Half-Pound Cowboy Burgers on the Grill

 [FTC Standard Disclosure] I received no compensation for this post.

We get so busy "doing" on the weekends that we'll often eat lunch so late that we just combine it with an early dinner. Do you do that? That's what we did last weekend when we made these classic, big honkin' Cowboy Burgers for our lunch-dinner. 

This elbow-dripping burger starts with an 8-ounce patty of fresh ground beef and is loaded with smoky cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, bourbon-laden BBQ sauce, fried onions, and homemade spicy pickles.

As always, I have my cooking notes, tips, and more mouth-watering pictures below the recipe. Enjoy!

Cowboy Burgers

By www.nibblemethis.com

Published 08/30/2020

Ingredients

Reverse Seared Prime Rib on a Char-Broil Kamander

[FTC Disclaimer] We have appreciated having Char-Broil as a sponsor for the past three years.  This is our final sponsored post for them.  

It's time for the Grinch himself to carve the roast beast, right?  Rib roast season is here.

This is an easy recipe for Reverse Seared Prime Rib that I created for Char-Broil's website this year.  The full recipe is there.  These are just some additional pictures and notes.

I kept the seasonings simple, just black pepper, kosher salt, granulated garlic, cayenne pepper, and dried parsley.

The boneless beef rib roast that I bought was "lip on" so I sliced it off by cutting through along the fat line.  I superimposed the yellow line to show where to cut.  Save the lip.  Trim any red meat out for scraps and use the fat for making beef tallow.

Trimmed and tied to keep it in a more uniform shape.

Breakfast Bowls with Goetta Sausage, Hatch Chile Cheese Grits, and Eggs

[FTC Standard Disclaimer] I have a agreement with Char-Broil® to provide content (recipes/tips/pictures) for their website and I received the pictured grill as part of that compensation package; however, this is not a sponsored post.

I just returned home from a food related business conference and every time you turned around, someone was giving you some delicious creation to eat. It was nice being catered to but the first thing I wanted to do when I got home was cook for myself.  

It was an absolutely gorgeous Saturday morning with warm sunshine and a pleasant early Fall breeze so it was a day for breakfast outside.  I scrambled through the fridge and found a few things.

• Hatch green chiles - Big Dude tells me these famous chiles are a regional variation of Big Jim chiles.
• Oaxaca cheese - A Mexican cheese that has a buttery flavor, semi-soft texture, and melts quite well.  We call it Mexican Mozzarella because it is similar, but we like Oaxaca better.
• Goetta sausage - a sausage with German heritage from Cinncinati that is pork sausage that contains oats.

I used those to create these fantastic breakfast bowls.

Quick Fajitas on the Grill

[FTC Standard Disclaimer]  I am sponsored by Char-Broil but this is not a sponsored post.

Sometimes I don't plan out my meals too well.

This was the case earlier this Summer when I had a flank steak and was craving fajitas.  I didn't have a long time for a marinade so I did a few things to work around that.

1. Boosted the acid in the marinade - Normally I do about 2-3 parts of oil to 1 part of acid but for shorter marinade times, I up that ratio to 1.5 parts oil to 1 part acid.  In this case, the acid was lime juice.
2. Increased the seasoning - Since the fajita seasoning wasn't going to have time to absorb into the meat much at all, I increased the seasoning by 50% to make it bolder.  This doesn't get any more flavor in faster, it just means a little more will cling to the meat.  
3. Scored the meat - I scored the meat a little deeper than I normally do.  I put a little more pressure when dragging a sharp knife across the raw flank steak, which opens more surface area up to the marinade.

If you have the time for a proper marinade, check out my recipes for

• steak fajitas, 
• chicken fajitas, 
• fajita steak salad, and 
• skillet pork fajitas. 

Quick Acting Fajita Marinade

Published 09/13/2017

Ingredients

Wood Fired Pizza

I wrote a post about How to Make Wood Fired Pizza at Home for my partnership with Char-Broil™.  They came out with a kamado grill this year, the Kamander, and I wanted to show the new kamado owners how to make pizza on their new grill.  

