Browsing Tag: perfectburger

    burger-3
    Miscellany

    Jalapeno BBQ Burger

    August 16, 2012

    Made my latest burger creation on Tuesday night. This one was really good. It’s a Jalapeno BBQ Burger on a fresh kaiser roll.

    burger-3

    I used a fajita spice rub on the meat to go along with the little jalapeno slices on top. Put a light coating of my favorite spicy mustard (from Country Mercantile) on the roll. Two slices of American cheese, a big slice of tomato, and some BBQ sauce on the burger itself and on the bun and … VOILA!

    That was one awesome burger.

    But I’m still searching for the perfect home burger, and next plan is to go back to that first version with the ranch dressing and try to improve it.

    burger-2
    Miscellany

    Cooking Mistakes

    August 3, 2012

    The search continues for the perfect, home-cooked burger, but tonight I went in the wrong direction.

    This one looks good, but it was one big cooking mistake after another.

    burger-2

    Problems:

    • Cooked the burger too long and it was dry.
    • I put enough spice rub on it to cover an entire cow. I can still taste the spice in my mouth six hours later.
    • In addition to the spice rub, there was BBQ sauce, bacon-flavored mustard and that awesome ranch dressing all mixed in. WAYYYYY too much going on.
    • Didn’t fry the buns long enough, either. And put too much spice on them, too.

    Lesson learned. Restraint is a Good Thing when it comes to adding flavors.

    hamburger
    Tri-Cities, WA

    Searching for the Perfect Hamburger

    July 19, 2012

    My friend Ryan is on the hunt for the best burger in the Tri-Cities, and one of these days I’m gonna go out and join him around town.

    In the meantime, I’ve been searching for the perfect burger that I can make at home.

    I haven’t found it yet, but I’m getting close. What I have found, though, is the perfect burger topping:

    Walla Walla Sweet Onion & Creamy Ranch Salad Dressing

    Here’s what it looks like on a pineapple-topped burger that I recently made.

    hamburger

    That was a great burger, but not quite perfect. The ranch dressing and pineapple kinda collided with each other a bit too much.

    But I’ve been testing the dressing on a few other burgers with different toppings and ingredients, and it makes everything taste better.

    You can buy it locally at Country Mercantile north of Pasco, a store that’s been around forever but one that I never visited until a couple months ago. It’s quickly become a must-visit, even though it’s a good half-hour drive from home. They have the best salsa I’ve ever tasted (one of about eight amazing salsas they have, actually) and all kinds of great spices and seasonings. The steak and chicken I’ve cooked and grilled this summer is a lot better thanks to stuff we bought at Country Mercantile.

    Anyway, this ranch dressing is also available online for those of you who live out of town. Can’t recommend it highly enough as a burger topping, and it’s also terrific on top of salads.

    CM-Walla-Creamy-Ranch

    I just shipped a bottle of it to my mom and dad back in Pennsylvania and I’m waiting to hear what they think of it.