I just got back from an off-site meeting that had the word “innovate” peppered in like a steak au poivre, so it’s time for a blogging for burgers first– a guest post! That’s right, you all don’t have to listen to me rant and rave (for once). The below post was inspired by a recent trip to upstate NY and features a solid camping burger for all y’all who like to sleep in tents. BB prefers 1000-count sheets. And now, without further ado, I present to you, campingwithburgers:
Hello Blogging for Burgers fans! Your regular host has graciously invited me to share my latest burger experience. While I can’t claim to be the mega fan that he and Burgergal are, I do enjoy a tasty burger (preferably with cheese and relish), especially if cooked over a grill and eaten alongside a beer and a campfire.
Despite a greater chance of rain and cooler temperatures, October is my favorite time to go camping. Needless to say upstate NY is beautiful this time of year so it’s a great time to be outdoors in general and after spending a few hours hiking, my friends and I were hungry for burgers.
I have to be honest here; generally we do buy prepackaged patties for camping but I think that is going to have to change. (If you do go that route, Bubba Burgers or Great American are the general standby’s.) Here is the recipe that changed our camping burger ways:
Pre mix as much as much as possible! I made sure to pack a baggie of 1 ½ cups bread crumbs, 3 tsp minced garlic, 3 tsp salt, 2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp rosemary. In a separate baggie was half a chopped red onion.
Using whatever materials are available, mix 2 eggs and 5 tsp of olive oil was beaten in a plastic cup.
For 6 people I used a little less than 2 lbs of beef, flattening on a plate and creating a volcano hole in the center (yes I played with my mashed potatoes as a kid). A little at a time, I filled the hole with the egg/olive oil mixture and folded into the beef. I repeated about 4x and there was about a quarter of mix left at the end.
Next came the onions, by spreading evenly over the flattened beef, kneading, and repeating, a relatively even spread of onion was achieved.
Finally, using the same method, an even spread of breadcrumb/spice mix was distributed, kneaded, repeated.
Finally the meat was separated, rolled into balls, and flattened into patties.
At this point I turn over the work to my hubby who likes bbq sauce/mayo as a burger topping and is our group’s general camping grill master. He cooked over charcoal until browned on both sides (we like medium rare burgers and these were still pink in the middle).
In terms of grilling, we prefer a charcoal grill over propane. Never pour lighter fluid on charcoal to get it going or your burgers will be gross. In fact anything you cook on that charcoal will taste like lighter fluid. If you use any form of match light charcoal, make sure you let the lighter fluid burn off entirely before putting the burgers on the grill or else same problem. The charcoal should be gray but still hot, not black or flaming.
Finally, the hungry hikers’ burgers were ready and eaten with relish. Ok, I was the only one with literal relish on my burger, the rest of the group just found the burgers savory and delicious, particularly the flavor added by the onion.
[Editor’s note– look at that cheese! That’s perfection on a bun, ladies and gentlemen. Special thanks to LM for rockin’ the post out today. Let me know next time you’re going camping, I’ll be sure to take the ‘chopper in for a special landing for lunch, then take off before the wildlife comes out.]
