Tomorrow I'm on Vancouver's Bill Good Show talking about burgers and taking listener calls. Here's one of my favorite burger recipes from Barbecue Secrets, along with a few suggestions for unusual burger toppings.

Classic Dadburger Deluxe
 
Makes 12 to 16 patties, depending on how big you like them
 
This recipe will feed a crowd, or four teenagers. You can easily halve this recipe. If your kids are like mine and don’t like bits of onion and garlic in their burgers, substitute 1 tsp/5 mL each of granulated onion and granulated garlic for the fresh variety.
 
For the burger mix:
6 lb | 2.7 kg medium ground beef
(or half-and-half ground beef and ground pork)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 head roasted garlic, cloves squeezed out and mashed with a fork
1 Tbsp | 15 mL toasted sesame oil
2 Tbsp | 25 mL dark soy sauce or
Worcestershire sauce or a combination
1/2 tsp | 2 mL freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp | 1 mL cayenne
(or more, if you like more heat)
lots of freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs
1/2 cup | 125 mL cold water
 
To finish the burgers:
barbecue sauce
12 to 16 cheese slices (optional)
12 to 16 hamburger buns
 
Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Mix the burger ingredients together with your hands in a large nonreactive bowl. Wet your hands in cold water before you form the mixture into chunks the size of tennis balls. Flatten them into patties, placing them on the cookie sheet. Each patty will be about 1/2 lb. | 250 g before cooking. Place them in the freezer for an hour to firm them up.
 
Preheat your grill for medium direct heat. Grill the burgers for 6 minutes per side, or until they are springy to the touch, glazing them on both sides with barbecue sauce. Top each patty with a slice of cheese for the last couple of minutes of cooking. Serve the burgers on buns with your favorite condiments.
 

A Library of Burger Toppings

We’re all so used to iceberg lettuce, ketchup, mayo, ballpark mustard, green relish, and sliced onion and tomato on our burgers that we hardly notice them any more. Try these unusual burger toppings for a change and experiment with your own combinations.
 
 

Grilled Stuffed Pork Loin Chops

I always say I like to keep it simple but sometimes a little fussing goes a long way in making a grilled meal special. I created this recipe using pork chops, but you could easily substitute a bone-in rib steak or veal chop. I love the strong Italian flavours of this dish. Serve it as a secondo after a little bowl of Fettuccini Alfredo or Linguine with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce and finish the meal with a tossed green salad.

4 pork loin centre cut chops, bone in, at least 1 ½ inches|4 cm thick

For the stuffing:
4 large artichoke hearts in olive oil, coarsely chopped (the roasted kind are best if you can get them)
½ lb|250 g full-fat mozzarella cheese, cut into ½ inch|1 cm cubes
3 Tbsp|45 mL grated Parmesan cheese
1 large red bell pepper, roasted, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp|30 mL chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
½ cup|250 g black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
1 tsp|5 mL finely grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp|15 mL extra virgin olive oil
splash of balsamic reduction or regular balsamic vinegar
1 head roasted garlic

For the rub:
1 Tbsp|15 mL dried basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
granulated onion
cayenne pepper
extra virgin olive oil

To finish:
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic reduction or balsamic vinegar
1 small bunch fresh basil, stems removed

Combine the artichokes, cheeses, bell pepper, parsley, olives, lemon zest, olive oil and balsamic in a mixing bowl. Squeeze out the roasted garlic into the mixture and stir it in. 

Cut pockets in the pork chops with a sharp paring knife by making a thumb-sized cut in the side of the chops opposite the bone. With the knife touching the bone, expand the size of the pocket without increasing the size of the entry hole, making sure not to cut through to the outside of the chop. Divide the stuffing mixture into four equal portions and stuff it into the chops. If you’re worried the stuffing is going to come out, you can use a sharp toothpick to sort of sew the opening up.

Season the chops with sprinklings of salt, pepper, dried basil and a light dusting of cayenne. Drizzle a little olive oil just to make the chops shiny and set aside.

Prepare your grill for direct medium heat. Grill the chops for 6 to 8 minutes per side or until the internal temperature at the thickest part of the chop reaches 140˚F/60˚C. Remove from the grill and let rest, tented in foil, for five minutes.

While the chops are resting, gather the basil leaves into a tight ball and finely chop them into thin strips with a sharp knife. To serve, place the chops on plates, drizzle with a little oil and balsamic and garnish with a sprinkling of the shredded basil.

