Hibachi and then added the burgers. They were ¾ inches thick so I figured 6 minutes each side. When I flipped them I could see they were a little beyond charred! After 5 minutes I added some sharp cheddar cheese spread and covered with my wok cover to melt the cheese.
I took all inside to serve. We all agreed they were a little overdone! The wife and I both managed to eat all of our burgers but saw the daughter left several bites! The meat inside the crust was moist and juicy but the char was prevalent and I could not tell how the onions and potatoes flavored the burgers. I will try these again with 40 briquettes!
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Cast%20Iron%20Cookware/_3266880_zpsc1wlu8b6.jpg)
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Cast%20Iron%20Cookware/_3266881_zpsqbrney3n.jpg)
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Cast%20Iron%20Cookware/_3266882_zpsei6iezno.jpg)
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Cast%20Iron%20Cookware/_3266884_zpsnahvqs9q.jpg)
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Cast%20Iron%20Cookware/_3266885_zpsu8ku7zu1.jpg)
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Cast%20Iron%20Cookware/_3266886_zpsomjp6p8t.jpg)
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Cast%20Iron%20Cookware/_3266887_zpskbqawgnj.jpg)
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Cast%20Iron%20Cookware/_3266888_zpsyskvwv6v.jpg)
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/Cast%20Iron%20Cookware/_3266890_zps38n7xo7v.jpg)
Smokin Don
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The idea sounds excellent... you will get the execution right - no worries.
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I'm watching you Don..I'm not used to direct heat like the sportsman, gotta watching close, I cook indirect mostly on my Weber with the vortex , gonna be a learning curve here, but I like that taste of the charcoal. Did you par cook the potatoes any? I have done the onions in the patties and they were great. Never the potatoes tho, sounds real good to me..love taters. I'm thinking it was the panko bread crumbs, they can burn real easy, I have had problems with them before. .☆´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ.
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It's not a failure if you can still eat it ::)
Hub
PS -- a failure was some hot and fast ribs I did a few years back. Forgot they were in the cooker. When I remembered them and raised the lid they were bright, shiny black. When I picked them up all I got was the bones -- the meat disappeared into ashes. I learned two things: One, don't cook if you don't have the time to tend and two, Domino's delivers.
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Most, and I will say it again, MOST of our mistakes are still edible. They probably just require a lot of GRAVY to make them edible, however. I think we have all experienced a "less than satisfactory" cook on our grills at one time or another. Hopefully we learn from them.
Art
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Most, and I will say it again, MOST of our mistakes are still edible. They probably just require a lot of GRAVY to make them edible, however. I think we have all experienced a "less than satisfactory" cook on our grills at one time or another. Hopefully we learn from them.
Art
This sets me to thinking . . . (I don't do it often) . . . of an adage I once heard about ketchup: "Ketchup is the ruination of good food and the salvation of bad". Still thinking . . . if one creates a fine pan of GRAVY and has nothing on which to slather it other than some burned food, is it better to just eat the gravy by itself (with a soup spoon)? This gets us into a very deep philosophical concept. Sorry about that. Back to the thread . . .
Hub
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Most, and I will say it again, MOST of our mistakes are still edible. They probably just require a lot of GRAVY to make them edible, however. I think we have all experienced a "less than satisfactory" cook on our grills at one time or another. Hopefully we learn from them.
Art
This sets me to thinking . . . (I don't do it often) . . . of an adage I once heard about ketchup: "Ketchup is the ruination of good food and the salvation of bad". Still thinking . . . if one creates a fine pan of GRAVY and has nothing on which to slather it other than some burned food, is it better to just eat the gravy by itself (with a soup spoon)? This gets us into a very deep philosophical concept. Sorry about that. Back to the thread . . .
Hub
This reminds me of Aristotle's thoughts that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts! Very deep this early in the day! :D
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I'm watching you Don..I'm not used to direct heat like the sportsman, gotta watching close, I cook indirect mostly on my Weber with the vortex , gonna be a learning curve here, but I like that taste of the charcoal. Did you par cook the potatoes any? I have done the onions in the patties and they were great. Never the potatoes tho, sounds real good to me..love taters. I'm thinking it was the panko bread crumbs, they can burn real easy, I have had problems with them before. .☆´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ.
I think it was just too much charcoal, the 40 briquettes is about a single layer, the chimney full is about two layers and just had the meat too close to the coals.
If I had thinner burgers and watched closer I would have been ok. I will go back to the 40 briquettes. No I didn't cook the potatoes, I grated the onions first and then added the grated potatoes to them. The burgers were made and in the fridge a couple of hours before grilling. Don
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I'm watching you Don..I'm not used to direct heat like the sportsman, gotta watching close, I cook indirect mostly on my Weber with the vortex , gonna be a learning curve here, but I like that taste of the charcoal. Did you par cook the potatoes any? I have done the onions in the patties and they were great. Never the potatoes tho, sounds real good to me..love taters. I'm thinking it was the panko bread crumbs, they can burn real easy, I have had problems with them before. .☆´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ.
I think it was just too much charcoal, the 40 briquettes is about a single layer, the chimney full is about two layers and just had the meat too close to the coals.
If I had thinner burgers and watched closer I would have been ok. I will go back to the 40 briquettes. No I didn't cook the potatoes, I grated the onions first and then added the grated potatoes to them. The burgers were made and in the fridge a couple of hours before grilling. Don
Don do you think the potatoes yielded maybe too much water as they cooked allowing the meat to stick/burn?
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I'm watching you Don..I'm not used to direct heat like the sportsman, gotta watching close, I cook indirect mostly on my Weber with the vortex , gonna be a learning curve here, but I like that taste of the charcoal. Did you par cook the potatoes any? I have done the onions in the patties and they were great. Never the potatoes tho, sounds real good to me..love taters. I'm thinking it was the panko bread crumbs, they can burn real easy, I have had problems with them before. .☆´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ.
I think it was just too much charcoal, the 40 briquettes is about a single layer, the chimney full is about two layers and just had the meat too close to the coals.
If I had thinner burgers and watched closer I would have been ok. I will go back to the 40 briquettes. No I didn't cook the potatoes, I grated the onions first and then added the grated potatoes to them. The burgers were made and in the fridge a couple of hours before grilling. Don
Don do you think the potatoes yielded maybe too much water as they cooked allowing the meat to stick/burn?
No Gene the burgers were not too wet and the potatoes were done. The char was cooks error! Don
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I like a good char on my burger Don!
I think they look fine :P
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Got to agree with Hub, perhaps disappointing, but definitely not a failure. I also like Art's idea. My family does Burgers 'n Gravy on a regular basis. We usually add some Farfalle that has been lightly fried in butter, as an excuse to add more GRAVY to the plate ! ! !