Thursday, August 4, 2011

America's Test Kitchen - Dish It Your Way Blogger Burger Challenge...Green Chile Cheeseburgers w/Bacon Ground Beef!

Green Chile Cheeseburgers

I had the best Green Chile Cheeseburger when we were in NM about two years ago.  It was at a small place called Bobcat Bite.  It just wasn't the best Green Chile Burger, but it was the BEST burger I've ever had.  I tried to make this one similar to their's, but Bobcat still wins...lol  


I heard that my favorite butcherettes, Lindy & Grundy, have a ground beef & bacon mix, but have never seen it, so I decided to make my own :o)  I love to grind my own meat!  Hubby got me a grinder a couple of Christmas' ago, but I don't use it nearly as much as I should!  For the burgers I ground a mix of...Beef Chuck, Beef Short Rib, Pork Butt & Bacon!!  I ground about a total of 3 lbs with maybe 1/8 pork, 2 slices of bacon (home cured at L&G) and the rest beef. I put the pork in for extra richness & fat, but the mixture gets too soft if I put in too much...the burger would have a meatloaf consistency then.  I pretty much use all parts of the hunks of meat!  I make cubes for stew, use scraps & bones for stock & render the fat.  It's kinda therapeutic cutting up the meat;o)

Pork Butt

I like to get it with bone-in, so I can make stock out of  it...

Beef Chuck

I like to use Chuck for ground beef and stews because it has a nice fattiness to it...

Cubed Chuck

I froze this for later use, maybe for stew or chili...

Beef Scraps & Bones

The round brown things are the bones from the Flanken Short Rib.  I also froze this to make stock later.

Cubed Pork

Also froze this for later use...

Rendering Fat...

Since there wasn't that much, I rendered the pork & beef fat together.  I really need to be more healthy, but I just can't resist rendering fat and using it for certain dishes;o)  I used this to fry up the burgers!

Chuck, Short Rib, Pork Butt & Bacon ready to be ground...

Grinding...

I like coarse texture...

Love Fresh Ground Meat!!

Formed into Patties

They are about 6 oz each.  I seasoned it with Magic Dust, salt & pepper right before cooking it for about 3 mins on each side and flipping it only once for med rare :o)  I made them in a cast iron skillet and I covered them while they  cooked and added the cheese the last couple of minutes...

Veggies...

w/Tater Tots!

No, I did not make the Tater Tots;o)  I did look up a recipe once and tried it, but it was a disaster!  It all just fell apart on me...lol  I love "tots", I love how they got resurrected in the movie NAPOLEON DYNAMITE!! It's much easier and consistent buying Ore Ida!  I used an Aged White Cheddar for the cheese.

Really Yummy!!

The Green Chile Mixture was leftover from the Hatch Green Chile Enchiladas I made a few weeks ago.  I just froze the mixture...I love freezing things;o)  I didn't add any mayo or ketchup or other condiments to the burger, the juicy meat and green chiles were enough!  The taste of the burger was delicious, adding just the little bit of bacon pumped it up.  You could really taste the bacon, but you may miss the crunch of it.  It saves on calories grinding the bacon into the meat because you usually would get two slices on one burger, but this had two slices in 3 lbs of meat!

Posted by KEcker at 3:21 PM

28 comments:

  1. Nami | Just One CookbookJune 16, 2011 at 11:33 PM

    Kay, you are amazing. You LOVE grinding the meat on your own.... I'm way too lazy for that extra step. But by looking at these pictures, I can totally see how delicious the meat is.... really nice quality. It's such a gourmet burger. I'm so envious. I see there are 3 patties... one for me? ;-) The first picture is very, VERY nice picture - FG/TS material!!!

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  2. PFxJune 17, 2011 at 4:42 AM

    Juicy patties with zap zing of the chilies just send me palate to drool phase.

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  3. KEckerJune 17, 2011 at 12:05 PM

    Thanks, Nami! What's nice about grinding my own meat is I can pick the meats and the texture:o) Thanks for always giving me such nice compliments too! Wish you were close by, so we could share meals together;o)

    Pierre, thanks :o) Juicy burgers are always good!

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  4. Shea GoldsteinJune 17, 2011 at 12:10 PM

    YUM! You're making want to get the grinder attachment for my kitchenaid now.... Looks great!

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  5. RavieNomNomsJune 17, 2011 at 12:32 PM

    Ok I gotta say it, my favorite part might be the tater tots haha

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  6. Tina @flourtraderJune 17, 2011 at 12:35 PM

    So dedicated-grinding your own meat. However it sounds like the extra time pays off. These look delicious!

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  7. UnknownJune 17, 2011 at 12:44 PM

    I am EXTREMELY jealous that you made your own hamburger meat! I can just imagine how much better the flavour would be. I love all the different cuts of meats as well! Good job!

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  8. adorasboxJune 17, 2011 at 12:55 PM

    I was drooling all the way to the comment box. The meat mix alone was so spectacular already. I now see minced meat in a different light. I know this is about a burger but I couldn't help but stare at the fat being rendered. And what about the burger? Oh what a burger!

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  9. ErinJune 17, 2011 at 2:05 PM

    Oh these look wonderful! The burgers look perfect! And tator tots are one of our favorite quick sides!

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  10. Buttercream BlondieJune 17, 2011 at 2:16 PM

    That burger looks like perfection and I'm all about that green chile mixture! Going to check out your enchilada recipe now!!

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  11. Lindsey@LindseliciousJune 17, 2011 at 5:12 PM

    Girl, you are hard core! I cant believe you ground up all those meats. It must have been delish. I always order a green chile burger when its an option at a burger place. So yummy!

    PS- good luck with the Wordpress move. I want to do the same, but too hectic right now with work.

