Joe Burger 2

I don't think I've actually posted my burger recipe on JoeSoCookbook yet. I started developing it about 2 years when I first got the grill. Generally speaking I love a very simple cheeseburger, made with high quality ground beef and maybe just a pinch of salt and pepper, maybe cumin or the classic onion soup mix burgers -- you know, easy, simple, delicious, and it makes everyone happy (well, except non-carnivores).

But then I also like to have a "different" kind of burger recipe in rotation -- something "interesting"  or  "exotic," something a little bit out there.  Something with weird ingredients stuffed in the middle. Something gooey or cheesy or spicy or strangely colorful. The original Joe Burger uses hot sauce, turmeric, and several other ingredients, and Joe Burger 2 kind of spins off of that basic approach. But the Joe Burger 2 gets a lot of its flavor from the garden, which I like. I have several fresh herbs that I don't know exactly what to do with, so adding them to burgers seemed like one obvious idea. I've only tried this once, so consider it a recipe in progress. Next time I may cut out the curry and rely more on the fresh herbs for flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef (3-4 burgers)
• 1/2 Tablespoon cumin
• 1/2 T. curry powder
• 1 T. hot sauce
• 1 T. worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 - 1/2 Cup fresh cilantro
• 1 T. fresh oregano
• 2-4 leaves fresh basil
• goat cheese (or other cheese, optional)

Mix ingredients and form into burgers. Grill to your liking and top with cheese. Enjoy burgers with your favorite toppings, such as avocado, banana peppers, siracha, whole grain mustard, etc.

fresh herbs and spices: cumin, curry, basil, cilantro, oregano

plus hot sauce and worcestershire sauce

mix ingredients

mix into the ground beef 

make into burgers

add fresh veggies to make a wholesome meal

broccoli, spinach, carrots, and green beans with sesame oil, salt, and pepper

steam the veggies for a 10 minutes or so

grill the burgers to your desired liking

topped with goat cheese

yeah buddy

Joe Burger 2 with goat cheese and banana peppers with steamed veggies

Solo Cookout for Game 7

Last night I cooked out alone for Game 7 of the NBA Finals. I loaded up at the Bloomfield Farmer's Market. I made my amazing chicken sauce to grill with bone-in thighs. I made my grilled broccoli recipe with goat cheese, which tasted spectacular. Plus I grilled asparagus and potatoes as well. Tremendous. I timed everything perfectly. I got the chicken on the grill during the second quarter of the game. By the time half time started I put the veggies on, and as the second half got underway, everything finished cooking. Absolutely perfect. I had a couple of fine Newcastle brown ales while I cooked.

My chicken sauce requires four ingredients: something spicy, something thick and viscous, something spreadable and/or sticky, and something sweet. Use these in roughly equal parts. For this one I used soy sauce, siracha, dijon mustard, and brown sugar. I brushed the asparagus with grape seed oil, course salt, and ground black pepper. I coated the potatoes with Old Bay seasoning and a little oil. And I tossed the broccoli with balsamic vinegar, grapeseed oil, salt, and pepper.

I use high heat on the left side and a lower flame underneath the food on the right side. Once something cooks, I move it over to the hot side to get a little char (if desired).

I sprinkled goat cheese on the broccoli. Amazing.

Cook the chicken slowly. It should take about 45 minutes for bone in thighs. Keep turning it over and spreading more sauce, over and over. You'll want to straight up lick the sauce by the time you finish cooking...

Enjoy....

Grilled Hot Sausage Sandwich with Red Pepper

You gotta love working from home on a Friday afternoon, cracking a bottle, and grilling hot sausage patties for a late lunch. You really do. I threw on a piece of corn and a red pepper as usual, and sliced up the pepper to eat with the sausage. I made the sandwich on a soft, whole grain roll with yellow mustard, relish, lettuce, and of course the red pepper on top of the hot sausage patty. Delicious.

Grilled Broccoli

Grilled broccoli!

I don't know if I've ever tried to grill broccoli before, but what I made last night turned out really well! I created a simple recipe based on a few things I had seen, so let's take a look...

