Saturday, April 21, 2012

Hoagie Cheese Burger

People often comment that I must burn through a lot of coal since we grill so often.   I got a new shipment this morning.

Okay, I lie.  I was just out shooting photographs this morning and saw this.

This year I am happy to be participating on the Johnsonville Big Taste Grillers Blogger Panel.  It was a natural match since we have been customers of Johnsonville's Mexican chorizo and Italian sausage links for longer than I can remember.  Straight out of the gates, Johnsonville surprised me with a new product - Italian Sausage Patties.   
 
 
Yes, Italian sausage burgers!  I know, right? 

I did the most obvious thing to them.  I threw grilled peppers, onions and provolone cheese on them!  Your eyes will say "burger" but your mouth will say "Italian sausage hoagie".
 

Hoagie Cheese Burger
source:  www.nibblemethis.com
serves: 6

Ingredients
  • 6 kaiser rolls
  • 6 Johnsonville Italian Sausage Patties
  • 6 slices provolone cheese
  • 1 green bell pepper cut into rings
  • 1 red bell pepper cut into rings
  • 1 sweet onion cut into rings
  • 1/4 cup Italian dressing

Instructions
  1. Preheat a charcoal grill to medium low (300f).  
  2. Toss the onion and peppers in the Italian dressing.
  3. Place frozen patties on the grill and cook for 15-18 minutes until the burgers reach an internal temperature of 160f, flipping a few times during the process.
  4. Meanwhile, 8 minutes into the cook place the onions and peppers on the grill.  Flip at about 12 minutes into the cook.
  5. In the last minute, top the burgers with cheese.
  6. Remove and serve on the kaiser rolls.  

Let's discuss the elephant in the room first, frozen burgers.  I usually make my own burgers and to be honest, I was worried these frozen ones might have a cardboard or hockey puck texture.  Absolutely not, I was pleasantly surprised with the taste and texture.  

I felt a little funny about the idea of using a frozen burger patty.  But Alexis made a great point.  I have no problem keeping Italian sausage in the freezer to use in meat sauce for spaghetti, so why would it be weird to keep it frozen as burger patties?  I'll keep a batch of these in the freezer.  They will be handy when...
  • I just want to grill 1 or 2 burgers
  • I want a burger on the spur of the minute and have not ground beef in the fridge
  • or I want that knock your socks off Italian sausage burger flavor 
If you like sausage dogs, you will definitely like these sausage burgers.  Alexis and I thought they were great as written, Trevor liked his just as a cheeseburger without the peppers and onions.  The mildly spicy sausage burger, grilled veggies, and gooey cheese came together for a easy and tasty burger.

As far as pricing, they were comparably priced to frozen beef burger patties.  The burgers are 1/3rd pound sized and come 6 to a box. 
A few simple ingredients....

Great excuse to use my Craycort grill grate veggie wok insert. (see link in sidebar)

A very easy lunch that was packed full of flavors.

Here are some shots from our photo safari this morning.  They are kind of food related.  We were on a detour due to construction when I saw this door that caught my attention.  I have a thing for the personality of older, distressed buildings.


We pulled over and I started taking pictures of the building. 



Turns out the place is Knox Stove Works, a business that has made Mealmaster wood/coal fired stoves since 1905. 

I didn't even know that anyone still made stuff like this! Funny how detours that annoy you end up leading to a cool discovery.

[Standard Disclaimer] I have a relationship with Johnsonville and received my samples for free.