We made this one with fire roasted onions and peppers, pepperoni, salami, and more.

The recipe is at the link above, here are a bunch of extra footage from that post.

We'll buy pizza sauce in a pinch, but I'd much rather make my own. We do a modification of this sauce recipe.

Picked up a Char-Broil pizza stone and pizza peel for just $20 at Lowes. It's pretty thin compared to a BGE branded one that I have but about the same as a Pampered Chef one that we own. People complain about the Pampered Chef one breaking on the grill but I've used mine for 8 years without a problem.  For $20 for this one, I figured I'd take the risk and so far, it's done fine.

Like all my other kamados, I use a Kick Ash Basket in my Kamander.  I think it makes the air flow a bit more fool proof and certainly makes reusing the leftover coal easier.

Well, that's the last time that pizza stone will be THAT clean.

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken - A Grilling Classic

[FTC Standard Disclaimer] This is not a sponsored post; however, some Char-Broil products are shown and they are a sponsor. 

There are certain grilling recipes that everyone has done, right?  Several come to mind.

• Chicken parts marinated in Italian dressing
• Burgers stuffed with more add ins than meatloaf
• Steaks marinated in a red wine, olive oil, and soy sauce concoction

Grilled teriyaki chicken is one of those, I think.  Who hasn't marinated chicken with a bottled teriyaki sauce? Here's how we do ours.

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken 

Servings: 4 servings

Smoked Baby Back Ribs with Honey and Roasted Garlic BBQ Sauce

[FTC Standard Disclaimer] Char-Broil is an official sponsor of Nibble Me This and I receive compensation from them in exchange for recipes and content.  Any opinions stated are my own and have not been reviewed or approved by Char-Broil.

One of my recent posts for Char-Broil was these Baby Back Ribs with Honey and Roasted Garlic BBQ Sauce. The sauce for these ribs has brown sugar and local honey, so to counter the sweetness and boost the flavor, I added a good bit of roasted garlic paste that we make at home.

Smoked Baby Back Ribs with Honey and Roasted Garlic BBQ Sauce

The full recipe is over on Char-Broil's site but here is some B-roll footage from that cook.

I got the idea for the platter from this Burnt Ends-n-Ribs combo that I bought at Famous Dave's BBQ a few weeks earlier.  Their combo uses spare ribs but I had baby backs, so that's what I used.

To remove the membrane for baby back ribs (aka loin back), I find it's easiest to use a blunt knife to start a gap in the middle of the rib and then work a finger into that gap. Then I just wiggle two fingers across the rib as shown and left the membrane straight up and off.  For spare ribs I just start at the end, but for back ribs, this is easier for me.

Memorial Day Grilling Ideas - Ribeye Steak with Garlic Chile Compound Butter

This post is sponsored by Everywhere Agency on behalf of Char-Broil; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

May is one of my favorite months for grilling. First, it is the National BBQ Month.  Second, it kicks off the "grilling season" for those folks that don't grill all year long.  Third, it has the second busiest grilling holiday of the year - Memorial Day.  Yep, May is the month when everyone embraces the outdoor lifestyle, cooking and entertaining in backyards across the country and I love that.

Char-Broil® just made outdoor entertaining a little easier for me by upgrading my Commercial TRU Infrared™ 3 burner grill with a 4 burner Commercial TRU Infrared™.  That's extra grilling real estate!

Char-Broil Commercial TRU Infrared 4 burner grill

I have said before, the Char-Broil® Commercial grill one of the top 2 gas grills that I have ever used. My newer, bigger Commercial grill has everything I loved about the 3 burner version plus a few extras.

Parts removed to show the TRU Infrared™ system. Left is the burner with the heat shield moved aside. Middle is the infrared emitter.  Right is the full system of burner/emitter/grates.

Char-Broil Post: Honey BBQ Wings

[FTC Standard Disclaimer] Char-Broil is a sponsor of Nibble Me This and I receive compensation from them for developing recipes and other content.  However, any opinions offered are my own.

