Tips and Recipes

I’ve eaten lots of grilled hamburgers in my life. I’ve eaten some that were delicious and some that were okay. But then I’ve also had some grilled burgers that were simply amazing.

Here are a few of my secrets to making amazing grilled hamburgers.

1. Mix your own burgers from ground beef.
2. Season both sides heavily with a tasty barbecue rub (seasoning).
3. Don’t overcook them.

If that was all you knew about grilling hamburgers, you could take the above three secrets and make amazing grilled hamburgers. But I’m going to elaborate on these a bit and share a recipe for mixing up some amazing burgers for the grill.

Grilled Hamburger Recipe

• 1 pound hamburger
• 1 egg
• 2 slices onion, chopped
• 8 small Saltine crackers, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Mix the above ingredients together and form into burgers. If you don’t have a burger press, you can use a 1/3 cup or 1/4 cup measuring cup to measure the burger and then form the burgers with your hands.

Season both sides of the burgers heavily with a decent barbecue rub. If you don’t have anything, you can simply mix equal parts of salt, fresh ground peppercorn, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika. Check out my recent blog post on barbecue rub recipes for more help.

The final secret has to do with not overcooking the meat, and I can’t stress this enough. I personally don’t like to bite into a burger with lots of raw beef in the center, but I try to aim for a slightly pink center.

If you’re grilling thick burgers, turn down the heat and give the centers time to cook. Otherwise, the outside will get overdone and the center will still be raw. This is not a big issue with thin store-bought burgers though.

As they’re cooking, I like to brush barbecue sauce or ketchup on both sides to add a little more flavor and juice. And just as they’re finishing up, throw a slice of cheese on the top of each burger.

Serve them with some good homemade bread or rolls, sweet and tender lettuce, slices of sweet onion, mustard, ketchup, and pickles.

You will end up with more than an amazing grilled burger. You’ll be stunned with an amazing, loaded hamburger sandwich. This is easy deliciousness.

Have fun!

Lavern

PS. The Meadow Creek BBQ26S Chicken Cooker and BBQ42 Chicken Cooker are both great for backyard grilling. Raise the charcoal pan for grilling burgers and drop it for flippin’ chickin’!

One advantage we (as the barbecue crowd) have over everyone else around the holidays is that we can cook birds (ie., turkeys, chickens) and pigs in the smoker.

If you have the right equipment and a little know-how, it’s actually pretty easy to “smoke” the average Joe’s idea of a Thanksgiving meal.

I just put together a handful of recipes for my favorite thanksgiving dinner, inspired by the Amish traditions we had growing up.

(These are precious gems.)

And I just recently updated my guide on how to smoke a turkey low and slow. If you need help smoking the turkey this week, check it out.

Click here for the recipes.

Have fun,

Lavern

PS. People keep joining our Facebook page. Check it out.

I totally enjoy trying out new BBQ rubs as well as making my own homemade ones. There’s something inspiring about mixing fresh spices to make a seasoning and to taste it on your finished meat.

There are hundreds of different BBQ rub recipes out there. Many competition teams have their own sauces and rubs. Barbecue stores showcase rows of different sauces and rubs. It’s easy to feel intimidated to think of making your own.

I would like to change that for you. First of all, here are some common ingredients in barbecue rubs:

• salt (table, kosher, or seasoned salt)
• black pepper*
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• paprika

*Peppercorn side-note: Get whole peppercorns at the grocery store and grind them in a coffee grinder if you’re making a big batch or in a hand-held pepper grinder. If you’ve never tried freshly-ground black pepper, you are in for an *exciting* surprise. The flavor and smell is amazing!

To make a rub, all you have to do is measure equal amounts of the above and stir it well. And you’ve made a delicious, all-purpose barbecue rub! This seasoning is scrumptious on grilled and smoked meats. Use it on burgers and steaks or even smoked pork butts.

Disclaimer: Of course, this is *far* from the ultimate BBQ rub recipe. There are lots of ways to make a more complex and better tasting rub. But it is a simple and delicious dry rub to get you started.

Now, it’s time to build on what I’ve given you to add more flavor and the accents that you like. You can tweak the proportions, remove ingredients, or add a handful of other spices to kick it up a bit.

Here is a list of other ingredients I’ve seen in rubs:

• brown sugar
• cumin
• cayenne (red pepper)
• chipotle powder
• chili powder
• cinnamon
• mustard powder
• oregano
• thyme

A few tips:

1. Add brown sugar for a sweeter rub, making sure to work out all the lumps.
2. The cumin will add a smokey flavor. Make sure you get whole cumin and grind it in a coffee grinder just before you use it. Between that and the freshly-ground black pepper, you will be entranced.
3. A little bit of cayenne pepper gives your dry rub some fire. You can choose your favorite hot pepper ingredient here. As a general guideline, I would use 1 teaspoon in a cup of rub unless you especially like heat.

I am sure there are other ingredients that are delicious in barbecue dry rubs. And you could experiment for days with the ingredients I have listed. If you have any questions or ideas to share, please do leave a comment. I would love to hear from you!

Now go dig into the spices.

Lavern

In my opinion, it’s almost impossible to beat juicy, well-done pulled pork—smoked the authentic BBQ way. And believe it or not, this stuff is very easy to cook and hard to mess up!

