Monday, June 16, 2008

Marc's burgers, grill basket and lunches.

I love a good burger! But most of the time when I get to eat one, disappointment sets in when I taste the dry tasteless patty of grilled beef. I guess with a wet bun loaded with mayo, ketchup, mustard or whatever condiments you like, you can get away with it.
Since that bun is not part of what we all eat (right????) here's my recipe for a delicious burger.
One pound grass fed ground beef, 1/4 of a finely chopped onion, 1 clove of garlic, 1 egg, 2 tbsp oil (I like to use the spicy avocado oil) and 2 tbsps oregano. Mix and let it sit out for a few minutes before cooking. Serve with red leaf lettuce, tomato, pickles, scallions.


One pound makes 4 nice size burgers. Try making the patty quickly without to much handling, the more you handle, the tougher the meat gets. (Although the egg and oil will help a lot to make sure it doesn't get tough and dry)

I promised Jay to post a picture of my grill basket. (see right for link to Jay's blog)
I used my grill basket to make some veggies. Yellow squash, yellow baby carrots and onion. Splash of evoo and sprinkle of sea-salt.



A simple tool for your grill and oh so versatile.



You can fill the basket to the top with great results. I recently took this with me on a trip and for about 10 people, the basket was full of, zucchini, yellow squash, asparagus, onion, garlic, green pepper and yellow pepper and 1 large spicy green pepper. (evoo and a few spices) Watch the heat, but very easy and quick way to bring your veggies to the party.



Anonymous;
Thank you for your nice comment!
I'll try and help as best I can.
Here's a breakfast from the other morning. Breakfast for me that day was 11:30.
Very simple and quick prep dish. This is a good one to pack for lunch, it keeps well and the chicken tastes good cold.
Baby cucumber, scallion salad with evoo and half an avocado. Grilled chicken thighs.
If you don't have a grill, you can make the chicken thighs in a cast iron with good result.


I posted a while back about chicken thighs. They are so much tastier then breasts, and hold up for grilling much better. Do you need more marinades for them?
As for other lunches that are easy to pack; Salad with smoked salmon loin or ahi tuna.
Burger patty on a nice salad.
To anonymous, do you have the option to warm things up?

I look forward to getting your comments and feedback everyone.

Oh and try this today;
"Don't take anything personal" and as always SMILE ;-)

8 comments:

s said...

getting hungry...

Naomi said...

I want one of those baskets :D

Bryan - oz4caster said...

Marc, would coconut oil work with making the burgers? I like ground lamb cooked in coconut oil, so I'm guessing it should work well in making patties. I like all the other ingredients you're using. I'd also like to try adding a little minced grass-fed liver to burger meat for making patties ... one of these days :)

Please do add some of those great food photos to the Native Nutrition Flickr photo group.

Jay C said...

Grill basket is next purchase. Thanks for posting pic's to your site.

Grill went together pretty smoothly, now just need to season it, then let the grilling/smoking begin.

Have a great week.

Chris said...

Those burgers look fantastic.

Marc - could you write sometime about where you get your dietary aproach? It is "paleo" but it would be useful to learn a little about how you came to eat like this

This is a great blog

Marc said...

Hi Everyone,
Sorry for the delayed response.
Internet at home gave me some trouble.

Sarena,
Hope you're feeling good and eating good. ;-)

Naomi;
They are not expensive (that one was $12) and so useful. Last night I used it to grill flounder. Not an easy fish to grill without a basket or a fish basket/holder.
HUP HOLLAND. I'm al ready nervous for Saturday!!!!

Bryan;
Coconut oil works brilliant also.
You're spot on. A lamb burger is delicious. The oregano flavor with the coconut oil will work perfectly. IMHO ;-)
I will try and add some foto's.
Thanks for reading as always.

Jay;
My pleasure. The grill looks great, especially with the smoking feature. It's gonna be a good summer ;-)

Chris;
Thanks for the great idea. That will be a nice topic for a post.
I will do it within the coming days.
Really glad you like the blog, coming from you (and for all who don't know, Chris has a very detailed and smart blog with great insights, see link on right) that is a nice compliment.
Those burgers were very tasty I must admit. ;-)

Have a great day!
Marc

Anonymous said...

I bought a half bison (pastured, of course) recently, which is *really* lean meat. The ground meat especially, needs some added fat. I make my burgers much like yours, except I add grated parmesan cheese to the mix, several generous spoonfuls, until the mix is the right consistency. No breadcrumbs. The cheese is salty enough so I add no additional salt. I heat the grill on high, then turn it down to medium-high when I put the burgers on (#2 or just under 1 kilo of meat makes 5 good-sized burgers). I cook for 5 minutes each side, grill cover down, no longer or they will overcook. Bison meat is redder than beef, so I don't go by color to determine redness. Yum!

Marc said...

Anna,
That sounds delicious.
I would have never thought of that and I can't wait to try it.
Could you share the whole recipe with us? I'll put it in a post for you.
Thank you in advance.
Marc