I am glad to have Char-Broil on board as a sponsor for 2017.  Most of my work with them will appear on their website but I want to link to it from here and give you a few behind the scenes shots.  Last month, I made these super easy and delicious Honey BBQ Wings.

I cooked these wings on Char-Broil's new and first (to my knowledge) kamado style grill - The Kamander.  

The Kamander is a budget priced kamado (~$350 neighborhood).  I have to be honest and tell you that I was surprised at it's performance.  I expected it to be "not great" because of it's price point but after several grilling and smoking sessions, it actually performs well.  As I would expect from a good kamado grill, I was able to both grill at high temps and steady, low temps. Obviously, there are many factors to consider, so I'll post a full review later.

Grilled Pumpkin with Cinnamon Whiskey Glaze

Cinnamon whiskey has been all the rage the past year or two.  So what can you do with cinnamon whiskey BESIDES make bad life decisions at 2 in the morning?  How about grilling pumpkin with this cinnamon whiskey glaze!?!

The glaze would also be phenomenal on cinnamon rolls or drizzled over pumpkin pie.  This is a recipe that I created for Char-Broil so you can find the full recipe there.

Brown Sugar and Beer Brined Wings

College basketball is heating up and the bowl season for college football is going to be kicking off shortly.  These Brown Sugar and Beer Brined Wings give you something different from the usual buffalo style wings.  They are ideal for folks who want more sweet than heat in their game day wings.

I created these wings as part of my sponsorship package with Char-Broil and cooked them on my Char-Broil Kettleman grill. I've cooked on this specific grill for 2 years and it is still holding up to all of my abuse.  The Kettleman is inexpensive ($149), light in weight making it a great portable grill, and it has proven itself to me.  I have about 17 grills that make appearances on my deck but this is one that stays out there year round.

Here is the full recipe for Brown Sugar and Beer Brined Wings.

Brat-jitas: Bratwursts Go Tex-Mex

This coming weekend is the 63rd Johnsonville Brat Days in Sheyboygan, Wisconsin, one of the best bratwurst festivals in the country.  Alexis and I were fortunate enough to attend this in 2012 and had a great time.  If you are in the area, you should check it out, it's a fun food festival.

When Char-Broil asked me to come up with a brat recipe, I was inspired by the crazy dishes that they come up with at Brat Days.  They make things like brat tacos, brat eggrolls, and things like that.  So I came up with Brat-jitas with Green Chile Crema.

Of course I had to make some Mexican street vendor corn too.  I just love that stuff!

[FTC Standard Disclosure]  Char-Broil is our premium sponsor and I work with them to provide content like this for their online presence.

Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloins with Bacon Gravy

One of the posts that Char-Broil asked me to develop was something "bacon inspired".  

When brainstorming that one, I thought about how many recipes you see that are "bacon wrapped whatever".  It always sounds good but the execution is usually lacking and the bacon comes out half cooked.  

That made me think of a horrible entree that I was served at a restaurant a few months ago.  It was "bacon wrapped pork tenderloin medallions, smoked and grilled".  I had this dish at the same restaurant once before and it was pretty good.  The second time though it came out like this [restaurant name withheld because they generally have made decent food].

That's funny....I don't recall ordering "oh hell no". 

Before the server could put the plate down on the table, I was hit with a strong smell of foul smoke.  The pork smelled like someone trying to light a wet bag of charcoal briquettes.  I'm pretty sure that they had a grease fire while "smoking" them.  The bacon was rubbery, barely even cooked.  

So I decided to do a spin on that dish.  I used Chef Adam Perry Lang's high/slow technique that he does for bacon wrapped beef filet and adapted that for pork.  That made the bacon perfectly cooked.  To complete the dish, I served it with bacon gravy because....bacon.  

No soggy bacon or dirty smoke here.

Hop over to Char-Broil to see the full recipe and get other great tips and grilling recipes.  

[FTC Standard Disclaimer] I partner with Char-Broil and am compensated to produce content for their online presence.

Grilled Beef Tri-Tip with Charred Green Onion Bearnaise

Beef tri-tip is an outstanding cut of beef because it is so tender, almost like a tenderloin, but it has more of the beef flavor.  This is one that I grilled this Summer to slice and use in wraps. 

