It is again starting to become my indoor time of the year- it was darn chilly out there today! BRRRR When the air starts to get chilly like this- I head for my kitchen. There is no outdoor activity that could convince this girl out into the cold, snow, and ice!
Sometime during this busy last week at work, across my Facebook feed came an idea so outrageous that I immediately laughed it off and headed to the next item. But, as often happens, my mind kept popping back to that feed and I knew that I was going to have to make it in order to stop obsessing over it.
What idea do you ask?
And yes, I imagine your first thoughts about that were the same as mine- uggh. In general I am not much of a fried fan. Too many places do it all wrong- and the outcome looks (and tastes) like a greasy lump of congealed.. well, stuff. But if you can get the techniques right- fried foods can be light and airy, with a taste that only superheated oil can give.
So here I went-
I pulled a conglomeration of ingredients out of the fridge- choosing mainly based on what I like to have on my burgers.
Looking through my own bun recipes, I decided on one that made a light pizza type crust. Into the bowl the ingredients went- and then directly into the hour long rise.
After adding seasoning to the ground round, I made smoke packets and started the grill heating to a sizzling temperature. I started the fresh oil warming in the fryer and set the temp at its highest- 374 degrees.
After rolling the dough out into balls, I put the burgers on the grill with the smoke packet, and came back inside to spread the dough out very thinly.
I layered all of those ingredients onto the dough circles- stopping to turn the burgers just once. Pickles, then the provolone cheese and signature bacon.
Next came the crumbled bleu cheese and stone ground mustard.
The burgers came off the grill with good sear and great smoke smell- onto the toppings they went. I wrapped the dough around each burger and make a big ball of what was planned to become ooey gooey goodness.
Now to give the at-temp deep fryer it's turn.
OKAY!
We added some A1 sauce, and a little mayo, and inhaled these.
Pleasantly surprising was that the crust was light and fluffy, all golden brown and holding all of the toppings in place. No sliding of the toppings off the burger- each bite was crammed full! It was amazingly good- and the three taste testers I rounded up all gave them a two thumbs up.
Now, I am never happy the first (or sometimes, tenth) time, and I know that I can bump it up just a bit more- so next time...
I will grind my own steak so that I can safely keep the burgers at a medium rare, Because this was a commercially ground product, I had to cook the burgers to well. BUT, if these were this good at well done... OMG, how amazing will they be at med rare?
I will be tweaking the dough recipe just a bit, I would like to see a little more flavor in the crust.
And in my next ones- I want to add some fresh chopped tomato when I cut them open. Plus some fresh mushrooms, and more steak sauce... oh the list goes on and on.
So go on out there and try your hand at these babies- your tasters will love you!
More to come in the future. I have been smoking up a storm and have some exciting recipes to share.. plus a new way to challenge my cooking skills!
As always,
Live peacefully, Cook fearlessly!
Chris
