Mushroom Swiss Burgers on the Grill

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We've been chowing down on mushroom Swiss burgers in the past few weeks. Not that you need a recipe for mushroom Swiss burgers, but I have a basic recipe that I follow for the mushroom topping, and it's easy to prepare one of three ways; sauteed, saucy, or creamy.

I add chopped bacon to my mushroom topping to add a smoky, salty element.

Fun Fungi Facts

Here are some fun facts about mushrooms from Harold McGee's epic On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. [Affiliate Link]

• Mushrooms are natural flavor enhancers. They naturally contain monosodium glutamate, and many also contain guanosine monophosphate. 
• Mushrooms don't have cellulose like plants. Instead, their cell walls are made of chitin which is the same thing as the exoskeletons of crustaceans. 
• Mushrooms produce octenol (an 8-carbon alcohol) and there is more in the gills. Therefore, mature mushrooms that have opened have more gills and more flavor while unopened mushrooms like button mushrooms have less flavor.

Product Review - Char-Broil Cruise Grill with Cruise Control Technology (MSRP $699)

[FTC Standard Disclosure] I received a Char-Broil Cruise at no cost for review purposes. All opinions are my own. I receive no compensation for this post, nor do I have any other financial arrangements with Char-Broil or their affiliates.

Product Review – Char-Broil Cruise Grill (MSRP $699)

Earlier this year, Char-Broil introduced their newest, game-changing grill – The Char-Broil Cruise. I was lucky enough to receive a Cruise unit from Char-Broil and have put this new grill through real-life cooking for the past few weeks. Here are my thoughts and experience with this new grill.

Tame The Flame, Change The Game

So what makes this grill a game-changer? Until now, gas grill heat controls have been knobs that control the gas flow at a set rate of consumption. If I set my old gas grill on “medium”, the grill will let the gas flow at that designated rate. That rate of flow doesn’t change regardless of the actual cooking temperature it achieves or factors like ambient temperature or wind.

The Char-Broil Cruise changes this by cooking at a specific set temperature. If I set the grill for 500°f, the Cruise will assess the grill temperature and if it is anything but 500°f, the grill will adjust the gas flow to achieve 500°f and maintain that temperature. No more guessing or adjusting.

The Char-Broil Cruise automatically adjusts gas flow to maintain a specific cooking temperature.

Let’s look at the features that I like and the experience I had while cooking some of the typical backyard basics.

Features

Digital Temperature Control and Auto-Calibration

The ability to set a precise cooking temperature and know that the grill will maintain it gives a cook confidence. This is true from beginning backyard chefs to seasoned pros like me. The Cruise has a thermometer mounted inside the cooking chamber that provides feedback to a processor. The processor controls the two-burner tubes to maintain the set temperature.

The controls are straightforward. The dial controls the temperature setting in 5°f increments.

Exploding Kamados, Propane Tank Exchanges, and BTU's...Oh My

Spring is officially here.  That means plants are blooming, birds are singing, and all the animals are out establishing their homes.   Us humans?  We are planting, fertilizing, and watering to grow grass that we will turn around and cut down because it grows.  That and we head to hardware stores, patio & pool places, and other grill dealers to refurbish or buy new grills.

Exploding Kamados

I picked up a new kamado grill to use for the photo shoot of the book cover.  It's a Vision Grill's kamado that we bought at a warehouse club.

The Vision Grill is available at a bargain price loaded with a ton of extra features, about half the price of some similarly featured kamados.  My neighbor and fellow Egghead, John, is putting the Vision through testing and I'll have a full review post in the next few weeks.  It looks promising.