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Pastrami Burger

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jfm0830
jfm0830 Posts: 987
edited May 2013 in EggHead Forum
I had the 6 weeks where my Kitchen was under renovation to look at my copy of the new cookbook Wicked Good Burgers and drool over the recipes and wonder which ones I'd do first. This was my second burger from the book and I made the companion recipe for Russian dressing. This burger is like a second cousin to the Reuben. There is a version of the Reuben made with pastrami instead of corned beef called the Rachel. So this burger is essentailly a Rachel sandwich with a hamburger patty added to the mix. My wife was busy until 8:00 tonight so it was a late supper, but it gave me the opportunity to try out the new lights in the grill gazebo for the first time. Onto the pictures:

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The first step was to make the Russian Dressing. It used: sour cream, relish, horseradish, salt, mayo, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup & sugar.




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The finished Russian dressing.




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The ground beef source was a chuck steak.



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The steak was cut into approximately 1" strips and then was frozen for 45 minutes before being ground.



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Time to grind the meat . The meat has been in the freezer for 45 minutes and the mixer has been fitted with the grinding attachment.



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I needed to grind about 1 1/2 pounds of chuck steak to get my ground beef.



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I used my Kitchen scale to insure I got 4 uniform sized patties.



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The grill has been pre-heated and stabilized at 500 degrees and I am starting off cooking the first few items on the half-moon grill grate Here the rye bread is being toasted on each side.



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The bread is quickly toasted in no time.



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The sun was going down as I was starting and I got a great practice run done in the dark using the new grill gazebo lights.



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The pastrami gets grilled next.



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Next up was the sauerkraut which was grilled for 2 minutes.



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The half moon cast iron grill grate has been removed and the burgers are grilling at 500 degrees on the cast iron grill grate.



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The burgers are cooked for 2 minutes on the first side and one minute on the second side.



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Some assembly required.



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The first step is to brush all of the toasted rye bread slices on one side with Russian dressing. 



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The hamburger patty goes on next.



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The grilled pastrami goes on next.



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The grilled sauerkraut goes over the grilled pastrami.



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Lastly comes the Swiss cheese slices. Next the top slice of bread goes on and the sandwiches go briefly into a 300 degree oven to melt the cheese.



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After the sandwiches spent a few minutes in a 300 degree oven, it is time to eat.



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mmmmmm




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These burgers had some great flavors going on. The fresh ground meat had a deep rich grilled flavor, grilling the  pastrami brought out it' flavors and the homemade Russian dressing was surprisingly spicy and flavorful.

Jim
Website: www.grillinsmokin.net
3 LBGE & More Eggcessories than I care to think about.
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Comments

  • U_tarded
    U_tarded Posts: 2,042
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    Man I'm glad you back!  Looks great as always.
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  • Dyal_SC
    Dyal_SC Posts: 6,052
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    DROOL!!! =P~ mighty fine!!!
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  • SkinnyV
    SkinnyV Posts: 3,404
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    Nice post, going through a reno on the kitchen now. 6 weeks in a few to go. Granite was a big wait but tomorrow its in.
    Didn't realize how tough going without a whole kitchen would be. Dad and I did all the work, him mostly since its his skills. Few weeks and were done. Down to the studs and back!
    Seattle, WA
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  • cazzy
    cazzy Posts: 9,136
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    You are one creative cook Jim. Another hit!
    Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
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  • BigGreenHead
    BigGreenHead Posts: 60
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    wow...thats looks great.....i for sure have to try this..thanks!!!!!!
    "Ask not what your Egg can do for you, but what you can do for your egg" 1LBG 1XLBG , Grilling, JimBeam, and Life....What else is there??!!!!!
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  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
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    You're killing me.
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
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  • jfm0830
    jfm0830 Posts: 987
    edited May 2013
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    As always, thanks for looking and thanks for your comments. This one is definitely a keeper! When I woke up this morning I could still taste it in my mind. 

    @SkinnyV You are going to so love your new kitchen when it gets back in operation! You will get the extra satisfaction of having done some of the work yourself. I still have to pinch myself when I go in the room because I don't believe it's real yet. After 27 years with the other kitchen this seems too good to be true. I don't know if you saw the picture post I made last week, but here's the link to my Kitchen Renovation pictures. 

    @cazzy Thanks man, but I'm not so sure about the creative part. What I will say is I've always been good at reading and following directions. The Wicked Good Burgers book has great recipes, so I get great results using them. 

    One thing I've started doing which has really upped my game, is I've flipped the BGE cast-iron grate upside down so I'm using the wide side of the bars. This gives me some great grillmarks and some great flavor. The grill grate for my gas grill was intended to be used on both sides and they told you so in the directions-wide side for great grill marks, narrow side for delicate foods like fish that are prone to sticking. But the wide side of the bar had a slight convex curve to help keep food from sticking to the wide bars. I never was sure whether the BGE model was intended to be used this way because the bars were perfectly flat. Seemed like it would be very prone to "stickage". But even though the last two burgers I made have been rather on the soft side, they have come right up off the bars to my great surprise, and I'm really getting some nice seared flavor on these burgers. Without my saying anything, folks have noticed and commented on this.

