Stuff you need:

For the coffee rub:

• 1 tablespoon coffee – grind it yourself. Hell, why don’t you roast it yourself if you’re brave enough.
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoons of the best (unflavored) salt you got

Burgers:

• 8 slices smoked bacon ( I hope you smoked it yourself!)
• 1 lb ground chuck
• 1 lb ground sirloin
• 8 slices smoked provolone
• 8 burger buns
• 8 slices red onion
• 8 slices tomato
• Your favorite BBQ sauce

How to do it:

Le Rub:
Mix all ingredients in small bowl. Easy enough. Store airtight at room temperature. You can do this up to a week ahead of time

Los Burgers:
Cook the bacon the way you like it. Mix up the chuck and sirloin in a large bowl. Make 8 patties, and make a slight indentation in the center of each burger with your thumb. Again, you can do this ahead of time.

Get your grill goin on medium to high heat. Pour a litle bit, about 1 teaspoon, of the coffee rub on the top side of each burger where that indentation is. Then cook them starting with the rub-side down. The idea here is to get a little char going with the rub. Carmelize that brown sugar. If you feel like it, rub some more on the other side while the first side’s cookin’. Cook it till it’s about rare ( check our ultimate burger tips if you’re not sure). I hope you’re wearin’ your handmade leather boots there, cowboy. This burger’s gonna knock yer socks off.

Now, hit ‘em up with some bacon and cheese on top. Cover it up until the cheese melts all over that bacon. It only takes a minute, so be patient!

If you like toasted buns, toast ‘em. If not, don’t. I’m not gonna argue.  Anyway, you know how to serve burgers to 8 hungry people: make sure you get yours first.

Want more kick?

Get a nice dark espresso beer like Espresso Amber Ale from Peak Brewing Co. It actually has real expresso in it. And we all know beer is a great match for burgers.

The blood sausage is the black one on top

If blood makes you queasy or you can’t handle the sight of the butcher shop, stop reading right now. I warned you.

For everyone else, it’s actually not that bad and makes a mean natural sausage from scratch.

If you’ve never had blood sausage before, it’s a food as old as the ages, and comes in many forms. Black pudding from England is probably the most famous, but this here recipe’s for Drisheen, an Irish variety.

Ingredients:

2 cups sheep’s blood (maybe hard to get in some places. If it’s not available, go for pork, veal or beef blood in that order)
1 cup cream  – get real cream  if at all possible. Whole milk just isn’t thick enough to get the best texture
1 cup breadcrumbs or oatmeal  – take your pick! I’m a big oatmeal fan myself
1 tsp salt
1/3 tsp of pepper
Pinch of mace
Sprig of  thyme.

Getting Ready - Put the salt in the blood right away, this will keep it liquid, otherwise it will clot up. Mix the blood with your cream, then add the oatmeal, pepper, mace and thyme. Stir it up nice and good.

Stuffing - stuff into largest hog casings (38 – 42 mm). Here I recommend using natural casings, but you can also use pork stomach, or if you’re lame you can buy artificial casings. Stuffing sausages can be a pain, I admit. If you don’t know how to do it check here: http://www.ehow.com/video_2337301_stuff-sausages.html If you don’t want to go through the hassle, maybe try taking the mixture to a butcher to see if he will stuff them for you. Otherwise, you can just cook the stuffing like a meatloaf.

Boiling -Put the  sausages into boiling water but poach at 80º – 85º C (176º – 185º F) for about 60 – 90 minutes to reach internal sausage temperature of 68º – 70º C (154º – 158º F).  Put into greased glass pan and bake at 300º – 350º F (149º – 177º C) for about 1 hour.

Cool and keep in refrigerator. When you’re ready to eat it, slice it in half and throw it on the grill. It’s best for breakfast with some sunny side up eggs and toast, and probably even some other sausages.

This is the ultimate soup for the end of the summer, when you’re trying to figure out what to do with all those tomatoes that are gonna go bad if noone eats them soon. You can dish it up hot or cold, or even just at room temperature. It’s up to you.  It’s awesome with grilled cheese as I’m sure you’re familiar with the classic combo.

For 6 friends, or it’ll last you about a week if you’re greedy.
- 5 large heirloom tomatoes, quartered and seeded (about five pounds)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin only please, come on guys).  ps. when you go to buy the stuff, get “first cold pressing.” If it doesn’t say it on the label, it’s not.
- 1 fennel bulb, white portion only, sliced against the grain 1 1/2” thick
- 3/4 cup shallots, chopped fine
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
- 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- Salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
- Tomato paste
-1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped fine

Toss the tomatoes with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Make sure they’re nice and coated. Pour the tomatoes into a glass oven-proof dish and stick the whole thing in your smoker. I’ve got the Weber Smoky Mountain, but use what ya got, whether it’s an UDS or BGE. If you don’t have a smoker, place wood chips over coals or flame of  your standard grill, and place dish on rack away from coals or heat source (so tomatoes are smoked with indirect heat).  I gotta put up a post one of these days on how to smoke on a standard grill. If your BBQ is not large enough to allow this, you can place a heat-resistant tile between the rack and the baking dish to keep tomatoes from stewing. Close lid and smoke those tamatas for 30 minutes or until soft. Remove tomatoes and juices and set aside. Brush a bit o’ EVOO the fennel slices, and grill over low heat until soft (keep an eye on it – you don’t want these babies getting all black and charry). Remove from grill and set aside. When cooled slightly, pulse the fennel in a food processor until finely chopped. Add tomatoes and their juices and pulse a few times to blend the mixture.

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. You can do this on a propane grill if you want, but it’s not worth it. No need to be picky and try to grill the soup the entire time, but go ahead if you so desire. I’m using my indoor stovetop for this step. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté shallots and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato/fennel mixture and chicken or vegetable stock. Simmer at very low heat for 30 – 45 minutes (do not allow to boil). Allow the soup to cool slightly, remove half and puree in a food processor or hand-held blender. Return puree to saucepan and whisk together. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Thicken to desired consistency with tomato paste. Whisk in heavy cream. Top with parsley and serve with bread or grilled cheese. You could do the whole crouton thing (aka grilled or otherwise crispy bread), but I prefer a nice fresh soft bread with my tomato soup.

enjoy.

16 Jumbo Shrimp (shell on, vein removed)

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

1/2 Cup Red Wine (use the same wine you’re gonna be drinking)

1/2 Cup Parsley, Chopped

5 Cloves Garlic, Minced (add more if your’e feeling adventurous)

4 Hot Chili Peppers for kick (if you’re so inclined)

Give the chili peppers a few slices, and mix with the other ingredients to make the marinade to pour over the shrimp. It works best for me in a ziplock bag, which I keep in the fridge for about 6 hours.

Shrimp cook very quickly, so just before you’re ready to eat, throw them on the Weber grill with the shells on, turning once until they’re pink. Delicious.

Grill on! This serves 4, or two really hungry guys.

Sweet & Sour BBQ kabobs

I love going for the classics, but sometimes I just gotta mix it up. This one’s got a little Asian flare to it.

2 medium carrots

half a pineapple, cubed

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 tbs cooking oil

1 tbs soy sauce

1.5 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp sugar

1 clove of garlic, minced

12 oz. pork cut 1-inch pieces

1 small green pepper cut 1-inch pieces

1 small sweet red pepper cut 1-inch pieces

1. Cook the carrots in a saucepan in a little water for 8 mins. I do this right on the side burner of the Weber Summit, no problem.

2.Now it’s time to make the sauce:

i. In  a different pan, combine  about 1/4 of the pineapples mashed, vinegar, oil, soy sauce,        cornstarch, sugar, garlic, and a 1/4 cup of water (more if needed).

ii.  Cook and stir till all nice thick and bubbly, then for another minute or so.

3. Skewer the peppers, carrots, pork, and remaining pineapples

4. Lay those skewers down over a pipin’ hot grill (I can fit about 3x this recipe on my grill, enough for a good-sized party). Cook ‘em for 8-12 minutes until the pork is no longer pink. While they’re cooking make sure you brush them with plenty of that good Asian sweet & sour sauce and rotate occasionally.

