I see it has been some time since I posted something that was sufficiently cooking-oriented to actually tag it is “Good Food.”
My apologies for this grievous oversight.
I had forgotten to include, among the list of activities that had occupied my time in the first month of living in this rental house, that we also had a gathering of families over a few weeks ago. It was a chance to thank those who had invited us to their homes, especially while we were living in hotels, and also … a chance to get my grill fired up.
On the menu, from my area, were burgers and hot dogs. I always try to do two options, for a couple of reasons. First, I try to make the burgers the right size to properly fill the buns we provide, and also the stomachs of our typical guests, so they don’t necessarily need another full burger. Second, there are still some kids that just prefer hot dogs. No so with the parents, really.
I like to think that is because I just have not ventured into homemade hot dogs….yet.
On that occasion, the burgers were primarily ground beef (around 85% lean), with some Italian sausage and ground Brisket. I think the brisket provides a contrast in depth, compared to traditional ground beef, absorbs some of the sausage fattiness (it was pretty lean), and really rounded out the overall taste.
For those with a hand up (like you, KK), yes, the inclusion of the Italian Sausage does force me to cook them past where I might stop for a traditional beef patty. The upside on this is that cooking to the transition point where the fat just renders out and runs clear, but not past that, migrates those juices into the lean beef. Catch it before the cooking of the sausage starts to noticeably shrink the patty, and it will be thoroughly tender and juicy, still.
The kicker, at least for me, was that I multi-tasked on the previous Friday and also did a batch of what I call MQ3, while knocking out work.
Yes, you guessed it, that simply means My Q (version) 3.
While obviously ketchup-based, it goes far beyond that. MQ3 rolls in pineapple for background sweetness, brown sugar and molasses for depth behind that initial sweetness, apple cider vinegar for some tang, the obligatory salt-pepper-garlic-onion, but starts to sneak past the fence with the bourbon, crispy-then-pulverized bacon, and … well … secret additional spices. I should also add…the garlic is oven-roasted in olive oil and the onions caramelized in butter before they go into the sauce!
The batch cooked down to 4-cups worth (two squeeze bottles). One guest was “loaned” a bottle at the end of the afternoon, and the other is all but gone, today.
This weekend…we’re having some good friends from the Seattle area over. Another chance to fire up the grill. This time…Beef/Sausage/Bison and a side of German sausages.
I expect the last of the MQ3 will get wiped out….unless…more?
Before I forget…breakfast!
This morning, our older daughter whipped up a batch of Drop Scones…AKA Scotch Pancakes. Great flavor! Much more hearty than normal pancakes, to be sure. She topped them with butter and Lemon Curd, making them too good to refuse! Quite the chef, that one. Takes after her mother.
For my part, I added an Apple Clafoutis to the breakfast options. Thankfully, the long bake time pushed the sliced apples to tenderness, with the dusting of powdered sugar completing the almost breakfast-dessert effect.
I might try to snap some pictures as I grill, tomorrow….we shall see. Otherwise, I am also trying to focus on eateries that have been featured on certain foodie shows or favorably reviewed by certain critics, when I travel for work. I may start adding those, in the future, but not completely decided. More fun to share things we actually make, in the area of Good Food…
Tight lines.