Have your grilled burgers lost the thrill? There are many ways to get that extra kick for burger night. Many have made Juicy Lucys (cheese stuffed inside the burger) and of course there was an Internet sensation about a year ago with beer can burgers (will blog about this in another post).
Since some of the kids and grandsons were coming to visit on a Sunday afternoon, I was looking for a simple way to improve my burgers. I had read about combining pork and beef, so I bought 2# of ground chuck (80/20) along with 2# of ground pork and mixed these together. I was careful to break up all the clumps of beef and pork, kneading it until it was thoroughly mixed. A local butcher may be able to grind these together, which might be even better.
I then shaped them into 5-6 ounce patties and seasoned on both sides with Cluck and Squeal’s Beef Specific. Tip: Make a large dimple in the middle of the patty to allow for contraction of the meat while cooking. This will help produce a flatter patty instead of it trying to form a ball.
I got my BGE to 400* dome temp and inverted my Grill Grates (Amazon-Grill Grates for large BGE) so the flat side was up, creating a griddle-like surface. The burgers were cooked for 4 minutes on one side, then flipped. After about 3-4 more minutes, they were 150-160* internal. I added some slices of cheddar cheese and removed them when the cheese was melted.
There was not a lot of excess fat generated from the chuck/pork combination and the griddle gave them a great ‘crust’. (I also grilled a few all-beef dogs for the kiddos).
The burgers were juicy and very flavorful; I was surprised I could not taste the pork at all.
No carb for us – “dressed” and served with oven-roasted rutabaga fries.
Enjoy,
Misippi Egger
(Clark Ethridge)
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Makes 6 burgers
Ingredients:
1 lb ground chuck (80/20 or better)
1 lb ground pork
Beef rub of choice
Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions:
(1) In a large bowl, mix the beef and pork, taking time to break up any clumps and making sure it is mixed together thoroughly.
(2) Make 6 patties, pressing down in the middle to create a dimple. Season with beef rub, salt and pepper, or seasonings of choice.
(3) Grill over a 400-450* fire, flipping after about 4 minutes. After another 4 minutes, check internal temp. When they reach 150-160* add any cheese. Remove when cheese melts or about 165* internal temp.