Cheeseburger on a Stick

The other day, Hope made an impulse buy at our local butcher and bought some of their Cheeseburgers in stick form.

What is cheeseburger on a stick?  Well, it is ground round, Hi-Temp Cheddar Cheese that you put in your smoked sausage and beef sticks, and meat loaf seasoning.

So, I tossed them on the grill for about 3 minutes a side and gave them a try.

How were they?  Not bad.  The cheese stayed in place and the meat loaf seasoning was not over powering.  These flavors mingled nicely with the flavor of the ground round.  With a dipping sauce, perhaps a nice chipotle sauce, these would be a great game time appetizer.  Time for some experimentation!

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Chicken Bacon Corn Chowder with Cheddar and Jalapeno

Ok, where was I before all this travel and competition?  Oh yeah, practicing for competitions.  For Oinktoberfest, we had to turn in a Chowder entry.  We decided to make our tasty Chicken Bacon Corn Chowder with Cheddar Cheese and Jalapeno Pepper.  This is a great soup that is easy to make either full fat or low fat.  For competition we made the full fat version.  At home, we make the low fat version and we do not think it is missing anything.

First, in a rough dice, make your basic mirepoix, plus jalapeno, seeded.  You can keep the seeds for extra heat.

Next, I cooked four slices of bacon that were roughly diced.

Once the bacon was starting to crisp slightly, I added my mirepoix, along with a healthy grind of sea salt and pepper.  I cooked until the onions started to become translucent.

Then, I added 1/2 cup of flour and cooked an medium heat until the flour was starting to brown.  It is very important to stir constantly during this step so that the flour does not burn.  Once the flour had browned, I added two cans of chicken broth, brought to a boil, and allowed to simmer for 30 minutes.

While the mixture was simmering, I diced:

4-5 medium sized red potatoes
2, boneless and skinless chicken breasts
And removed the kernels from four ears of fresh corn

After 30 minutes of simmer time, I added the potatoes and simmered for 15 minutes.  Then I added the chicken and allowed to simmer for 20 more minutes.  Finally, I added the corn, one cup of half and half, and 1 cup of shredded cheese.  I brought back to a light simmer and stirred until incorporated.

Here is the final product.

Creamy with a slight hint of spice from the jalapeno.  The fresh corn makes this chowder with a sweet crunch, along with a slight smoky flavor from the bacon.  This is a winner of a chowder.  I can't wait to make this when it gets a little colder.

Here is what it looked like at Oinktoberfest turn-in time.

We scored a 14 out of 17 with a 162.2628.  How do you score chowder in a cup for appearance?  Anyway, other teams were loading up with sausage type chowders.  I will need to change to a sausage base if we plan on entering a chowder competition again.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Caramelized Onion, Cheddar, Bacon and BBQ Sliders

We have to do a burger competition for the Boston Hills event in June.  This is not our final recipe, but it is a start.  I have a few others to try, but this is very good for a start.

1 Medium Sweet Onion, sliced.
Burgers, cut down to the bun size.
Egg Knot rolls.

Grilled the bacon, then crumbled:

Put a thin layer of olive oil in a cast iron pan, then caramelized the onions:

Added enough Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce to coat the onions:

Put the burgers on the grill.  Flipped after 4 minutes.  Topped with cheese and bacon, then covered for 4 minutes to melt the cheese:

Put the burger on the bun, topped with onion mixture, then put the lids on the top:

Even made a practice box to see if 6 will fit.  I think they will:

The sliders were nice and juicy with a nice bacon, cheddar, BBQ taste.  The caramelized onions added a nice sweet touch.

What would I do different?  I would fry the bacon the the skillet and use the fat to caramelize the onions.

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill