50/50 Burgers: A Love Story

I've recently made a few posts on my Facebook page, From Farm To Table, about my 50/50 burgers and have had some inquiries on how to make them.  So, here we goooooo!

I stumbled into 50/50 burgers last summer when I NEVER wanted to see another summer squash in my CSA box again.  But alas, they kept coming.  "What on earth can I do with all this?" I thought.  "Maybe I can hide them in some grass fed ground beef in burger form, similar to my meatloaf."

So out came the Cuisinart with the shredder attachment and in went all those beautiful green and yellow summer squashes.  As much shredded squash as I could cram in, one pound of grass fed ground beef, and salt and pepper to taste all went into a mixing bowl.  I kneaded them together, as if it were bread, until mixed throughly.

The burgers were spectacular!

Since then I've experimented with all different types of veg.  The more veg the better!  I love to put in whatever is seasonal.  This is a great trick to use if you have some veg leftover before you get your next CSA box, you have an abundance in your garden, you want to get some more vegetables in your diet, or you'd just like make 6-8 burgers out of that pound of grass fed ground beef!

Last night I made my 50/50 burgers with a bunch of beet greens, stems removed (I don't like the texture), and half each of white and red onions, both chopped.  Add in one pound of grass fed ground beef and sea salt and chili garlic sauce to taste.  (I tend to shy away from black pepper and use red pepper instead -- and I used to abhor spicy, too!).  I kneaded all the ingredients together for about 3 to 5 minutes until all the veg is incorporated in with the ground beef.  It might seem like this is more than the ground meat can hold.  But if it sticks, it fits!

I also made my first grass fed lamb burger the other day.  I put in a ton of fresh mint from my garden and pine nuts in it.  It was soooooo good! Play with it!  I've used chard, kale, beet greens, basil, mint, various fresh herbs, peppers, squash, garlic, and many many more.  All are delish!

Have fun, enjoy, and please let me know what you've tried and how it came out!

Eric's Smoked Beer Can Chicken

Let me please start off by saying that Eric's smoked beer can chicken was THE best chicken I've ever had. Hands down.

We got this amazing whole, pastured chicken from Tara Firma Farms in our CSA box. This chicken, like all local, pastured meat, is very special and deserves simple, amazing recipes to allow for the meat to take center stage and shine. The plan was to "smoke" the chicken and share the treat with some good friends. Eric did the cooking, so I'll have him share the recipe and some tips.

In Eric's words:
"I love BBQing. I can't think of much else I'd rather do on a nice and sunny, summer day. Cold beverage, pool, BBQ. My best advice to someone starting new with BBQing is 'be patient'. If you rush the process, you'll end up with a hockey puck for dinner. Not even Canadians want that. So plan ahead. Figure out roughly when you want your food to be served and work backwards from there. Plan for about 30 minutes for the coals to catch fire and the grill to be ready. I don't propane because I prefer to work with the fire and smoke, but you can cut probably 15-20 minutes off of the prep time with a gas grill. It goes quickly from done to overdone, so when it starts getting close, check on it often. Digital thermometers help a lot here. It might help to start hors d'oevres prior to pulling the chicken. First, it will not need to rest too long prior to cutting; and also, that bird is going to look gorgeous! Let *everyone* see it!! Finally, have some fun. It started as a nice day. End it as a nice day, too."


The final product was amazing. This bird was smokey perfection. The meat was cooked perfectly. And let me tell you about the skin! I love chicken skin, and usually it's not that good. So I typically don't eat it. This was the best skin I've ever had. Ever. It was better than bacon. IT WAS BETTER THAN BACON! (Just in case you didn't hear me correctly the first time). Eric deserves a ton of credit for why this meal was so superb. He put in a lot of hard work making it amazing. The chicken (and how she was raised) deserves the rest of the credit. This pastured bird didn't just taste better, but actually looked different than a frozen "brand" bird. The skin on our dinner was white before cooking, not yellow. The difference was immediately noticeable and even the leftovers were amazing. My mouth is watering, writing this now. Much like smelling those frozen chicken bones as they underwent their first stage of becoming veg and chicken stock! I am so excited for our next whole chicken from Tara Firma Farms. There is really nothing else like it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Eric's Smoked Beer Can Chicken Recipe adapted from "Weber's Way To Grill" weber.com/grillout/ (Eric's cooking notes appear in italics.)

• 1 whole pastured chicken, about 4 pounds, giblets and any excess fat set aside
  
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 1 can (12 fluid ounces) beer, at room temperature
• 4 handfuls hickory wood chips, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes
• Rub
  • 2 teaspoons granulated onion (omitted; not for taste, I simply didn't have any)
    
  • 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
  • 1 teaspoon prepared chili powder (I used 2 tsp New Mexico Red Chili powder)
    
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • (1 tsp hickory sea salt)
    

1. Remove and the neck, giblets, and any excess fat from the chicken and put in your meat freezer bag for making stock. Save the fat separately (not good for stock) or discard. Sprinkle the salt over the entire surface and inside the cavity of the chicken, covering it all like a light blanket of snow. Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

2. In a small bowl mix the rub ingredients.

3. Rinse the chicken inside and out with cold water. Gently pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Season it all over with the rub. Fold the wing tips behind the chicken’s back. Let the chicken stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before grilling.

4. Prepare the grill for indirect cooking over medium heat (350° to 450°F). (Normally when I BBQ, I prepare a 'two-zone' fire for direct and indirect cooking -- all of the coals on one side only. This time, I made a 'ring of fire' with the coals so that it was mostly indirect cooking but with even temperature all the way around the bird. I hand-fashioned aluminum foil into a water-pan to put in the center of the ring and under the bird -- an aluminum pie tin would work also. This is to promote a little moisture in the air so that our treasure wouldn't dry out and also to catch most of the grease from the chicken to prolong the life of my grill. While the coals were coming to a good smoking temperature, I BBQ'd some beets in the center of the grill. Might as well not waste the heat!)

5. Open the beer can and pour out about half the beer. Using a can opener, make 2 more holes in the top of the can. Place the beer can on a solid surface. Plunk the chicken cavity over the beer can. ('Pour out' has many interpretations. I 'poured out' half of the beer prior to it adjusting to room temperature...)
   

6. Drain and add the wood chips directly onto burning coals or to the smoker box of a gas grill, following manufacturer’s instructions. When the wood chips begin to smoke, transfer the bird-on-a-can to the grill, balancing the bird on its two legs and the can, like a tripod. Grill over indirect medium heat, with the lid closed, until the juices run clear and the internal temperature registers 170ºF in the thickest part of the thigh (not touching the bone), 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours. (I added extra wood chips twice during the cooking to refresh the smoke. I also had to pour water into the drip-pan once or twice. The real key to this process is closing the lid. If you can't close the lid, there's not much use in adding wood chips. You NEED to trap the smoke. My bird barely fit without touching the lid, so it's something to look into before you get too far ahead of yourself. Also, our bird was only about 3+ lbs and needed MAYBE 45-50 minutes to cook completely.)
   

7. Carefully remove the chicken and can from the grill (do not spill contents of the beer can, as it will be very hot). Let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes before lifting it from the beer can and cutting into serving pieces. Serve warm. (I used tongs for the bird while sliding a spatula under the beer can until I could transfer the whole set to a baking sheet. The can might want to slip out and that would ruin your evening.)
   

8. Save the bones when finished and put them in your meat freezer bag for making stock.