The sauce is a variation of the classic Bearnaise sauce, usually I do the ’97 Joy of Cooking version.  Instead of the traditional tarragon, I used charred green onions, smashed garlic, and smoked black pepper to flavor the sauce.  I think this bolder flavor goes great with grilled beef.

If you don’t feel like putting together a double boiler or whisking egg yolks 6 to 8 minutes, I get it.  You could always just doctor some good mayonnaise with chopped grilled green onions, minced garlic, and smoked pepper then then it out with a little chicken stock for something that’s close. 

Using a fine finishing salt after the beef is sliced draws out the best flavor from the beef.  This time I used a blend of Himalayan pink salt and black pepper from a specialty store.  My Worcestershire sauce and shallot salt also goes very well with beef.

Grilled Beef Tri-Tip with Charred Green Onion Bearnaise

• 1 whole beef tri-tip
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• ¾ teaspoon granulated garlic
• 2 green onions
• Finishing salt

For the Bearnaise Sauce

• 3 tablespoons dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon smoked black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed whole
• 3 egg yolks
• 1.5 tablespoons cold water
• ½ cup warm clarified butter
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Set up your grill for a two zone fire (one area directly above the coals and another area that is to the side of the coals.  Preheat it to 450-500°f. 
2. Season the tri-tip all over with the black pepper, kosher salt, and granulated garlic.
3. Sear the tri-tip directly over the hot coals for 3 to 4 minutes per side.  If you want nice cross hatch marks, rotate the roast a quarter turn halfway through (1.5 to 2 minutes) on each side.  Meanwhile grill the green onion until charred – about 1-2 minutes.
4. Move the roast to the indirect heat side and let roast until the tri-tip hits an internal temperature of 125°f – about 45 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, place a small skillet on a side burner or stove top.  Add the wine, white wine vinegar, the two white ends of the green onion, the smashed garlic clove, and ¼ teaspoon of black ground pepper.  Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by 2/3rds (about 2 tablespoon remaining).  Remove from heat.
6. Place a double broiler with 1” of water on a grill side burner or stove top and bring to a simmer.  I prefer to use a medium stock pot and a medium stainless steel mixing bowl stuck down into the pot as shown.  This is easier to whisk than a double boiler.
7. In the mixing bowl/double boiler top OFF OF HEAT, vigorously whisk the egg yolks and water until they are thickened and frothy – about two minutes.  Don’t just stir, really whisk it as fast as you can.  Now put the bowl/double boiler top BACK ON HEAT onto the double boiler and continue whisking until the mixture becomes sauce like in texture – about 4 minutes.   Remove from heat.
8. While continuously whisking, slowly drizzle in the warm clarified butter until it all has been blended in.  Then blend in 2 tablespoons of the chopped green onion tops and black pepper.  Taste and add salt as needed.
9. Keep the sauce warm until ready to use.  A warm thermos or insulated drink cup works well for this.
10. When the roast hits your internal temp (125f for medium rare, 135f for medium), which should take from 45 minutes to close to 1 hour, remove from the grill and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.
11. Slice thinly, lightly sprinkle with finishing salt of your choice.
12. You can serve as slices with some of the sauce or add lettuce, tomato, red onion, with a mission style tortilla to make wraps like we did.  

My weapon of choice this night was my Char-Broil Kettleman.  I've used it for a year and a half now and it is my favorite non-kamado charcoal grill.  It’s lightweight but has plenty of space, making it an ideal tailgate grill.  It’s also priced so it won’t break the bank.  I got mine for free as part of my sponsorship & compensation package but I would spend my own money on this in a heartbeat.

I fired up the grill with Char-Broil's new Center Cut Lump Charcoal.  It’s easy to light and gets to temp fast.  I bought a box at Lowe’s Home Improvement stores.  Yeah I said “box”.  It’s packaged that way so that rough handling in shipping and stocking doesn’t break it into a million little pieces.  You can findout more about it at Char-Broil's website. 

