The National Hamburger Festival

This looks interesting…  You up for a burger cook-off?  This September 13th in Athens, Texas they are holding the National Hamburger Festival.  Sounds like it might be fun.  Anyone ever been?

It Doesn’t Have to be Complicated – Just Good

It took me a long time to grasp that I didn’t have to cook the most complicated recipe in the book to make something worth eating.  I didn’t grow up cooking.  My parents didn’t cook much.  We didn’t eat at nice restaurants.  It was basically straight forward wholesome fare at our house.  My mom didn’t buy Twinkies for us and would rarely even let us go grocery shopping with her.  So, you ate what you were given to eat.  When I grew up I met Hubbard.  He took me to my first nice restaurants.  I was stunned by how good the experience could be.  But, still, I did not cook.

One day Hubbard decided to go to law school.  I was OK with that, except there was a lot of studying.  Studying meant that Hubbard wasn’t talking.  Hubbard always talks.  And I wasn’t doing much talking either.  So, I took up a hobby.  I filled our house with fish tanks.  When I got tired of that, I started cooking.  I figured, despite law school, that he would have to eat eventually.  So, that became our time together each day. 

I learned a lot from Cook’s Illustrated magazine.  Sure, it’s a little boring.  But, they will teach you how to cook.  I also started buying cookbooks and branching out to fancier and more complicated food.  Exotic ingredients.  Strange kitchen utensils.  You know the drill.  Now I’ve come to a point in my life where I’ve got all the stuff.  I’m trying to do what normal people do.  Look in the fridge and see what I have to cook.  I buy good ingredients.  There’s always an assortment of things on hand that I can use or let rot.  (You wouldn’t believe how much stuff I throw out.)  Why not use this approach instead of choosing a recipe and then going to the store for the things I don’t have?

The other day Hubbard brought home a ribeye the size of a small pot roast.  Grilling was the thing to do.  He got to work on that.  While the grill heated, Hub and I snacked on some Cashel blue cheese and slices of sausage with crackers.  I harevested some onions and Anaheim peppers from the yard.  Chopped and sauted them.  Added the saute to our mashed potatoes.  We steamed some broccoli because it’s such a good little mop for plate juices.  I was going to make a salad and then I just got lazy.  Hub brought in the steak.  We served it sliced with olive oil and lemon juice drizzled over it.  For dessert, Hub sauted some peaches in butter and topped them with freshly whipped cream. 

Not complicated.

Just good.

Thinking About Ribs for the 4th?

We were thinking about them last Thursday.  Thinking about them smothered in dry rub.

Dry Rub Recipe
I got this recipe from a friend of mine.  Who knows where he got it?

1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 Tablespoons chili powder
2 Tablespoons cumin
2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon oregano
4 Tablespoons paprika
2 Tablespoons salt
1 Tablespoon ground white pepper
3 Tablespoons celery salt
3 Tablespoons garlic powder

Feel free to adjust those ingredients to taste…

Put it on the Big Green Egg at 325 degrees for 45 minutes.

Then move the ribs indoors, sealed tightly in a foil pouch on a baking sheet.  This kind of steams the ribs the last part of the cooking while retaining the smokey grill flavor.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour at 325 degrees. 

Now you can grill your corn or prepare whatever else you’re having.  Here’s what you get.  Highly flavorful pork ribs with meat almost falling off the bone.  We don’t bother with any sauce because their so moist and tasty to begin with.  Watch out for the steam when you open the pouch.  And be sure to make too much.  They make great leftovers.

Memorial Day Weekend Burgers

Besides the remembering part, this holiday weekend seems to be largely devoted to grilling.  You can smell it all up and down the street and it’s only Saturday.  We started today with burgers.  Ribs are in our future. 

I season the 85/15 percent patties with a couple of tablespoons of dry rub along with a few dashes of Worcestershire and Louisiana Hot Sauce.  We make third pound burgers at our house.  Somewhere along the way I learned that if you poke the patties several times on each side with your finger they won’t turn into tiny footballs when you grill them.  I don’t know why, but it really does help them hold their original shape.

 

Then Hub throws them on the Big Green Egg.  What happens in the yard is a mystery to me.  I will say that Hubbard loves that grill.  So much so, that he bought a second one last year. 

We like our burgers fairly well done.  I don’t like mushy hamburgers.  Hub thought these were a little overdone.  For me, if it isn’t burned or dried out I like it.  Look how pretty…

Some plain old, Mrs. Baird’s buns.  Some cheddar cheese.  Sliced tomatoes, chopped onion and mayo.  I like whole grain mustard on mine.  That’s about it for the burger.  Traditionally, we have Ranch Style beans and Lay’s Original Potato Chips.  Today, it was queso dip with sausage and tortilla chips.  Nothing wrong with a plain and simple burger.  You gotta love ‘em.

Here’s to a happy Memorial Day Weekend for us all. 

And don’t forget to remember…