2009 August 22 | dinner with Julie

Archive for August 22nd, 2009

Maple-Bourbon Chicken Wings & Dadburger Deluxe

I’m going to take a stab at posting nightly again for awhile, even when it’s late and I’m tired. Lack of time and energy isn’t always a good excuse not to do stuff.

Had a barbecue late this afternoon, with neighbours and friends that brought 4 boys between them.
W was in big-boy heaven. Our chef neighbour smoked some chicken wings – after an afternoon in the smoker, he doused them with a cup of Jack Daniels and a half cup of maple syrup, with a few drops of Tabasco. We ate a few just like that, but then I threw them on a hot grill, just to crisp them up a bit. I probably don’t have to tell you how fantastic they were.

I used a yard full of boys as an excuse to make burgers. Since I rarely do this, I consulted my friend Ron, Canada’s Barbecue Champion and self-proclaimed barbecue evangelist. This is his recipe, the one he makes for his teenagers. It fit the bill quite well, and likely would have been cooked perfectly had W not peeled the tip off his toe riding his new go-cart barefoot down the front sidewalk.

The biggest thing to remember, I think, when making a burger from scratch is to not overhandle the meat, which can make it tough. (I think the very best burgers I ever made were thrown together in a hurry, and were no more than barely thawed ground beef, hardly formed into patties.) Make them a little concave in the middle if you like, to prevent them from ending up baseball-shaped.

(Whitecap let me use their photo – thanks! Our ketchup and mustard weren’t so eloquently placed…)

Classic Dadburger Deluxe

from Barbecue Secrets by Rockin’ Ronnie Shewchuk (Whitecap)

Burger patties:
6 lb (2.7 kg) ground beef (or combine equal amounts ground beef and ground pork)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 head roasted garlic, cloves squeezed out and mashed with a fork
1 Tbsp. sesame oil (preferably the kind that says “toasted” on the label)
2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce or a combination
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cayenne (optional – or more, if you like more heat)
lots of freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs
1/2 cup cold water

Fixin’s:
barbecue sauce
12–16 cheese slices (optional)
12–16 hamburger buns

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.

Gently combine the burger ingredients in a large bowl with your hands, taking care not to overwork the meat. 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 baking sheet. Each patty will be about 1/2 lb before cooking. Place them in the freezer for 1 hour to firm them up.

Preheat your grill for medium direct heat. Take the burgers out of the freezer and grill them 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.

Makes 12–16 patties, depending on how big you like them.