I got a nice note today from Jürgen Keil, Planking Secrets fan from Germany. As you can see in the photos above, Jürgen has been planking up a storm.

His recent planking projects include one of my more challenging recipes, Real Barbecued Pork on a Plank, which turns pork hocks into Southern-style barbecue. He used a beechwood plank and it looks like it turned out pretty darned good -- good enough for a barbecue sandwich, German-style!

Below the pork hock shots he's got cedar-planked pork tenderloin, scallops and lamb. Yum!

You'll also notice a shot of Jürgen visiting an eel-smoking hut in Northern Germany called Aalkate. Man, them eels look like mighty good eatin'! 

Thanks for sharing the photos, Jürgen, and happy cooking!

Here's a series of recipes that consitute a superb Jamaican-style summer meal.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken Thighs

I had the pleasure of visiting the north coast of Jamaica in 2007 and got to taste some fantastic cooking in Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, including the spicy, smoky jerk chicken that’s as close to the taste of the original barbacoa as you can get. Jerk Centres are everywhere, and each one has its own distinctive style. The common flavours are extreme chili heat and intense smoke – the heat derived from the infamously fiery habanero or scotch bonnet chili and the smoke coming from pimento wood, which has a sharp, mesquite-like aroma. The pimento tree berry is known outside of Jamaica as allspice, which is another of the key flavours of any jerk seasoning.

I’m using skinless chicken thighs here because the slow cooking technique tends to make chicken skin rubbery. If you leave the skin on, finish the dish by crisping the skin side of the chicken pieces over medium direct heat.

Note: The habaneros make this quite hot. If you want a milder jerk, substitute jalapenos or serranos. In any case, wear vinyl gloves when you’re handling them and watch not to get any in your eyes!

For the marinade:
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups green onion, trimmed and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp|22.5 mL fresh thyme leaves or 1 tsp dried
1 or 2 habanero chilis, chopped
2 tsp|10 mL whole Jamaican allspice, lightly toasted in a dry frying pan and then finely ground (or pre-ground allspice if you don’t want to fuss)
1/2 tsp|2 mL ground cinnamon
1 tsp|5 mL freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp|5 mL freshly grated nutmeg
2 tsp|10 mL sugar
1 tsp|5 mL kosher salt
3 Tbsp|45 mL neutral flavored cooking oil like canola or corn oil
2 Tbsp|30 mL cider vinegar
1 tsp|5 mL of browning (liquid caramel – if you don’t have any, use 1 Tbsp|15 mL dark soy sauce or liquid gravy seasoning like Kitchen Bouquet or Bovril
a splash of Appleton Estate dark rum

4 lb|1.8 kg skinless chicken thighs (or one chicken cut into parts)

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend thoroughly. Reserve about 1/3 of the mixture and set aside.

Put the chicken in a lasagna pan or large baking dish and pour one cup|250 mL of the marinade over the chicken. Move the chicken pieces around so they are covered completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 or 4 hours or overnight, turning once or twice to make sure the pieces stay coated evenly.

Prepare your smoker for barbecuing, bringing the temperature to 200–220˚F/95–100˚C. Just before you’re ready to put the chicken on, toss one chunk of mesquite (or pimento wood if you can get it) on the coals. Place the chicken pieces on the cooking grate and smoke for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, basting regularly with the remaining marinade, until the temperature at the thickest part of the biggest piece reads 160˚F|71˚C. (At this point, if you’re using chicken with skin on, you can crisp it up on a medium grill.) Remove from the cooker and let rest, lightly tented in foil, for five minutes. Serve with Coconut Beans and Rice and Jamaican Cole Slaw (see recipes below).

Alternative grilling method: If you want to cook the chicken on a gas or charcoal grill, prepare the grill for indirect low-medium heat (about 250˚F|120˚C) and cook as above, using mesquite as a flavoring agent if you like. At the end of the cooking time, raise the temperature of the grill to medium and crisp up the chicken pieces for a few minutes over direct heat.

Jamaican-style Dry Jerk Seasoning

Classic jerk is made with a wet marinade and takes time to prep and more time to marinate your meat. This rub gives chicken, pork or snapper – or whatever else you’re grilling – a classic Jamaican flavor without any fuss.