5. Eat up! This makes about 4 servings.

This is great all year round for when you just want to try something different. It’s also a great starter recipe if you’ve never made any Asian flavor foods on the grill before

Ultimate Baby Back Ribs

Baby back ribs are one of the great BBQ classics. When cooked well, these are really the ultimate grilled meat.  Here’s the recipe:

• 6-8 lbs pork baby back ribs

For the sauce:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 1/4 cups chopped onions
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 cup dark molasses
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup bottled chili sauce
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tbs dijon mustard
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp liquid smoke, or more to taste

Get out a heavy saucepan for making this baby back rib sauce. Heat up the butter and cook the onions until they’re nice and wilted. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients, and stir. Let it simmer until it becomes a good bbq sauce consistency.  It will probably take around a half hour.

Set up your charcoal grill, and light the coals. Once they’re ready to go, spread the coals out around the edges of the grill. If you have a larger Weber kettle, this will work better than a small one. The idea here is to cook with indirect heat, so you don’t want the coals to be too close to the meat. You also need enough space to put a drip pan in the middle of the grill.

When the coals are medium-hot, brush with oil and place the ribs meat-side-up in the center of the grill. Brush the ribs with your barbeque sauce and cover the grill, adjusting the vents for even heat. Check every 20 minutes or so, turning the ribs and basting with the bbq sauce each time. It will take about an hour to 1:20 to finish cooking, when the meat is no longer pink.

Heat up the remaining sauce to serve at the table. Enjoy!

I am a big fan of eating melon in the summer, regularly eating half a melon by myself with a spoon.  A few years ago though, I discovered a new twist to this classic snack. When grilled, melon takes on a whole new character. The trick is to get the grill really hot, and cook them fast. It’s just like searing meat on a grill. You want to get grill marks and get the outside warm, while the inside is still relatively cool. This way you won’t lose most of the moisture, which is what makes melons so good to begin with.

Grilled melons also go great with salads and as sides for meat and seafood such as scallops.

Spicy Asian Lambburger

I love lamb burgers, but I figured the standard, run-of-the-mill lamburgers with tzatziki sauce in pitas was just not interesting enough.

This variation is a little spicy and has some asian flavors. Hope you like it!

• 6 minced garlic cloves
• 2 tbs + 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 minced jalapeño, remove the seeds if you want to cut some spice!
• 3 tbs chopped mint
• 2 tbs minced cilantro
• 1 small sweet onion, finely chopped
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1.5 pounds ground lamb meat

Combine all the ingredients, mix with your hands (they’re the best tool, especially for burgers!). Form them into burger shape, and you should get about 8 from this recipe. These, like all burgers, are best on a charcoal grill but you can use a propane grill if you so desire. It might be a good idea to put some olive oil on the grates before you put these down though, cause they tend to stick. Forget regular storebought buns for these things. Get some rustic bread and slice it thick. Experiment with toppings; i’m not sure what tastes best yet. Enjoy!

gratuitous grill picture

Didn’t have much time this week to write a post, sorry about that. Here are some other blogs and stuff that are writing good things about weber grills and recipes.

Weber Spirit E-310 Review

Cooking Salmon on Cedar Planks

Great Grill Recipes

“Funky BBQ” – But I don’t think this is BBQ at all. What do you think?

The Ultimate Charcoal Grilled Burger

Quick tip for making awesome hamburgers:

Get some Lipton’s onion soup mix, and a tiny bit of water.

Mix that in with your ground beef when you’re making the burgers.  Make sure you don’t make them too thin.

Throw them on your Webber Grill, preferably a charcoal like the Kettle or Performer, once the coals are hot and ready to go.

Wait till a little pool of liquid forms on top of the burgers before touching them. (Depending on how fresh your beef is, and how much water you put, you might have to keep a good eye on them because it might not be so obvious.)

Flip once, add cheese if you want it. wait until the burgers are the same firmness as the pad on your palm right below your thumb, then they’re done. You’ve got some medium rare burgers.

Add toppings as desired, and enjoy! I hope you toasted those buns too!