Burger Twelve - Cedar Planked Tilapia Sliders

Burger Number Twelve - Cedar Planked Tilapia Sliders

Page: 251

Today's Cedar Planked Tilapia Sliders were a rather unforeseen choice but I felt instinctively that I should get some fish on the BBQ after a very meaty few weeks. I had to hunt down a few of the ingredients ( Ted wouldn't have it any other way...) but after a brief scoot around the various Collingwood Stores, I was ready for action!

Tilapia is the name given to nearly 100 different species of Freshwater, Chichlid Fish rated the fifth most important fish in fish farming. They are fast growing, herbivorous and very short lived and therefore absorb very low levels of mercury. 

They are low in saturated fat, low calorie, low carb, low sodium and high in protein and are rich in Phosphorous, Niacin, Selenium, B12 and Potassium; a veritable melange of goodies! 

I was very inspired by what Tilapia had to offer so [as instructed by Ted] ordered 1 1/2 pounds of the stuff. I didn't realise this was in fact 9 steaks ( it appears that we shall be eating Tilapia for a while..)

Ted first asked that I finely cut and then ground the Tilapia. I didn't have time to get the grounder out, so went for the chop and ended up with a bowl of fish-mash. 

I then called upon my magical list of ingredients for the burger mix:

• Japanese Panko Crumbs ( just your regular grocery items then)
• Red Onion
• Green Onion
• Dill
• Orgasmic Onion Seasoning
• Lemon Juice
• Egg White

     

 Once mixed together, I refrigerated the mix and made sure my Cedar Plank was getting a good soak in water to avoid spontaneous combustion.

I then whipped together Ted's Slaw; I mixed together Red onion, Pears and Radishes ( all thinly sliced), added oil and lime juice and chopped Cilantro and left to cool in the fridge.

After an hour or so, I scooped up the fish mix into patties and Darren got the Weber engaged downstairs. Teg called for a hot grill and suggested that we cooked the burgers for 15-18 minutes. 

Things are starting to hot up in CWood ( Hurray!) and there is talk of 32 degrees and upwards this week!  It's very exciting.

Once the burgers had cooked, we slapped on some Emmenthal cheese and after that had melted over the burgers, they were ready to eat. 

I used a warm baguette as our base and we added a spot of mayonnaise and the slaw to juice up the burgers. They were very nice ( Darren gave them 8/10!), a very different BBQ snack and felt very healthy and fresh. Bravo Ted!

Burger Eleven - Planked Mashed Potato Burger

Burger Number Eleven - Planked Mashed Potato Burger

Page: 273

These burgers are for all the vegetarians out there and definitely worth a look as there is lot of room for improvisation. First up, I put some potatoes to to boil ( I slightly misjudged the quantities.. ) and once they were fully cooked and I added a ton of butter, garlic, splash of milk and then mashed them up. 

Once cooled, I added some green onion and parsley ( and more butter) and then formed the mash into burger-sized patties using an ice cream scoop. Darren then sprinkled some Parmesan on top of the potato burgers and we placed them on a [soaked] cedar plank ready for cooking.


And here are the finished burgers; light, golden and smoky from the cedar plank.

They were good, but next time Darren  suggested that we should add more butter during the 'mash' and possibly even get something mechanical involved in the mashing process to ensure the potatoes are totally smooth. We would also add more cheese to juice them up a little. 

All that said, they are an interesting change from regular potatoes and definitely worth experimenting with. 

Burger Ten: Hot Diggity Dog Burger

Burger Number Ten Hot Diggity Dog Burger

Page: 89

This burger is a party piece: 'The hot diggity dog burger' **make sure you are hungry folks!

Vince and Kerry took charge of the burger making and we were all excited to see what fabulous meaty treat was awaiting us on the BBQ. Vince had made up the burger mix using a classic list of ingredients:

• Pork
• Beef
• Sweet Onion
• Bone Dust (see how often this awesome rub comes out the pantry)
• English Style Mustard
• Seasoning

Once the burger meat had chilled out in the fridge for a little while, Vince laid down a piece of plastic wrap ( cling film/ saran wrap etc etc) and spread a layer of the meat onto the plastic. He then placed a cheese string and a hot dog on top of the meaty disc. 

 The plastic wrap was then used to roll the meat over the cheese and hot dog to form a super-duper burger dog. Vince sealed the ends of the hot dog and rolled them together in his hands to get the final polished look.

Et Voila! A mountain of burger-doggy goodness. They went straight on a grill and once cooked, Vince places each burger dog on a bun and they were ready to eat!