2 Tbsp|30 mL granulated onion
2 Tbsp|30 mL dried onion flakes (get flakes that aren’t too big)
1 Tbsp|15 mL ground dried thyme
1 Tbsp|15 mL kosher salt
2 tsp|10 mL ground allspice
1/2 tsp|5 mL freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp|5 mL ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp|15 mL sugar
2 tsp|10 mL freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp|10 mL cayenne or chipotle powder
1 1/2 Tbsp|22.5 mL dried chives

Note: Double or quadruple this recipe so you have some on hand. It’s super easy to make a great jerk marinade simply by whizzing 1/2 cup|125 mL of this rub in a food processor with a splash of cooking oil, a chopped habanero, a chopped onion and some chopped scallions.

Jamaican Cole Slaw

This recipe, adapted slightly from the excellent Jerk From Jamaica cookbook by Helen Willinsky (I’ve added raisins), is a superb side. If you want to serve it with something other than jerk, substitute your favorite rub for the Dry Jerk Seasoning.

4 cups|1 L shredded purple cabbage
3/4 cup|185 mL grated carrots
1/4 lb|125 g golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped toasted nuts (pecans, walnuts, pistachios almonds or anything else you like)
1/2 cup|125 mL mayonnaise
1 Tbsp|15 mL cider vinegar
1 Tbsp|15 mL Jamaican-Style Dry Jerk Seasoning

Combine all the ingredients in a salad bowl and toss. Cover and chill for at least an hour and toss again just before serving.

Jamaican Rice and Beans

In Jamaica this dish is a staple. Jamaicans call it rice and peas, but it often features red kidney beans so I’ve renamed it to avoid confusion. The creamy, sweet richness of the coconut milk helps make this dish a perfect complement to jerk chicken or any spicy grilled meat.

2 14-oz/398-mL cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 14-oz/398-mL can coconut milk
2 thick slices double-smoked bacon, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 habanero chile (whole – do not chop)
2 cups|500 mL long grain white rice
2 cups boiling water
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a frying pan, sauté the chopped bacon until it’s starting to brown but is not yet crispy. Drain off the excess fat and set the bacon aside.

In a large saucepan combine the beans, coconut milk, bacon, green onion, thyme and the habanero. Cook over medium-high heat just until the mixture comes to a simmer. Add the hot water and stir in the rice. Cover tightly, reduce the heat to low and cook without disturbing for about 25 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender. Fluff before serving and don’t forget to remove the habanero so it doesn’t surprise anyone!

This blog/podcast was practically inactive for over a year, and yet since I posted a new podcast yesterday over 150 people [EDIT: nearly 500 as of August 19th!] have downloaded it. I want to thank everyone out there for your patience. Thanks for sticking with me! I'll try to keep posting here fairly often and maybe I'll even put together a podcast or two in the coming months!

One other thing. Is anyone other than McCharles following this blog? Take a few seconds and post a comment if you're reading this!

Ronnie

I recently had the pleasure of being part of a barbecue panel on Terry David Mulligan's new radio show, The Tasting Room, along with my fellow barbecue competitors Adam Protter (www.bigsmoke.ca) and Justin Kyllo (www.smokeandbones.ca). I've turned our segment into an episode of the Barbecue Secrets podcast.

The Butt Shredders had a great time over the weekend at the Canadian National BBQ Championships. About 25 teams showed, despite a rock slide that turned a 2-hour drive into an 8-hour detour, but it was more than worth the trip. The highlight: we won the Budweiser King of the Grill contest (which is basically a chef's choice/unlimited category) with wild B.C. sockeye salmon with a Jack Daniel's and maple syrup glaze.  We also did well in chicken (2nd place thanks to the great work of Vince Gogolek) and butt (4th place, which is okay considering we had a smoker catasrophe at four in the morning when a lawn sprinkler went off and soaked our cookers while everyone was asleep).

Check out a few photos at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=140011&l=7088e&id=838345116

Caraway Crusted Planked Monkfish with Tomato and Green Onion Sauce

Serves 4

Monkfish is often referred to as the poor man’s lobster because it has very firm, rich, flavourful white flesh. The fillet looks kind of like a pork tenderloin, and it cooks up very nicely on a plank. The tomato and green onion sauce nicely offsets the strong flavor of the caraway-crusted fish.