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  12. AnonymousJune 18, 2011 at 12:00 AM

    Dee-licious!

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  13. Lyñ (My Little Messy N Cheeky)June 18, 2011 at 2:51 AM

    Hi Kay! What a cool way to grind your own meat! Whenever I go to the market, I always love watching the butchers grinding! Hee... :P
    I thought you're posting on some restaurants review when I received email on this post! Your burger patties are so yummilious! Esp. the melted cheeeeeese!!! I'm crazy over them! LOL :D
    Your photos are getting better and better each time you post! I'm still trying very hard! Wish me luck! :P

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  14. KEckerJune 18, 2011 at 4:32 AM

    Thanks, Shea, yes, def get the grinder attachment, it's fun to grind meat:-)

    Ravie, I love Tater Tots too, wish I could eat them all the time;-)

    Tina, thanks! Yes, very worth it to grind your own!

    Thanks, Jeff, I think the bacon made the huge difference:-)

    Adora, I'm glad that someone else can see the beauty in freshly ground meat AND rendered fat!! Thanks:-)

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  15. KEckerJune 18, 2011 at 4:34 AM

    Thanks, Erin:-)

    Thank you too, Butter Cream. Hope you liked my enchilada post too:-)

    Thanks, Rosemary!

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  16. ManuJune 18, 2011 at 5:01 AM

    Yes!!! Great post! I often grind meat too... especially to make sausages! I think it is great as you get to chose what goes in your dish! These burgers look so good I wish I could grab one through the screen!!!

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  17. KEckerJune 18, 2011 at 7:01 AM

    Thanks, Lindsey, yes, grinding the meat takes more time, but so worth it!! I love to order Green Chile burgers too, but not many places have them. Have you had it at Umami Burger yet, that one was pretty good;o) Thanks for the support for WP, hopefully, I will have it up in running soon. I still haven't heard back from them about my domain.

    Thanks, Lyn! I'm always entertained by watching the butchers too. I was able to get a tour of the butchers meat locker this past week. It was incredible...quarter steers, pigs, & lambs hanging by hooks! But then, you see a lot of that in Singapore don't you? I remember going to the open markets and seeing all the mutton, I really didn't like the smell of them;o(

    Your blog is looking pretty good! I can tell how much time you've put into it!

    Manu,thanks for your sweet comment:o) I've thought of making sausage, but haven't tried it yet. Do you actually put it in the casing or do you keep it loose? My Hubby gave me a book on making sausage, but I'm not sure where to buy casings. I'm thinking maybe I will start with loose ground breakfast sausage or Italian sausage. Now that would be a good post for you :o) or have you already posted about making sausage...

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  18. Lyñ (My Little Messy N Cheeky)June 18, 2011 at 1:21 PM

    Hi Kay! Yeah all those pork parts hanging by hooks are seen at wet markets but as for mutton, only found at certain areas like "Little India" and "Geylang Bahru" markets whereby there are more Indians and Malays who prefer mutton more than Chinese. Me too don't like the smell but I do eat mutton sometimes when dine out.
    Tks for your compliments Kay! Yeah I really spent so much time on that and neglected both my blog and FB... plus recently busier schedules. So now I'm spending my time trying to catch up with all those blog posts that I've missed during that period of time!
    Hope you're doing well on yours too and have a great weekend! :D

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  19. chopinandmysaucepanJune 18, 2011 at 3:51 PM

    Hope you get your domain set up soon, it's like moving into your own home :)

    THe burger looks delicious, something about melting cheese too!

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  20. KEckerJune 19, 2011 at 11:59 AM

    Lyn, I loved your prawn heart...so cute! Your dad sounds very similar to mine...doesn't say love or complement;o)

    Thanks, Chopin!

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  21. Lyñ (My Little Messy N Cheeky)June 19, 2011 at 12:29 PM

    Tks Kay! :D
    Actually I didn't intend to make a heart shape, just wanna arranged them nicely to take pic, then after putting the 2 prawns, I realized it looked like a heart!. ^.^
    Oh really? Maybe both of them could 'click' if they know each other? LOL

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  22. All That's Left Are The CrumbsJune 19, 2011 at 7:54 PM

    My mouth is watering after seeing your burger. I love the addition of green chile. We have been grinding our own meat too so that we know what is in it. I really like the combination you used.

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  23. Biren @ Roti n RiceJune 20, 2011 at 10:05 AM

    It is good that you like to grind your own meat. I used to do that but life got busy and my meat grinder is collecting dust.

    I love the green chile in NM. Your burger and taters look so delicious! Your pictures are amazing too! All the best for your move to WordPress.

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  24. KEckerJune 20, 2011 at 11:01 AM

    Thanks, Felice :-). That's great that you grind your own meat too! Do you ever make sausage? I never have, but thinking I may try it soon.

    Biren, yeah, grinding takes time, but worth it if you can! Thanks about WP...still waiting to hear back from them...ugh!

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  25. Luiz Claudio MachadoJune 21, 2011 at 5:02 AM

    Hi sweet Kecker! Nice to meet you. It's a pleasure to know yours recipes. very yuuummm...My mouth is full of water!
    I and my family love japanese food. And your recipes are very interesting. So I'm a new follower of your blog.
    Please, visit my blog and know a little of the brazilian food.

    http://kibe-cozinhandocomamigos.blogspot.com/

    Kisses from Brazil.

    Luiz

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  26. GeorgeJune 22, 2011 at 7:23 AM

    I shouldn't be reading food blogs on an empty stomach...

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  27. 1 Recette 1 MinuteAugust 7, 2011 at 7:47 AM

    Your burger look so delicious!!!!
    And i love your pictures, thanks for sharing:D

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  28. KEckerAugust 9, 2011 at 6:33 PM

    Thanks for your kind remarks 1 recette :o)

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