Ingredients

• 1 head of broccoli
• 1/4 to 1/2 C. balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 C. olive oil
• coarse sea salt
• fresh ground pepper
• (optional) 2 oz. grated cheese

Directions

  1. Cut

Trim the outside of the broccoli stem (almost like peeling a carrot), but don't cut it off. Cut the broccoli into long, thin pieces, keeping a length of stem with each floret. You want to have a couple inches of length in addition to the floret, so you can put it on the grill.

  2. Marinate

Combine oil, 1/4 C. balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Use tongs to toss the broccoli pieces in the marinade. Pour a little more balsamic vinegar over the broccoli pieces if desired. Let sit for 30-60 minutes, tossing every few minutes.

  3. Cook

You'll need to figure out how best to cook it on your grill. I did it this way... 

Turn one side of the grill on high and the other side on low. Cook broccoli on the low side. Place thick pieces of broccoli on the back edge of the bottom rack and thinner pieces on the upper rack. (I also cooked chicken on the same side of the grill.) 

I moved a few pieces over to the high heat side for more char.

Cook for 20-30 minutes. Just cook until the broccoli reaches your desired tenderness -- and char level, if any. If it starts to char too quickly, move it to the top rack and/or turn off the heat completely on one side. Depending on your grill, flame level, temperature, etc. move the broccoli and adjust the heat accordingly until done! Remove from grill (and sprinkle cheese over broccoli if using).

grated raw milk cheddar cheese

mmm chicken

chicken, broccoli, and tomato cous cous

Cooking Out Often Lately

I've already dipped balls deep into cookout season over here, so I want to share some pictures from recent meals. 

I'll do a full recipe post for my Amazing Chicken some time soon. You just need chicken and four other ingredients of your choice to make an amazing sauce. 

sweet n spicy chicken

I like grilling my vegetables raw, especially when I have high quality veggies. Red and green peppers, corn, and other veggies supply their own great taste when grilled properly, in my opinion, and don't need anything else.

Hebrew National hot dog grilled corn and green pepper

I make a flavorful curry paste for mixing into burgers, which I really enjoy. I use curry powder, hot sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, and a few other choice ingredients. I should do a post for that as well. When I moved into the apartment on Penn a couple years ago, and we got the gas grill, I started working on my own recipes for burgers, chicken, pork chops, etc. So I've had a lot of practice with some of these.

Joe burger with avocado and banana peppers

cheddar cheese, avocado, banana peppers

relish and yellow mustard

When I grill corn I leave it in the husk. If I have a chance, I soak it in water for a little while before grilling. I actually peal away a few pieces of husk, leaving maybe 2-4 layers rather than, say, 6-8. I firmly believe in slow grilling -- for almost everything. You can make the corn quickly in about 10 minutes, or go slowly for 20 or more.

grilled corn on the cob and Joe Chicken

sweet and spicy Joe Chicken

For an almost instant meal that takes no preparation, try grilling chicken sausages and whole red peppers. I get the peppers at Donatelli's Italian grocer in Bloomfield for like $1.19 for a bag of 8. Throw them on the grill for about 10 minutes over medium to high heat. I cook the red peppers whole then cut 'em up and serve with the sausage on a roll.

chicken sausages from the store

sweet red pepper -- perfect grilled plain

Double Hot Dogs

Double Dogs!

I've been eating hot dogs this way for a couple of years. It is, in my opinion, the way to eat hot dogs. You want Hebrew National all beef franks.  They're long, skinny and delicious. So you need two. But not two dogs in two buns -- you want to double 'em up. A pair of Hebrew National all beef franks fits perfectly into a sausage roll. Top with your favorite condiments and enjoy. Personally, I like pickles or relish, Heinz ketchup, and yellow mustard. Lightly toast the bun on the top rack of the grill -- toasted on the outside but still soft inside. So freaking good. Tonight I made this with some grilled green pepper on the side.

Double Dog & Grilled Green Pepper

Devour it!