They were delicious; the cheese melted around hot dog and into the burger to form a mass of meaty goodness. Beware**These burgers are not for the faint hearted. Hilariously, Don, Kerry's Dad had two and then asked for a third ( he is extremely active and on the go constantly). 

A great summer time treat and perfect for weekend parties and hot tubs! 

Burger Nine: Fajita Burger

Burger Number Nine - Fajita Burger

Page: 208

Burger number nine was Darren's choice; we have had a wave of fajita love recently so were keen to try out Ted's version on the classic dish. There were a number of phases to this fajita burger preparation so I took myself off to the store, amassed all the relevant ingredients ( or best endeavors; Ted has a habit of asking for quite abstract ingredients, for example, where on earth does one find 'smoked chipotle chillies in adobo sauce. Not in Collingwood, I tell you). 

I started off with the burgers to give them time to rest while I prepped everything else. I combined the following in a bowl and was (I am sure you will agree) very intrigued by the recipe:

• Ground Chicken
• Bone Dust *grin*
• Cumin
• Chili powder
• Oil
• Corn Tortilla Chips ( crushed)
• Onion
• Garlic
• Jalapenos

I mixed them all together and popped the bowl in the fridge. In the meantime, I had several other treats to prepare. I had bought some Old El Paso 'Mexican' rice and well as some tortillas ( I love the mexican section in Metro, so handy for such an occasion). http://www.oldelpaso.co.uk/

 I had also purchased some refried beans from the Old El Paso Range which ( despite looking and smelling exactly like tinned cat food), I scooped out and ave a quick blast in the microwave.

Then to the salsa, I deviated quite heavily away from Ted's technique here and fried my peppers up in a pan rather than grilling them. I cooked up a red, yellow and green pepper and then added oil, chipotle peppers, garlic, fresh coriander, lime juice and seasoned to taste. WOW, this salsa had punch, holy moly! 

As I was unable to find Tomatillos and poblano peppers (????) in every store Collingwood has to offer... I had to drop the salsa verde. I did however make up his guacamole which was delicious and very simple and fresh ( avocado, lime juice, olicve oil, coriander and green onion).  

Then onto the burgers. We shaped the burger mix into rectangular patties and Darren scooped them up ready to engage the Weber. They didn't take long to cook, just enough time for me to grate some Monteray Jack cheese, warm the tortillas and record an episode of the Big Bang Theory. 

As you can see, we are not having much luck with the weather, it seems like the UK is getting what we should have and the rain has come over here *gaaaa*. 

It took a while to prepare but oh my, they were worth it. 

The combination of flavors was staggering; these burgers are good! Luckily we made enough to last us for the next couple of days... ( still having problems with portion control). Bravo Ted, another classic from your burger book!

Burger Eight - Orgasmic Onion Seasoning

Burger Number Eight - Orgasmic Onion Seasoning

Page: 44

I can't 'blog-off' without mentioning our favorite condiment. I urge everyone to either purchase or make up this seasoning, The Orgasmic Onion is amazing and you can use it on everything! I am sure you could substitute the 'Beef Base for some vegetarian if you are more partial to a veggie-filled life style. 

All you need for this super charged rub is:

• Powder Beef Base
• Onion Flakes 
• Crisy Fried Onion Pieces
• Granulated Onion
• Granulated Garlic
• Cream of wheat powder
• Kosher Salt
• Sugar
• Black Pepper
• Mustard Powder
• Coriander ( ground)
• Cayenne

Three yes of onion! I love it. I swear, this stuff is life changing! Bring on the Orgasmic Onion!

Burger Seven: Orgasmic Onion Burger

Burger Number Seven - Orgasmic Onion Burger

Page: 97

Ooooo this burger is GOOD! We got to use the famous Orgasmic Onion Seasoning ( that we use on pretty much everything!) so knew this would be a hit from the get go. 

To make up the burgers, I mixed together the ground beef and the orgasmic onion seasoning and then left to 'rest' for a while in the fridge. 

In the meantime, I made up the [very exciting] Port Wine gravy. We didn't have any port on tap but used some red wine we had kicking around in the kitchen which seemed to do the job. I melted butter in a pan  then added some onion, then some fresh thyme and a bay leaf or two and the wine. I let that simmer down and then added some beef stock ( that I had let boil for ages; Ted asked for demi-glace (?) but fortunately mentioned that this was reduced known as beef stock to normal people)

Then the burgers went onto the hot cast iron pan ( no BBQ sadly.. it was covered in snow) and we et them cook, on both sides, for bout 10 minutes. 

