So last night was another group grilling and smoker night. The theme was burgers for the grill and whatever for the smoker.

I did the usual ground lamb for our burgers and the GF prepared a leg of lamb for the smoker (if you've never smoked a leg of lamb, just do it, it's amazing) and lamb chops for the grill.

My next door partner in crime is a Delta Captain with way too much time on his hands at the moment so he decided to grill brisket burgers finished with Gorgonzola cheese. The brisket is an 80/20 blend and made for the best beef burger I've had from a backyard grill. Admittedly, I am a lazy burger cooker as it's either lamb or chuck as I don't get too excited about burgers, but the ground brisket was awesome.


Again, if you haven't done it, you should.

Try Chaffles instead of buns. It will be the best burger you’ll You ever ate.

What a coincidence, that's what I'm making for supper tonight; loaded cheeseburgers on whole wheat buns with seasoned potato wedges + catsup W/ tabasco. YUM!

quote:

Originally posted by 201k:

Try Chaffles instead of buns. It will be the best burger you’ll You ever ate.

We did Kaiser rolls and pretzel buns. But I am pretty much full on paleo for the past 7 years so the Chaffles is an excellent idea (had to Google that one). My GF has already a pile of recipes for them so I am sure she will get busy and make some. Thanks for the suggestion.

Norman don't know if or how you season your hamburgers, but I use a little Dales marinade in the meat and then Montreal seasoning on the outside. Makes a pretty mean burger.


UPDATE - So I had no idea that I owned a Panini/waffle grilling thingy, but the GF dug it out and has already started with the Chaffles. The current favorite is sharp aged cheddar with minced lamb from a repurposed lamb burger. Gotta admit, this stuff can catch on.

I've got two thread ideas for you based on your earlier comments.

First, I want to hear more about that smoked leg of lamb. What is your prep, and what is your temperature and timing?

Second, I would like to know if anyone has made the pancake equivalent of a chaffle? Wouldn't that work, or would you just burn your cheese?

Boneless Leg Of Lamb

Slather with Grape Seed, EVO, or Avocado Oil. I pretty much use Avocado oil for everything now as it has the highest smoke temp of most oils and it does not impart an oil taste on meat when grilling or smoking.

Once everything is oiled, I then rub ground Rosemary all over. I use a coffee grinder to freshly chop all the herbs. Then do the same with crushed garlic. Then a light dusting with Cavander’s seasoning or Zataraine’s seasoning if we want more spice. Then add some sprigs of Thyme in the cut side (was the bone side) and twine the leg up with string. Let it rest for 4 - 8 hours before smoking.

Depending on how much fat is present, I either go with what I got or drape bacon over the top. Bacon is always the substitute for fat. And what the hell, it’s bacon; nothing bad has ever happened with bacon.

Set the smoker to 250ish and slap on the leg - cut side down. Cook till you hit 145ish on the internal - about three'ish hours or half a bottle of Cardhu Amber Rock Scotch. Again, I use a wireless temp probe to make it goof proof. I have found that sometimes the scotch tasting compresses time and best to have a wake-up call. I check at about 2 hours to baste with butter or chicken bone stock if things are looking dry. Most of the time this isn’t needed but what the hell, it’s butter and nothing bad ever happened with too much butter.

I do not use a lot of smoke as lamb does not need much additional wood flavor. As soon as it hits 145ish it is off the smoker, wrapped for a few moments to rest. The internals are moist, redish, and full or flavor. Like many meats, it is even better the next morning - if there is anything left. I have found that if we cook a bunch of lamb chops beforehand, there is more lamb leg left the next day. And what could possibly go wrong with lamb chops.

As to Chaffle, I am an amateur or an expert from three attempts. We are just now experimenting, but there seems to be hundreds of variations on it so it's open to interpretation. But the aged Cheddar and ground lamb is pretty nice for breakfast, mid-day snack or for dessert. But be careful, if you are not in ketosis, it's just a lot of fat in your diet. If you are in ketosis, then it's pure protein/fat fuel.

As to the cooking device, I am not sure it matters much. The Mexicans do the same thing on a hot skillet - I forget what they call it but it's also damn good.

Thanks for the details. I've never tried leg of lamb, but I'm tempted. I like good lamb. Your prep may be a little too labor intensive for me. I like a good 24-hour marinade, but other than that, I'm pretty lazy.

The chaffle had me thinking about the cachapas we used to get in Venezuela. They were always served with queso de mano on top, and a slice of ham if you wanted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cachapa

Next time I do pancakes, like Saturday, I'm going to add shredded mozzarella and see what happens.

I takes longer to describe than to actually do the rub/marinade on the lamb. The main thing is if you go boneless, just truss it with string otherwise it will dry out before its cooked.

Lamb is good, but smoked lamb is on another level of good.

I would go bone-in. I don't see lamb a lot in local meat markets, but I could probably find it in a halal market.

Halal Markets = Chinese Wet Markets

Sorry I wouldn't purchase bottled water at a Halal market.