    Jim
    Website: www.grillinsmokin.net
    3 LBGE & More Eggcessories than I care to think about.
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  • SmokinDAWG82
    SmokinDAWG82 Posts: 1,705
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    I am glad your back too, great looking burger and as always, very well documented.
    Great job Jim
    LBGE
    Go Dawgs! - Marietta, GA
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  • yzzi
    yzzi Posts: 1,843
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    Wow
    Dunedin, FL
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  • Egghead_Daron
    Egghead_Daron Posts: 862
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    That looks amazing! Will definitely be trying this! Did you make the pastrami too?
    LBGE 2013, SBGE 2014, Mini 2015
    Columbus IN
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  • Griffin
    Griffin Posts: 8,200
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    Now you went and made me hungry. Great looking burgers. I'm going to look up that cookbook.

    Rowlett, Texas

    Griffin's Grub or you can find me on Facebook

    The Supreme Potentate, Sovereign Commander and Sultan of Wings

     

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  • jfm0830
    jfm0830 Posts: 987
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    Thanks again for the comments.
    Egghead_Daron said:
    That looks amazing! Will definitely be trying this! Did you make the pastrami too?
    Now there's an interesting thought! This was store-bought pastrami, but it would be a good excuse to make some more of my own. This is something I've done in the past.
    Website: www.grillinsmokin.net
    3 LBGE & More Eggcessories than I care to think about.
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  • RAC
    RAC Posts: 1,688
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    U_tarded said:
    Man I'm glad you back!  Looks great as always.
    +1

    Ricky

    Boerne, TX

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  • Plano_JJ
    Plano_JJ Posts: 448
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    Wow, Jim awesome work! I'm sure enough going to order that book with the way my family likes burgers.
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  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    edited May 2013
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    Now I know what to do when I can't decide between Reubens and burgers! 

    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

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  • TFols
    TFols Posts: 241
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    Wow..just downloaded the book
    Bloomfield, NJ
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  • SkinnyV
    SkinnyV Posts: 3,404
    edited May 2013
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    Jfm saw your pics, nice work and advice taken I know its going to be worth it..... The homestretch is here! Granite done today.
    Now I need to find an extra$1k for the demo large I need at PNW egg fest. Kitchen was not under budget that's for sure.
    Seattle, WA
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  • beercuer
    beercuer Posts: 5
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    Shazbot, Jim! Another stunner from you, my friend! I am absolutely amazed how you and I get on the same or similar wave length again... I just finished my attempt at something along similar lines. 
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  • MrCookingNurse
    MrCookingNurse Posts: 4,665
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    That is a killer burger man!  =D>


    _______________________________________________

    XLBGE 
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  • jfm0830
    jfm0830 Posts: 987
    edited May 2013
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    Thanks for all the new comments. I see that burger resonated with a lot more people than just me!.

    Plano_JJ the best part is this book has what look to be outstanding recipes for  sides, condiments, desserts and even frappes (milk shakes to non New Englanders). The book is like an updated version of a classic 50's Malt Shoppe.

    @SkinnyV Outstanding man! That is looking great. I love all the glass you have. Be sure to post some pix when you finish up. On my Kitchen it seems like things flew after the granite was in. Something cool happened to me the other morning you will appreciate. I woke up a little groggy for some reason and stumbled into the Kitchen on auto-pilot. I had brought a glass with me to put in the dishwasher. When I stood back up from loading the dishwasher my still half asleep brain expected to see the Kitchen I had lived with for 27 years. Instead I was very disoriented for a split second as instead I saw this brand new Kitchen. A wicked good feeling followed!! 
    Website: www.grillinsmokin.net
    3 LBGE & More Eggcessories than I care to think about.
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  • jfm0830
    jfm0830 Posts: 987
    edited May 2013
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    @beercuer Welcome aboard man! I couldn't believe when I woke up and there was a notice that beercuer replied to my post. I can't tell you how great it is to see you!! I've found a great home here and everyone has been great to me. Quite a few of the folks I enjoyed and followed at the old board are here too. But there were still a few folks from the old board that I really miss. Your name was at the top of that list my friend, so I am thrilled to see you.

    My kitchen was out of commission for 6 weeks while it was completely renovated. I have been drooling over this Wicked Good Burgers cookbook for the entire time, so I am in a burgers phase right now. I love the fact that there are bun recipes for the burgers too. My next burger is going to be the Brat Burger that has a companion recipe for Pretzel Buns. I thought of you when I was reading the recipe. Especially the part where there was a beer bath for the dough balls just before baking. Instead of giving you any additional condiments here, I'd really relish a  PM from you sometime and we can ketchup.
    Website: www.grillinsmokin.net
    3 LBGE & More Eggcessories than I care to think about.
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