Recipe: Hair o' the Cow What Bit You

[ellyssian]

I thought of calling it "Hair of the Mad Cow what Bit You," but that might not be a good omen for a bit o' beef. Edit:Officially renamed without the mad part. =)

Marinade:
    Captain Morgans Spiced Rum
    Tarragon Vinegar
    Enova (sub. Canola Oil)
    Fresh Ground Cinnamon
    Crushed Rosemary
    Cajun Fore-Play (sub. Chipotle or other hot-pepper based dry spice of choice)
    Finely Chopped Chives

    Seeded Rye
    Sharp Cheddar, thinly sliced
    Montery Jack, thinly sliced
    Butter
    Bull's Eye Barbecue Sauce

    Prep the burger of choice - mine being 100% beef, frozen in a cylinder, cut in 3/4" slices - and place in a bowl. Pour on rum - I used about 100mL, maybe a bit less - then sprinkle on the vinegar until you get some on each burger. Yeah, I know, I tend not to measure, which makes passing on recipes to others a bit of a guesswork on my part, but it's all "to taste" anywho, and that's the important thing. I added the oil because I really would have liked more rum, but I was out, and I wanted something to raise the level of the liquid. I covered the tops of the burgers pretty heavily with the cinnamon, flipped them, and repeated. There's probably about a half teaspoon of crushed rosemary on top of each burger. The Cajun Fore-Play was a light sprinkle, I just made sure I had some decent coverage - I wasn't going for something that would seem overly hot, just adding flavor. About a half-teaspoon or so of the chives on each burger as well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap - or some other lid - and shake it up a bit, then chill for at least 10 minutes. Could probably do with an overnight soaking; I'm not much of a steak fan, but after eating it, I'm tempted to try a nice thick steak cooked with this stuff. Seems like it would be well suited.

    I grilled the burgers on a gas grill, covered, on high, basting with the left-over marinade each time I turned them. Between the oil, alcohol, and fat, this is a highly flammable mix - so much so that I actually had to nuke the burgers for a minute each to finish cooking through - and it smokes hella lots. I wasn't expecting it - hey, I was just winged this whole thing - but the smoke is what makes this whole thing work. Somehow, in the 15-20 minutes they cooked, the smoke managed to permeate the burger, and make it seem as if it had been slow-cooked in a smoker, over a wood fire. Although I plan to try some mesquite chips on the rack, I'm still using the last of the lava rocks, so that had no bearing on it.

    Back inside the house, Justin was prepping the cheese - we used 4 thin slices of cheddar (maybe 1/2" thick block, so they were tiny) and 2 of montery. The 2-1 ratio is always the Golden Mean as far as I'm concerned with this cheese blend. He also buttered both sides of the rye bread so that when I came in, I could just start grilling and go. I grilled in a frying pan, but I was waffling back and forth about doing it outside on the grill. I haven't done that often (not at all with sliced bread,) and there was already enough experimentation going on with the marinade, so I decided to stick with what I knew.

    After browning the interior of the bread (which is a Must-Do step, to make sure the moistness from the burger doesn't rot right through the bread,) I put some barbecue sauce on the bread, then the burger and the cheese, and then a bit more sauce. Assemble the sandwich, and then grill both sides - I did the non-cheese side down first. Next time, I will add cheese both above and below - but kept thin; as it was it wasn't very intrusive, and, much as I love cheese, too much would *not* work on this.

    Although Justin claimed that he could taste the vinegar and cinnamon as solitary flavors in only one bite, I didn't notice any one flavor standing out - except, perhaps, the hidden ingredient: smoke. And, maybe a rye seed or two. The flavor was fairly unique - I would not have been able to pick out anything, if I had not seen the marinade (the chives are kind of visible) or actually put it together (which really, even as forgetful as I can be, makes for a dead giveaway,) which is really more than I could hope for. Even the fairly similar whiskey-balsamic burgers of last grilling season didn't blend as well into a single flavor. The grilled rye is also a critical part of this - the only misgiving as far as a steak marinade, is that I'm not sure how to get the rye in there. I wouldn't want that to be a sandwich, but that added so much to the overall meal, that I would not cook this burger without having the bread on hand.

Comments

[nhmetalchick.livejournal.com]

With all due respect... YUCK! lmao, that mix sounds nasty. Vinegar, rum and cinnamon??? Where did you come up with that?

[ellyssian.livejournal.com]

Well, I started with the rum, and then I needed to pick a particular vinegar, and the tarragon vinegar seemed to do much better than the other choices at hand (balsamic - did that with the whiskey; distilled white - that's only good for salad dressing, coloring easter eggs and washing coffee pots; rice wine vinegar - usually only use that with stir-fry; and red wine vinegar - haven't used that yet.)

I wasn't sure the cinnamon would work out, but it did. That part was just a whim. I should point out that fresh ground cinnamon is a different taste than the ground cinnamon you buy in the spice aisle (not that we didn't get the cinnamon grinder in that same aisle, but still...) It's a lot more woodsy, and has a heavier texture - it's a lot closer to a crunched up twig, which is pretty close to what it is. I'm not 100% sure if it's twig or just bark. It is terrible ground on to, say, bread, even when mixed with sugar. It was probably the biggest help with the smoke generation.

[ellyssian.livejournal.com]

I wondered how original the idea was, and it turns out: it's not.

Rum-Runner's Chicken - Rum Marinade - Shrimp on Sugarcane with Rum Glaze - Hot Buttered Rum - Winter Warm-Ups - Jerk Seasoning (and a few recipes using it) - Goan Roast Pork

[patrixa.livejournal.com]

and why was it made AFTER I left? Hmmm??
Remember: I'll be baaack (sniggering evilly)

[ellyssian.livejournal.com]

We don't try unproven dishes on *company*...

=)

:: ducks and hides ::

[nhmetalchick.livejournal.com]

You want me to hold him while you slug him?