So if you’re just learning how to smoke low and slow, a great place to start is with a bone-in Boston butt. I just can’t describe how delicious, fun, easy, and great this whole process is. You have to experience it for yourself to really know what I’m talking about.

Last month, I cooked a couple pork butts for my son Jamin’s first birthday party. Now I want to share some pictures and tips for cooking delicious pulled pork everyone will love.

Some experts will tell you to use fresh butts that were never frozen and some tell you to inject or marinate the meat overnight and some will tell you to let them rest for 30 minutes or so after they’re done before you pull them. This is great, and if you feel like doing the extra work, waiting, etc, you should probably do it.

But I can tell you, some of the best pulled pork I ever had was from a thawed pork butt, and I applied the rub just minutes before I set them on the smoker, and we were in no mood to wait half an hour to eat. And I promise it was extremely edible.

So my favorite theory in barbecue is this: barbecue is easy! (Once you have someone to teach you and you get some practice.) Of course, there are extra things you can do to make it better, but don’t let this stuff intimidate you. It is NOT rocket science, even competition style barbeque.

BBQ is about having a great time with family and friends, making memories, and producing some of the most delicious food on the planet.

Here are a few pictures from Jamin’s birthday barbecue and the train birthday cake my wife made.  🙂

Click a photo to enlarge it.

How to Smoke Pork Butts

Here are a few quick tips on how to make your own outrageous pulled pork.

• Get your smoker up to 225–250 degrees F.
• Start with fresh or thawed pork butt with some nice fat marbling. The fat adds a lot of flavor and helps keep the meat juicy.
• Unwrap the meat, rinse it, and cut off any bloody, nasty-looking stuff.
• Cover it with yellow mustard (the kind you’d put on a hotdog). Sprinkle a generous layer of your favorite pork rub over the entire surface (edges, cracks, and all). Pat it down with your hand. Disposable gloves are handy for this.
• Load the meat onto the smoker grate and close the smoker.
• Add some fruit wood or your favorite smoking wood to the fire to kick up the smoke at the beginning. We smoke mostly with 100% hardwood charcoal briquettes and add a few pieces of wood at the beginning to create more smoke. The meat takes in more smoke when it’s cold than once it’s been in the heat for a while.
• Maintain your smoker at 225-250 degrees F.
• Spray the meat with apple juice about every hour to help keep the meat moist throughout the cook.
• Cook the meat for about 1½ hours per pound or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches about 200 degrees. This can easily take 8 hours or even 12 hours depending on the size of the meat and what the weather is like, etc.
• Extra tip: If the meat reaches the 170s and just hangs there for an hour or two, your butts might be ready to pull off. Sample it for tenderness and see how well it pulls apart. You want to be careful not to dry it out. Ultimately, you will need to determine when it’s done. This takes some skill, but remember, pork butts are easy to cook and hard to mess up if you keep the temperature fairly consistent.
• Pull it into small chunks or strips with forks or gloved hands.
• Eat it with hamburger buns (or homemade bread), cheese, and your favorite barbecue sauce. I enjoy coleslaw (finely-shredded) on my pulled pork sandwiches too.

How to Store Left-Over Pulled Pork

Here’s a great way to deal with left-over pulled pork. Freeze it in quart-size freezer bags. When you’re ready to eat some, thaw one bag in the refrigerator, and then put it in a kettle of water over medium low heat.

Indescribable!

Lavern

Last evening we enjoyed a great dinner of grilled brats off the BBQ26S Meadow Creek Grill and our special topping of cooked peppers and onions. I like it so well, I just have to share it with you. So here are some pictures to start it off. The recipe is below.

Click on a photo to enlarge it.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 4 cups sliced peppers
• 2 cups sliced onions
• Favorite barbecue rub
• 1/4 cup barbecue sauce
• 10 brats

Lay the brats on your grill grate and season them with your favorite rub. Grill the brats over direct heat until they are well browned on two sides.

Once the brats are cooking on the grill, put a skillet on the stovetop or an outdoor burner, such as your grill side burner. Brown the butter in the skillet, then add the peppers and onions. Stir these often to keep them from burning. After it cooks down add a liberal sprinkling of rub and the barbecue sauce. Mix it well.

Serve the grilled brats on hotdog buns or homemade bread with the topping and sliced cheese. You may also enjoy ketchup, mustard, and other condiments with your sandwiches.

Extremely easy and edible!

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Enjoy!

Lavern

We want to wish all of our readers and customers a happy new year! Thank you for all you’ve done to make this past year a success.

New Year’s Day is a great time to set goals in every aspect of your life and business. And if you love to smoke meat and cook outdoors, it’s also a great time to decide what steps you will take to become a better cook.

Are you just getting started with slow cooking in your backyard or in competitions?

Do you need some solid, practical advice from experts who know all about cooking ribs that beat the competition?

I can’t recommend enough Bill Anderson’s book Competition BBQ Secrets.

If you’re struggling to make the grade in BBQ competitions or you just want to slow smoke tender, competition-quality ribs, chicken, pork butt, and beef brisket for friends and family, this book is the key.

(Hint: Download the eBook now and get instant access. By tomorrow you can be cooking some of the best barbecue you’ve ever tasted.)

Competition BBQ Secrets

I wish you a blessed year and many easy and profitable barbecues in 2010.

Lavern Gingerich

PS. What would you like to learn in 2010? Leave a comment to share your barbecue goals.