July 4 is the biggest grilling day of the year and of course nothing is more All American than grilled hot dogs and burgers. Today we’ll talk about some great ways to kick up your cookout with gourmet burgers and dogs.
First, we start with our “bacdogger”, a spin on the “turducken” (which is a Thanksgiving tradition from John Madden of NFL fame with a duck stuffed inside a chicken stuffed inside a turkey). The “bacdogger” is a hot dog, wrapped inside a burger, then wrapped in bacon. We grill our favorite all beef hot dog and let it cool to room temperature or chill in a refrigerator. We then wrap a hand-crafted burger around the hot dog, and gently wrap 1 or 2 pieces of pre-cooked but pliable bacon around the burger, and make sure to seal the ends by pressing a little burger meat into it. Grill at 350 degrees until desired temperature and serve in a pretzel roll with sautéed mushrooms and onions.
Turning to burgers we’ll move onto our mouth-watering “bacon, bacon, bacon, bacon mushroom onion burger” which is not for the faint of heart (literally). Take 3 oz. of pre-cooked (but soft) bacon and fold into thirds and pile form into two piles. Heat grill to 425 degrees and place cast iron pan on the grill. Place both piles on the pan with a grill press on top until bacon is crispy, turn over, and when other side is crispy remove. In a separate pan sauté Vidalia onion and mushrooms with a little olive oil, and when softened add in 2-3 tsp. of Worcestershire sauce and let cool. For the burgers combine 2 lbs. of 80/20 burger meat (do NOT use 90/10-you need enough fat to keep it moist and juicy), 1 tsp. Kosher salt, ½ tsp. each cracked pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, and a sprinkling of Panko crumbs. Form into patties but do not press too hard, just enough to form the patties into about `1/3 inch thickness. Make sure to put a “dimple” with a finger in the middle to keep them from puffing up. Before placing on grill either spray oil on each side of the burger or grill the grate. After 5-8 minutes turn 45 degrees, cook another 5-8 minutes, then flip and repeat. Internal temperature is 130 for medium rare, 140 for medium, 150 for medium to well. When near desire temperature top with cheese of choice, slice buns and toast quickly on the grill. Top the burger with the onions and mushrooms, a dill pickle slice, a tomato slice, some iceberg lettuce, and bbq, ketchup, or other sauce of choice. You can also use a spread for your bun mixing ¼ cup mayonnaise, ¼ tsp. yellow mustard, roasted garlic, 1/8 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1/8 tsp. favorite hot sauce, Kosher salt and pepper all mixed together.
For our All-American side dish, we’ll go with grilled corn with seasoned butter. Make the butter a few hours ahead by heating some canola oil and sauté a small red onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic. When browned let add in 2 tbsp. of chili powder, 1 tsp. each cumin, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce, Kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste, and let cool. Soften a stick of butter and fold in the spice mixture and put back in the refrigerator to firm up. To grill the corn don’t make the mistake of just soaking the corn in their husk in water and place on the grill. That’s not a great idea because all you’re really doing is steaming the corn in the husk so you’re missing the great flavor from the grill. Shuck the corn pulling off the husk and any of the remaining silk. The baste with corn, vegetable, or even peanut oil and grill on a preheated 350-degree grill until browned on all sides. Take off the grill and liberally spread the infused butter over the corn. Serve immediately with a side of dental floss.