For the fish:
1 lb|500 g skinless monkfish fillet
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp|30 mL extra virgin olive oil
1 large clove garlic, finely minced
finely grated zest of ½ lemon
1 1/2 Tbsp| 22.5 mL caraway seeds
pinch cayenne
granulated onion

For the sauce:
¼ cup|60 mL mayonnaise
1 ripe fresh tomato, chopped into a ¼ inch|6 mm dice
3 stalks fresh green onion, finely chopped, 1 Tbsp|15 mL reserved for garnish
1 Tbsp|15 mL finely chopped parsley
1 small clove garlic, finely minced
pinch cayenne
1 Tbsp|15 mL fresh lemon juice
kosher salt

Lightly toast the caraway seeds in a dry frying pan, transfer to a plate to cool, and set aside.

Season the fillet with salt and pepper. Combine the olive oil, minced garlic and lemon zest and coat the fillet with the mixture. Sprinkle all but ½ Tbsp|7.5 mL of the caraway seeds evenly over the fillet. Let sit for 15 minutes.

To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Set aside.

Preheat the grill on medium-high for 5 or 10 minutes or until the chamber temperature rises above 500°F | 260°C. Rinse the plank and place it on the cooking grate. Cover the grill and heat the plank for 4 or 5 minutes, or until it starts to throw off a bit of smoke and crackles lightly. Reduce the heat to medium.

Place the fish on the plank and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, turning half way through the cooking time, until the fish is springy to the touch or has an internal temperature of 135°F | 57°C.

Cut the fish into medallions and serve with a dollop of the sauce, a sprinkling of salt and pepper and a tiny drizzle of olive oil. Garnish with the reserved seeds and green onions.

This is my attempt to emulate the delicious salmon burger on famed B.C. restaurant chain White Spot's menu. If you cook it, let me know how you like it!

Salmon burger, White Spot Style

Serves 4

White Spot restaurants are a fixture in British Columbia known for their excellent old-fashioned hamburgers. In recent years they’ve gone a bit upscale, adding more gourmet fare to their classic dishes, including a phenomenal salmon burger. Executive chef Chuck Curry likes to play his recipes close to the chest so I’ve had to recreate this dish based on my experience of eating it, but this comes pretty close to the real thing. If you don’t have the time or inclination to make the homemade aioli, substitute with regular commercial mayo doctored with finely chopped fresh basil and a squeeze of lemon juice.

For the burgers:
4 8-oz.|250 g boneless, skinless wild B.C. salmon fillets (farmed salmon will do, but it’s just not as good)
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
1 large, fresh, perfectly ripe beefsteak tomato
1 red onion
green leaf lettuce
4 large sesame burger buns
butter

For the basil aioli:
2 large egg yolks
2 Tbsp|25 mL lemon juice
11/4 cups|300 mL extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup|50 mL tightly packed fresh basil leaves
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the egg yolks and lemon juice; process for 5 seconds. With the machine running, drizzle the olive oil through the feed tube in a slow steady stream, processing until combined. Coursely chop the basil and add to the mixture. Whiz it again until the basil is incorporated into the aioli. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. It will keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Cut the tomato into four equal slices and peel and thinly slice enough onion to suit your taste. Butter the buns and set aside.

Prepare the grill for medium direct heat. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper and drizzle them with a little olive oil. Make sure the cooking grate is scrubbed clean. In this case you may want to coat the cooking grate with a little oil just before you put the salmon on. Place the salmon on the grill, cover and cook for about 3 or 4 minutes per side or until the core temperature of the fillet reaches 130˚F|55˚C.

Take the salmon off the grill and loosely tent with foil. While the salmon is resting, place the buns, buttered side down, on the cooking grate, cover and toast the buns for maybe half a minute, taking care not to burn them.

Slather both sides of each toasted bun with the aioli. Place the salmon filets in the buns and top with onion, tomato and lettuce. Serve with a cold beer or glass of crisp, fruity white wine.

Here's another great, summery salsa.

Peach and Blackberry Salsa

Serves 4

This salsa, invented by my wife, Kate, is something you should try only when these fruits are at their peak, which on the west coast of Canada is in August but should be around now in many parts of the continent. Paired with planked chicken, it’s a mind-blower.

4 peaches, peeled and diced, not too small
1 cup|250 mL fresh blackberries,
washed and picked over
1/4 cup|50 mL red onion, diced
1/2 fresh green jalapeño or other hot pepper,
seeded and minced
juice of 2 limes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a bowl, combine all the ingredients. Let the salsa stand, covered, in the fridge for about an hour.