Smoked Wagyu Blue Shroom Burger

smokingal

Smoked burgers has been on my to-do list for a while, so I used the need to free up some
space in my freezer as an opportunity to do so.  I used a combination of full-blooded Wagyu
and standard Wagyu beef and fat.  From left to right, full-blooded Wagyu beef lifter meat
(top layer of beef short rib; latissimus dorsi), Wagyu kabob meat (combination of steak cuts),
a chunk of Japanese A5 brisket trimmings and wagyu fat.

 

 

The marbling on the beef lifter meat was exceptional.

 

 

Everything was diced, seasoned with SPOG and finely grinded.  I calculated the beef blend
to be around 65/35.

 

 

I formed a half-pound burger patty, sliced up some baby portobellos and cut up some Ras el
Hanout seasoned Wagyu lardo, which was tossed onto the BGE at 250F with oak and cherry
wood chunks.

 

 

The burger meat was so tender that it broke in half when I flipped it.  Everything got piled onto
a brioche bun that was basted and pan fried in the Wagyu lardo fat and topped with ketchup,
mustard and gorgonzola cheese.

 

 

That was a very tasty burger.  You can’t beat fresh ground beef.  No weird chunks of gristle
or random bone fragments.  Just delicate, soft and tender beefy goodness.  Even so, it still
did not top the smashburger I made the previous day.

 

Leopoldstoch

🤤 😋 

looks fantastic as usual!!! Great looking cook and pics!

caliking

I have never craved a burger so much. Both versions look and sound DELICIOUS!!

marysvilleksegghead

Another great cook!
Is that a pizza peel or an offset spatula?

smokingal

@marysvilleksegghead It's a burger spatula made by Blackstone.

kl8ton

The marbling on the beef lifter meat was exceptional


The above adjective is an understatement. 

Wow!

Mattman3969

Why did I look? Now I’m hungry for burgers.  Lol.  Nice cook 

lousubcap

I am convinced  that your primary focus in life is to tease us mere mortals into what can be done if we would just elevate our horizons and related skill sets.   I recognize my many short-comings but definitely appreciate your expansive approach to cooking.  Lifting the whole forum to challenge each of our comfort zone's is noteworthy and appreciated.

However, you run at a totally different baseline. For that I am most grateful.

Dyal_SC

Great googily moogily....  

BGEChicago

You big ^^^^ Howard Stern fan.... Every time you post this I laugh.... RE: Bobo 

NorthPilot06

  

I’d crush that. Looks phenomenal!

StillH2OEgger

Absolutely marvelous!

Dyal_SC

BGEChicago said:

You big ^^^^ Howard Stern fan.... Every time you post this I laugh.... RE: Bobo 

Huh?

BGEChicago

Sorry... I thought you meant a caller they all made fun of for saying the catch phrase,  I'm not making fun of anything but I thought you were sneaking in this "bit" obviously you weren't  I mean no harm sir.... I misunderstood it. 

YukonRon

I love burgers.

I have had them every way you can cook them, every type of blend you can imagine, from just about every grade you can use, with every topping typically applied.

This presentation only makes me want to travel to your home and camp in your front yard.

Brilliant post as always, thank you for sharing.

Fresh ground burgers going on tonight.

johnmitchell

Wow !!!

saluki2007

dbennett561

Dear God!

Brisket_Fanatic

billt01

between @smokingal and @YukonRon's pictures , I have realized I cannot compete with the cooks or the pics.

because...



my hamburgers from here on out will be described as "Meh" 

Dyal_SC

BGEChicago said:

Sorry... I thought you meant a caller they all made fun of for saying the catch phrase,  I'm not making fun of anything but I thought you were sneaking in this "bit" obviously you weren't  I mean no harm sir.... I misunderstood it. 

Lol, I think I heard it on a snickers commercial once. 

StillH2OEgger

Am I the only one that keeps coming back to this thread simply because I just can't believe how good those burgers look?