This tri-tip was HUGE weighing in at 4 pounds.  You shouldn't have to clean it up too much, just trim off any exterior pieces of fat.

Don't season it until just before grilling.  The salt will draw out moisture from the meat.  

I set my grill up for a two zone fire.  In a kamado grill I normally do a reverse sear because it's easier to get temps up than down.  In a kettle grill I usually do sear THEN roast because the grill temperatures are easier to drop than raise them.  

A quick sear directly over the coals - about 3-4 minutes per side with a quarter turn half way through for those pretty grill marks.

Since the ends are thinner than the middle, I point them away from the coals for even cooking during the roast portion.  Of course you want your grill lid closed during the roast.

A quick visual for you on the reduced wine and vinegar.  It started out as 6 tablespoons and ended up like this.  That is concentrated flavor.

Here's how to make a double boiler for the sauce.  There is about 1 inch of water in the bottom pot and you keep the water just simmering, not boiling.  It shouldn't touch the top bowl.

When finished your sauce should coat the back of a spoon like this.

Towards the end of the roast, if your grill temp falls below 250f, just shift the roast back closer or even on top of the coals.

Ready to eat!

The TRU Infrared grill grates on the Kettleman create beautiful grill marks, don't you think?

Sliced thin and drizzled with the charred green onion bearnaise for a wrap.

Here’s a tri-tip uhhhh tip:  Only slice what you need when it’s hot and leave the rest of the roast whole.  It’s easier to slice it thinly while the tri-tip roast is cold and firm.  Then use a razor sharp slicing knife or slicer and shave the meat as thin as you can.  This stuff makes amazing roast beef sandwiches or cheese steak sandwiches. 

[FTC Standard Disclaimer] Char-Broil is one of my sponsors and I receive compensation for this post.

Fire Roasted Grilla Meatloaf

One of my favorite things to fire roast is meatloaf.  It is one of the ultimate comfort foods to me.  Meatloaf with sides of mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and some greens is better at putting you to sleep than Ambien.  The best meatloaf is making a leftover meatloaf sandwich at 2 or 3 in the morning (speaking of Ambien).  

I like all kinds of meatloaf.  Ones that blend pork, veal, beef, and/or sausage together are tasty but so are ones made just from ground beef.  I like ones with brown gravy as much as I do ones with a sweet tangy tomato based glaze.  I like meatloaf with big coarse chunks of sauteed veggies and ones that have everything so ground up it's basically just sausage.  I enjoy meatloaf that is stuffed with boiled eggs.  I guess what I am saying is:

I will eat meatloaf on a boat,

I will eat meatloaf with a goat.

I will eat meatloaf made with lamb,

I like meatloaf, Sam I Am. 

We made this recipe specifically to go into another recipe.  Well, we weren't very successful in using it in that other recipe, mainly because the two of us ate the entire thing when it was done.  It started off with "just a taste" and you know how that goes.  It's pretty basic but oh so good.

I don't like to cook meatloaf in bread pans because it just sits in it's own rendered grease.  They have special wire rack loaf pans that will act as a bread pan but let the grease get away from the meat.  Personally, I just free form mixture in the shape of a loaf and that's it.

For the BBQ sauce, you want something bold, sweet, and thick.  For these two batches, I used Albukirky's Duke City Sweet from my friend, Kirk. Another good one to use is Grilla's Thick and Bold BBQ Sauce which is the sauce that won us 2nd Place at the Memphis In May World Championship BBQ Cooking Contest.  

