Sous Vide Curd Burger Weekend!

This weekend, my pal Chef Haberer was able to make some sous vide cheese curd stuffed burgers, and for the first time around, they were fantastic.

He used 100% ground beef short rib, then blended in cheese curds into the mix.  He lightly seasoned them, then sous vide for about 2 hours at 134°F.  After the pouch, he seared them in a cast iron pan on an induction burner reaching about 520°F with a shallow pool of avocado oil.

The photo makes the insides LOOK very rare, but due to this process, it was actually a perfect medium/medium rare all the way throughout.  That is the beauty of sous vide.

 

Bacon Bleu Cheeseburger Crusted Filet – Need I Say More?

I would like to state right here and now, that I am the originator of the ‘Burger Crusted Steak’.  I used the same burger meat I created yesterday, and packed it around a beef filet, then made magic happen.  This is how you do it…(dun da dun da dun dunnnnnnn):

First you make your bacon bleu burger mix:

• 2 pounds of 90/10 ground chuck (90% lean)
• 1-1/2 pounds raw applewood smoked bacon (pureed in food processor into a paste)
• 8 ounces gorgonzola cheese
• 1 Tbsp. black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 2 Tbsp. granulated garlic

Take a 6 ounce beef filet and flatten it to about 1/2 inch thickness, then season with salt.  Take your ground meat mixture, and liberally pack it around the steak:

On a grill set to super high, grill for about 5 minutes on each side, turning 90° half way through:

Place the burger-steak-beast on a small sheet tray, and bake in a 375°F oven for about 6 more minutes to have a nice medium-rare center (you can adjust your cooking time here to your preferred doneness).  Remove from oven and let sit for at least 5 minutes before cutting into this bad boy and having a party in your mouth!

If  winning was a Bacon Bleu Cheeseburger Crusted Filet…this would be it.  Hopeful this starts a new trend with all the hipster-foodies out there, and I get the occasional shout-out.  \\..//

Bacon Puree – The new ‘pink slime’ turned into a slider

Bacon.

It is my favorite food group.  In a previous post I used bacon puree to make bacon chips.  I have taken bacon slime to new heights with what I like to call a ‘3B slider’.  I wanted to make the ultimate bacon slider using fresh blended bacon puree seen below. This is 100% real applewood smoked bacon pureed in a food processor.

For the burger patty, I blended together:

 

• 2 pounds of 90/10 ground chuck (90% lean)
• 1-1/2 pounds of bacon puree
• 8 ounces of Gorgonzola crumbles
• 1 Tbsp. black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 2 Tbsp. granulated garlic

This mixture will be a lot looser than your average ground beef so I think it works best as a slider.  I formed these bad boys into small patties, then cooked them on a SUPER hot grill for about 1 minute and 30 seconds a side.  I assembled them on small dinner rolls with buffalo aioli, 2 hour caramelized onions, green leaf lettuce, and garlic pickle slices:

Juicy and flavorful doesn’t even begin to describe these little nuggets of joy.  I also recommend cooking them to about medium well (yeah thats right!) to have a super nice crust to the patty.  You have a combo of salty and creamy from the bacon-gorgonzola patty, sweetness from the onions, and heat from the buffalo aioli.  You can thank me later.

Let me know what you use bacon puree in!