chris mask right

Father’s Day should be all about Dad.  It is the one day out of the year that you can make extra special with a BBQ treat that will take your grilling to a whole new level.  This is about excess!   This is about BIG!  This is a treat that is hard to beat!

This first recipe can be made with regular lean ground beef, but use this opportunity to experiment with other meat be it pork, bison or ostrich.  For crispier bacon, use thin cut bacon and consider a fast seer in a pan on each side to crisp it up.  You can use store bought jalapeno poppers and save yourself 45 minutes.  Plus utilize toothpick or skewers to hold bacon in place during cooking.  Perfect chance to use your meat thermometer to ensure an internal temperature of 140F for your burgers (pork a bit closer to 150F)  You need to keep your internal temperature around this mark for just under 9 minutes to ensure a safe consumable burger by standards, but no more than 160F otherwise your burger will dry out and become tasteless. (160F is the standard).  Sever this with fries or a bag of potato chips.  This burger stands on its own but may need a skewer to hold together…it’s big.  Try avocado and fresh garden tomatoes as a topping.  This is Frankenfood…a trend for the Summer of 2016!

 

Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Elk Burger with Grilled Aged Cheddar Cheese Sandwich Buns

1 lbs lean ground meat

1 Pack of thin sliced bacon

8 Jalapeno Poppers (you can find a recipe here or buy from a store)

16 slices of bread (white, whole wheat…whatever sandwich style bread you have)

4 slices of aged cheddar cheese

1 C Unsalted butter (or margarine)

 

Shape your ground meat into patties (DO NOT over work the meat)

Season the patties with salt and pepper (does not require anything else really)

Lay out 4 – 5 strips of bacon

Place patty on strips of bacon

Place 2 Jalapeno Poppers on top pf each burger

Wrap burgers and Poppers in bacon (secure with skewer or toothpicks through bacon ends)

Place burgers on top rack of your BBQ with a grease collection pan underneath to prevent flare ups.

Bacon should be crispy and burger inside (here is where the thermometer comes into play) should hit 140F (keep it there for at least 9 minutes) but no more than 160F.

Use wide mouth coffee cup or large cookie cutter to cut bread into circles.

Butter one side of the bread for a grilled cheese

Place a slice of aged cheddar and place on bread round to make a sandwich.

Grill or cook in a pan until melty and crispy.

Assemble your burger.

 

As I mentioned you can use frozen or make your own in 45 minutes.  Just wear gloves when seeding the peppers…the oils with burn whatever you touch on yourself that may be sensitive (not just your eyes…hint hint)

 

Jalapeno Poppers

4 Jalapeno peppers (cut in half length wise and seeded)

1 brick of cream cheese

1 C shredded aged cheddar

2 large eggs ( for egg wash)

2 Tbsp milk

8 tsp Cajun seasoning

1 C panko crumbs, or fine dry breadcrumbs

½ C all-purpose flour

 

Preheat the BBQ or oven to 350F

Place a sheet of wax paper on a larger foil sheet for baking (use something that fits top rack of BBQ of a baking sheet for the oven.

Cream together the cream cheese, and shredded cheese

In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, and 2 tsp of the Cajun seasoning.

In a shallow dish, combine the bread crumbs and remaining 4 teaspoons of Cajun seasoning.

In a third dish, combine the flour and remaining 2 teaspoons of Cajun seasoning.

Fill each pepper half with the cheese mixture.

One at a time, dredge in the flour, dip into the egg mixture, than dredge in the panko crumbs.

Place the coated peppers, cut side up, on the prepared baking surface and grill on top rack/bake until the filling is runny and the crust is golden.

BBQ/bake for about 30 mins

This next recipe is easy but your guests would never know it.  You can use any cut of meat but when it comes to beef tenderloin or prime rib roast, these cuts really make the flavours sing!  You really do need between 36-48 hours to get a proper cure to your meat so a bit of pre-planning will go a long way to BBQ glory.  Use Gorgonzola if you like, but any type of blue cheese with rock your taste buds.  The bulk of the flavouring for the meat will come from the blue cheese curing and your wine sauce to finish the dish.

 

Blue Cheese Cured Prime Rib w/ Buffalo Style Mashed Potatoes and Red Wine Saucechris mask right

1 ½ lbs Prime Rib roast

1 ½ C blue cheese

3 cheese cloth sheets

1 Ziploc bag

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Lay out a damp (not soaked) piece of cheese cloth (wring it out) and place meat on top.  Wrap the meat once.

Smear the blue cheese over the meat wrapped in cheese cloth (cover everything).  Wrap in 2 more damp pieces of cheese cloth.

Wrap tight in plastic wrap and place in a Ziploc bag.  Place in your fridge and let cure for at least 36 and up to 48 hours.

Unwrap your cheese cloth and throw it away.

Season the meat with salt and pepper to taste.

Sear the meat on your BBQ (yes, you can use an over at 425F but make sure you seer it before you put it in the oven).  Internal temperature for a medium rare steak should be 125F- 135F.

A nice compliment to this dish would be wild local mushrooms (if you can find them…tis the season after all) plus these Buffalo Style Mashed Potatoes.  Blue cheese and Buffalo wing sauce pair perfectly.

 

Buffalo Style Mashed Potatoes

3lbs Potatoes (try russet peeled and cubed)

¼ C Buffalo Wing Sauce (you can add more for a more pungent zip)

1 Brick of cream cheese

½ C unsalted butter

¼ C Bacon bits (fresh or crumble your own bacon)

Salt to taste

 

Boil potatoes until fork tender (15-20 minutes)

Drain potatoes and add all ingredients into cooking pot with potatoes.

Mash and mix in all ingredients (be careful not to over mix or it will turn into a gluey paste).

Salt the potatoes to your personal taste.

Place in a flame safe dish and roast on BBQ for about 15 minutes to give it a bit of smoke flavouring.

 

Red Wine Sauce

½ C red wine

2 Thyme sprigs

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

¼ C Beef Stock

Bring your wine and beef stock with thyme sprigs to a simmer in a pan and reduce heat to low.

Add butter and stir until sauce turns glossy.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and served.