Fire Roasted Grilla Meatloaf

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1/2 medium sweet onion 
• 1 jalapeno chile, seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon roasted garlic or chopped garlic
• 2 pounds ground chuck
• 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup BBQ Sauce
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 teaspoon season salt  
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
• 1/4 tsp celery seed

For The Glaze

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup BBQ Sauce
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar

Instructions

1. Saute the bell pepper, jalapeno, onion, and chopped garlic in butter until the veggies are tender, about 8 minutes.  (Skip the garlic if you are using roasted garlic, it's already cooked).
2. Mix together the ground chuck, red bell pepper, chopped or roasted garlic, and panko bread crumbs.  
3. Whisk together the eggs, BBQ sauce, black pepper, season salt, kosher salt, granulated garlic, and celery seed.  Fold this mixture into the ground chuck mixture until well combined.
4. Form the meat loaf mixture into the shape of a loaf and refrigerate it for one hour.
5. Set up your grill to indirect heat and preheat to 350°f. For a pellet cooker, just turn it on and set to 350°f.   For a kamado style grill like Big Green Egg, Grill Dome, or the Kong, this would be using a heat deflector or plate setter.  For a gas grill, this will be turning on some burners but leaving 1-2 of them off and your food will go over the areas where the burner(s) are off.  For a kettle grill, just bank the coals to the sides, put a drip pan next to the coals and the food will go on the grate above the drip pan.  
6. Put your meatloaf on the grill, close the lid and let it cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 125°f.  
7. While the meatloaf is cooking, whisk together the ketchup, BBQ sauce, and dark brown sugar until well combined in a small bowl.
8. Brush the glaze over the meatloaf to coat the top and sides.  Put the loaf back on the grill with the lid closed and cook it until it reaches an internal temperature of 160°f, about another 30-45 minutes.
9. Remove the meatloaf from the grill and let rest 5 minutes before slicing to serve.

We used 3 grills making this.  I could have done it all on one but I like to keep in practice on using all types of grills.  Yes kamados are my go to grill but like they say in business - if the only tool in your tool belt is a hammer, you'll treat all of your opportunities like a nail.  

I roasted a batch of garlic on the Mini-Max.  About once a month we'll buy a bunch of heads of garlic and roast them just to have on hand.  Substitute roasted garlic for any recipe that calls for regular garlic and you'll get a richer garlic flavor and no bitter edge. 

Slice off the tops, drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper.  Roast indirect at 350-400° until tender and lightly browned - 60 to 90 minutes.  Then carefully (zey hot!) squeeze out the pulp and discard the rest.  We keep ours on refrigeration for about a week and use it in everything until its gone (< - - - Vampires hate him).  

I sauteed the veggies on the side burner from my Char-Broil Professional.

I mentioned in my Memphis in May post that I had used a pellet cooker and hell didn't feeze over.  In fact, Alexis and I both really liked the Grilla pellet cooker because it was so easy to use and did a bang up job cooking. We were on the Grilla Grills pro team and it was one of the cookers that we had available for use. Fast forward a few weeks and Grilla gave me one of my very own.  I have a review post coming up but suffice it to say I love this thing so far.

The Grilla pellet grill is a head turner, isn't it?  Pellet cookers like this are heated by burning small pellets of wood and they control temp by adding more or less pellets using an auger.

Since I don't use bread pans, the grease is going to have to go somewhere.  I use a resting rack over a foiled quarter sheet pan to catch the grease.  

Did you notice that the grill lid opens sideways?  That makes it easy to check on your food without letting all of your heat escape.  Typically I open it just a crack to see, I opened it more here for the picture.

Ready to sauce.  This is one of my favorite basting brushes. Normally those sets of grilling tools are pretty much crap.  But my brother bought me a set a few years ago from Williams Sonoma and it still rocks (Thanks Jeff!).  Other than a burn on the handle of the tongs, they still look great and function perfectly.  I like the length of the brush and the angled tip makes it easy to baste right on the grill.

Usually I never sauce anything until the last 10 minutes of cooking but for meatloaf I make an exception, I like it to really cook on there.  It's up to you, if you like it still gooey, then wait until your meatloaf reaches an internal temperature of 145°f to sauce it.

Finished! 

So what was that recipe that was going to use meatloaf as an ingredient?  It's a fire roasted meatloaf casserole that was killer.  I'll post that shortly.

*I am not a medical authority and I've never taken Ambien, this was creative license.

[Standard FTC Disclaimer] I received a Grilla pellet grill from Grilla Grills for helping out on their Memphis In May dream team....I was the nightmare part, lol.  I am not contracted with them nor do I receive any compensation from them.