Ted asked for onion rings to finish off the piece but we had run out... so used some Vidalia I found in the fridge and also had to switch the 'onion buns' for half a warmed, french stick. It worked though! We poured the jus over the burgers which gave the bun and the burger superb flavor and was well worth the work. 

I roasted some mini potatoes to finish off our dinner and here it is, the triumphant Orgasmic Onion Burger!

Burger Six - Blue Cheese Stuffed Burger

Burger Number Six - Blue Cheese Stuffed Burger

Page: 102

I LOVE blue cheese so was excited about trying out this burger. Kerry and Vince offered to host our latest Ted Reader extravaganza, The Blue Cheese Stuffed Burger!

It looks very enticing from the picture and I was excited to try the combination of the relatively 'strong'  blue cheese with the beef burger. 

We started by making up the blue cheese topping; Kerry combined sun dried tomatoes, red onion, green onion, roasted garlic and blue cheese and left it to settle after a good dose of salt and pepper. 

For the burgers, Vince mixed together ground beef, Bone Dust *yay*, onion and the hallowed roasted garlic and seasoned with salt and pepper. He then formed patties with the burger mix and placed a layer of frozen blue cheese in the centre of the burger ( leave space on the outside). I had managed to get to the fabulous Dags and Willows (http://www.dagsandwillow.ca) to pick up some Blue Cheese en route. I urge all visitors to Collingwood to pop in and sample their wares; they have an exceptional range of cheese on offer, a treat for cheese fans and always  worth a browse. 

Anyway, Vince lay the second burger on top of the first, sandwiching the gorgeous blue cheese in the middle and then popped them all in the freezer to rest. After the brief recess  in the freezer, Vince put the burgers straight on that BBQ.. 

 ... and they didn't take long to cook.

Here are the scrumptious Blue Cheese burgers in their toasted ciabatta buns. Totally delicious and we will definitely make them again. 

Burger Five: Tandoori Burger

Burger Number Five: Tandoori Burger

Page: 207

I was looking forward to making this burger; Darren and I have a mutual love for Curry and this 'spicy chicken' burger looked delectable. This time around, Anna, Dave and Nadia came over to sample some of Ted's special meaty treats!

The recipe was divided into sections; Ted suggested the burger to be served with Cucumber Mint Raita and a Tandoori BBQ sauce ( which would go on to become a stable in our kitchen). 

In preparing the burger mix, I added Tandoori Burger Seasoning to ice cold ground chicken. 

I then combined this with garlic, green chillies ( minced) plain yogurt, oil, lemon juice and fresh coriander ( cilantro).

We left the mixture in the fridge to rest and absorb all the fabulous flavors. The raita wasn't quite as successful... I combined peeled and chopped tomato, cucumber, garlic, fresh mint, cayenne, cumin, lemon juice, yogurt, sour cream and red onion ( diced) and popped the mixture in the fridge to cool. Unfortunately I mustn't have got the combination of flavors exact and it tasted rather like onion flavored yogurt ( but not in a good way) and was rather runny. I will be more vigilant with the recipe next time.. 

 Darren cracked on with the Tandoori BBQ sauce; he heated oil in a pan over very high heat and added some more of the fabulous Tandoori seasoning. He then added some minced scotch bonnet peppers  *** beware these peppers are super hot, garlic, onion and sauteed until the onions were browned. Darren then reduced the heat and added apple cider vinegar, ketchup and honey.

He then started to improvise and added some of Ted's Pineapple Rum sauce which turned out to be a stoke of genius; we have used this marinade time and time again since on virtually everything!

Here are a few snap shots of Darren making the sauce; after all the ingredients were combined, he pureed the mixture to form a thick paste and kept it warm while waiting to cook to burgers.

By then, the burger mix was ready for cooking and we made up ( several) mini patties and threw them on the BBQ. They had a lovely consistency from the yogurt and spices and smelt fabulous on the BBQ. Darren made sure to continually baste the burgers with the Tandoori sauce throughout the cooking process which also maintained the moisture in the burgers. 

Darren gently toasted some naan on the BBQ after brushing them with oil and soon everything was ready to eat! 

We served the burgers in the Naan with more sauce, shredded lettuce and the Raita *gulp*. Despite the raita being a little off, the burgers were amazing! Such an unusual treat and a great success. Nadia even asked for the recipe!