Bear 007

smbishop

If only latissimus dorsi was in my daily vocabulary.  I love your posts!  Care to share how you know so much about beef?

td66snrf

smokingal said:

Smoked burgers has been on my to-do list for a while, so I used the need to free up some
space in my freezer as an opportunity to do so.  I used a combination of full-blooded Wagyu
and standard Wagyu beef and fat.  From left to right, full-blooded Wagyu beef lifter meat
(top layer of beef short rib; latissimus dorsi), Wagyu kabob meat (combination of steak cuts),
a chunk of Japanese A5 brisket trimmings and wagyu fat.

 

 

The marbling on the beef lifter meat was exceptional.

 

 

Everything was diced, seasoned with SPOG and finely grinded.  I calculated the beef blend
to be around 65/35.

 

 

I formed a half-pound burger patty, sliced up some baby portobellos and cut up some Ras el
Hanout seasoned Wagyu lardo, which was tossed onto the BGE at 250F with oak and cherry
wood chunks.

 

 

The burger meat was so tender that it broke in half when I flipped it.  Everything got piled onto
a brioche bun that was basted and pan fried in the Wagyu lardo fat and topped with ketchup,
mustard and gorgonzola cheese.

 

 

That was a very tasty burger.  You can’t beat fresh ground beef.  No weird chunks of gristle
or random bone fragments.  Just delicate, soft and tender beefy goodness.  Even so, it still
did not top the smashburger I made the previous day.

 

I may  never post again. Unsurpassable.

smokingal

smbishop said:

If only latissimus dorsi was in my daily vocabulary.  I love your posts!  Care to share how you know so much about beef?

@smbishop I posted about the beef lifter cut in a previous post when I was trying to figure out what the top muscle layer of beef plate short ribs was called.  I suffered through a semester of meat production my senior year of college, where we had to learn all about beef, pork, lamb and chicken, including how to grade and butcher them.  Two hour labs in a freezing cold meat locker, 3 days a week, with a world class @#%^ for a professor.  The learnings just kinda stuck.

alaskanassasin

@BGEChicago jumped the shark

JohnEggGio

@smokingal Like everyone else, I find your posts to be highly inspiring, they leave me thinking,”Wow, I need to elevate my efforts”.

So, yesterday I was driving home from work, as usual - thinking about what I might fix for dinner.  Inspired by this post, I was thinking cheeseburgers!  Ok, so I needed to swing by my local grocer and pick up some ground beef - grabbed some grass-fed 85%, on sale.  Rather than settle for the individually wrapped Kraft singles I had at home, I hit the deli and picked up a half-pound of real yellow American cheese.  While waiting for my cheese, I observed that prosciutto was on sale... Ok, I’ll crisp-up some prosciutto instead of using the bacon I already had at home.

The dear wife was late getting home, so, I had a beverage or two while waiting.  Also, did my prep - crisped the prosciutto, seasoned the beef with SPOG, formed two generously sized patties.  Cooked up the extra ground beef I had and added it to the chuck roast chili I had going, which was a bit too wet.

Wife got home, I grilled the burgers, she toasted the buns.  Beef patties, sautéed mushrooms, fresh yellow American cheese, on a toasted sesame seed bun...  In a moment of inspiration, I slathered some of that chili sauce on top.  

Being quite hungry, I snarfled my burger in a flash - quite yummy.  I got up and took my plate into the kitchen - dang, there on a plate was the crispy prosciutto.  Oh, well...

Keep the inspiration coming!

smokingal

JohnEggGio said:

Being quite hungry, I snarfled my burger in a flash - quite yummy.  I got up and took my plate into the kitchen - dang, there on a plate was the crispy prosciutto.  Oh, well...

Keep the inspiration coming!

Sounds like you'd be sweating bullets if competing on Food Network's Chopped.  But since it's real life, sounds like you did quite well.  Nice work.  Be sure and put that crispy prosciutto to good use in your upcoming meals, assuming you didn't just eat it like crispy pork bacon.   

JohnEggGio

@smokingal haha!  That’s a good visual.  I’m usually cooler - I think my rush was driven by hunger (it was after 9:00).  I’ll confess to making quick work of the prosciutto (my share).  My wife was eating at a good deal slower pace - she had prosciutto on at least half her burger.  Thanks for the kind words.