My first Beer Can Burger cook... Let's do this!

EggHead_Bubba

Picked up some freshly ground chuck from my butcher. He called it "Chuck Fatty"... which means it is closer to 70/30 than 80/20 for the lean to fat ratio.

First step was lighting the Rockwood. This is my first bag of Rockwood and I'm already impressed compared to my usual go to of Royal Oak. Larger pieces, nice "tink" sound when striking two pieces together, lights fast and very little VOC burn off.

EggHead_Bubba

Cooking indirect so I added my cast iron platesetter and water pan. Using the water pan to buffer the heat from the platesetter and keep the drippings from landing on a hot platesetter causing smoke etc.

EggHead_Bubba

Next up, let's get these burgers built. Seasoned the "Chuck Fatty" with Salt, Pepper, Garlic & Onion Powder. Then sautéed some onions and mushrooms for the filling and then topped two of them with fresh havarti while the other has blue cheese. 

EggHead_Bubba

Partially cooked the bacon to help get it rendered by the end of the cook and wrapped the burgers. Used a toothpick to hold the two pieces of bacon together it took to wrap the burgers and put them on the BGE. Planning on cooking for around an hour at 300°.

XC242

I bet they turn out great - nicely done. I also predict you'll be changing your favorite choice of lump in your signature block...

EggHead_Bubba

These burgers turned out fantastic! We will definitely keep these on the menu for in the future. Very moist and delicious. Served them up with fresh homemade fries and sweet corn on the cob.

Egginspector

Wow! Those look awesome! I'm going to try some!

KennyLee

Look great!!  How long did you cook and at what temp?  I do most of my burgers indirect too, but have yet to try these which are quite a bit thicker.

grege345

WOW

bluebird66

Great looking burgers!

TTC

I'd hit that 

Grillmagic

Some Beach! These look AWESOME!

johnmitchell

Absolutely Fantastic..I thought I was looking at a Cooking Magazine..Those burgers are out of this world....Great post and Awesome pics.."Home Run"

Lmidkiff

Simply amazing!

EggHead_Bubba

Thanks everyone... they tasted even better than they looked. That "Fatty Chuck" grind from my butcher really was on point.

@KennyLee... these burgers cooked for just under an hour at a steady 300°. Keep in mind, the burgers really aren't as thick as you think considering they are molded around a can (first photo above). So in reality it's about a 1" thickness all around.

This was my first Beer Can Burger cook and next time I will use a slightly smaller can since these burgers were rather large at 2/3 lbs. each.

JohnnyTarheel

Wow... Wow....Wow......Did I say WOW!!!

Terrebandit

Good idea. 

EggHead_Bubba

@ClintMiller has a good idea in using a beer bottle instead of a beer can. Creates a slightly smaller pocket which should yield a slightly smaller burger which is what would work best for me the next time I make these.

TN2TX

I haven't tried this yet but it's right up my alley. was cooking the bacon a bit beforehand necessary? Sounds like an extra step and another dirty dish. 

EggHead_Bubba

@TN2TX... Regarding the bacon, I'm not sure it's necessary since this was my first attempt. The idea of less than rendered bacon didn't sound too appetizing so we opted with the pre-cook option. Since we sautéed the onions and mushrooms for this cook we just used a single cast iron skillet to pre-cook the bacon first and then sautéed the onions and mushrooms in the bacon grease!

SmokeyPitt

Man...that last pic is the frikkin money shot!  I like the trays and liners- where do you get those? 

EggHead_Bubba

@SmokeyPitt... are you talking about the aluminum pan?

XC242

I think he's referring to the paper liners @EggHead_Bubba

EggHead_Bubba

Ah, if the pans they are standard caterer "half-pans". My wife works for a caterer that travels the southeast catering arena shows for various bands so we have access to plenty of those at wholesale prices. If referring to the paper it's just a sheet of parchment paper from a box that is pre-cut.

XC242

I thought beer can burgers were eaten between a bun, or no?

EggHead_Bubba

@XC242... I ate mine with a butter-toasted on the BGE Udi's gluten free bun. My wife had hers without bun. Wheat allergy sucks sometimes but there are some good products out there that help.

Greeno55

Bookmarked!  Do you think the water pan is necessary?

EggHead_Bubba

@Greeno55... I'm not sure if the water pan is necessary but I used it to create a thermal buffer between my cast iron platesetter and the bottom of the burgers. It also catches all the drippings and prevents them from smoldering on the platesetter. It was a very clean cook, smoke wise considering the Rockwood lump, no smoke wood or smoke from burning drippings.

SmokeyPitt

EggHead_Bubba said:

@SmokeyPitt... are you talking about the aluminum pan?

I thought it was an old school plastic tray but now I see it is a pan!