Smoked Burger Experiment....Hot vs Cold smoked

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dingo007

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Feb 17, 2014
326
68
Gypsy
I really like smoked burgers, but dislike that I have to limit myself to weekends only. So my theory is to cold smoke some so I can freeze them, and toss them on the grill any week day I feel like it. So in the interests of science, i decided to make a batch of burger patties and split them. (so spicing etc is the same, the only difference being the cure#1 in the cold smoke batch)) half each being dedicated to cold and half hot smoking.

Made up the patties...


Stuck em in the fridge to firm up a while and had one of these;


Got the MES warmed up with a 1/3 of tube of Pecan and got some burger going


Meanwhile, made some burger rolls....(which came out way to dense for my liking..will i ever master baking?)


When they reached 115F IT, i pulled them and seared them over charcoal for some crust and plated, served with hand cut fries and grilled zucchini


They were very tastey...nice smokey flavor as you'd expect. Even my Cretans hoed em down


So, the base line has been set....i let the cured patties sit overnight in the fridge and will be cold smoking today..probably 4-6hr..we'll see. I think, i'll freeze them and grill early next week. Stay tuned.......
 
The cure will change the flavor a good bit. You may have just invented the pastrami burger!
On the dense rolls, try aerating the flour before you scoop it. Either sift or just move the scoop around in the canister. Flour gets packed down and you end up with a dough that has too low a hydration percentage. You want your dough to be soft and slightly sticky.
 
The cure will change the flavor a good bit. You may have just invented the pastrami burger!
On the dense rolls, try aerating the flour before you scoop it. Either sift or just move the scoop around in the canister. Flour gets packed down and you end up with a dough that has too low a hydration percentage. You want your dough to be soft and slightly sticky.
Yeah...i've cured burgers before and they end up having a slightly "hammy' taste...which is ok with me.

Thx for the tips on the flour.....this dough was definitely not soft and sticky
 
All looks pretty tasty,  Good looking testers !!!

Gary
 
I don't add cure to the ones that I cold smoke. Instead I wait until the temps are favorable for me to cold smoke them. I do the same for fish. Typically the temps are 38-42 degrees outside when I do this.
 
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