Jason's Log

Better binding for turkey burger

The last time I made turkey burgers, I had forgotten to pick up the ricotta cheese that I would normally use as part of the turkey-burger. I had also been somewhat frustrated with the tendency of the turkey burgers to fall apart during flipping after only 5 minutes of cooking.

Due to my low-carb insanity, I decided that using bread crumbs was just not an option. So instead, I tried using some grated smoked cheddar cheese. The version I used was a fairly 'hard' version in terms of the texture. Here is what I combined:

4.0 ounces grated smoked cheddar cheese
2.0 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2.0 tbsp dijon mustard
1.0 tbsp ground black pepper
1.0 tbsp ground sea salt
1.0 tbsp garlic salt
1.0 tbsp onion powder
1.25 pounds 7% fat ground turkey

I added everything but the turkey to a large mixing bowl and stirred until it was thoroughly mixed. I then added the turkey in small pieces, being careful to distribute the cheese/seasoning mixture evenly throughout the turkey.

I then formed 4 patties from the mixture and set them aside.

I preheated the grill on high for 15 minutes. Scraped the grilling surface, then oiled it with canola oil. I placed the patties on the grill, leaving all burners set to high and the lid closed. I cooked them for 5 minutes, flipped them, and cooked for another 5 minutes on high.

I then opened the lid, inserted the temperature probe, closed the lid and turned the burners down to medium.

I waited until the internal temp reached 165, then removed and allowed them to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

The results were outstanding! The cheese made two significant contributions: It made the patties more sturdy and easier to flip, and it added a wonderful smoky flavor to burger.

Next time around, I might try a slightly milder cheese and instead use some chipoltle pepper seasoning to add the smoky flavor.

Seafood quiche tweaks

Although the first version of this was quite successful, I've made a few adjustments to the crab and shrimp seafood quiche recipe that I documented earlier.

The revised version uses Monterey Jack instead of cheddar cheeses, and increases the amount of tobasco and black pepper. Personally, I prefer the mix of yellow and white cheddar cheeses in the first version, but Young doesn't really like flavorful cheeses.

2.5 cups of egg beaters
1.0 cups of heavy cream
8.0 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2.0 tsp fresh ground pepper
1.5 tbsp tobasco sauce
6.0 scallions, finely chopped

We also upped the cooking temperature on the slowcooker to just-about-medium. This resulted in a drier firmer quiche, which we find preferable.

A new salmon marinade

Based on the high ratings received on allrecipes.com, I tried out this slight variant on Firecracker Salmon:

1.0 lb salmon fillet
0.5 cup peanut oil
4.0 tbsp soy sauce
4.0 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1.0 bunch of green onions, chopped
3.0 teaspoons Splenda
1.0 tbsp minced garlic
1.0 tsp minced ginger
2.0 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1.0 tsp sesame oil
0.5 tsp fresh ground salt
1.0 tsp fresh ground pepper

I mixed up all of the above non-salmon ingredients in a bowl, then whisked thoroughly. I then emptied the contents of the bowl into a 1 gallon ziploc bag, and placed the salmon fillet inside the same bag. I pressed most/all of the air out of the bag, zipped it, and placed it into the fridge before leaving for work.

About 8 hours later, I preheated the grill all burners on high for 15 minutes.

I made a simple 'boat' out of aluminum foil and placed it on the grill. I then placed the salmon fillet in the center of the foil, then poured the contents of the marinade on top. I closed the grill lid, and let it cook for 8 minutes on high.

Results:

Flavor was great. It is spicy without being overwhelming. Young would have liked it a bit spicier, and we both thought it should have been cooked longer.

Next time:

I will increase the red pepper flakes to 1.0 tbsp, and will increase the cooking time to 10-12 minutes to ensure the fillet is cooked all the way through.

Broccoli Salad Update

An earlier version of this broccoli salad had gone over reasonably well, but I've never been one to leave good enough alone. So this evening I whipped up a new batch while incorporating a few minor tweaks:

0.33 lbs bacon, cooked crisp and finely chipped
3.0 heads fresh broccoli, mostly florets, chopped
1.5 cups Smoked Cheddar cheese, shredded
0.25 cup balsamic vinegar
2.0 tbsp Splenda
2.0 tsp ground black pepper
1.0 tsp kosher salt
0.66 cup mayonnaise
1.0 tsp fresh lemon juice

The major change in ingredients comes in the use of balsamic vinegar in place of the red wine vinegar called for in the original recipe. The balsamic vinegar gave the preperation a nice sweetness that Young and I both thought was an improvement.

In addition, I chopped up the bacon while it was in it's right-out-of-the-package form. It turns out that bacon is much easier to chop and mince before it is cooked.

I mixed up all of the ingredients except for the broccoli in a bowl to ensure everything was nicely integrated (including the cheese and the bacon). I then poured the mixture over the broccoli, stirred, and refrigerated for about an hour prior to serving.

Good stuff indeed.

Steaks, damn near perfect

Taking some advice from friend and co-worker Evance Mok, plus some feedback from the last time I made steaks for Young, I have made a few refinements to my cooking technique.

Young and I picked up a pair of New York Stip steaks from Whole Foods. They were each around 12 ounces. Using my old braun coffer grinder-cum-spice grinder, I roughly ground up a few tables spoons of peppercorns. I then sprinkled each side of each steak with enough ground pepper to coat. I then sprinkled on a few pinches of coarse sea salt and pressed the salt and pepper mixture into the surface of the steaks.

Meanwhile, I had started the grill preheating with all burners set to high. After the grill reached it's max temp, I scraped the surface and oiled it lightly.

I placed each stake on the grill and closed the lid, leaving all burners set to high. I grilled them for 3 minutes, flipped them, and grilled for an additional 3 minutes.

I then turned all burners down to medium-high, and inserted my remote temperature sensor into Young's steak (she likes her steaks more cooked than I do). But instead of placing the steaks back onto the primary cooking surface, I put them on the upper cooking rack.

This was done to help ensure that grease drippings did not cause flare-ups.

I set the temperature sensor on the side-table, and waited until it hit 125 degrees. At that point , I removed my steak and set it aside. I continued to cook Young's steak until the sensor read 135. I then remove her steak, leaving the sensor inserted.

I let both steaks sit for another 5 minutes before removing the temperature sensor and serving.

The results: Perfection. The coating of salt and pepper gave the steaks just the right amount of flavor. The high-heat searing sealed in the juices. Finishing off the cooking on the upper rack prevented any unwanted charring or overcooking.

These were served with my now-patented roasted garlic mashed fauxtatoes and a very nice Australian Shiraz. The combination was outstanding.

Basil Shrimp Update

We've done a second round of testing and improvements to the basil shrimp recipe discussed a few weeks ago. This time around, we used the following ingredients in the sauce/marinade:

2.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
0.25 cup unsalted butter, melted
3.5 tbsp lemon juice
3.0 tbsp brown mustard
4.0 tbsp dried basil
1.0 tbsp crushed garlic
0.25 tsp white pepper
0.25 tsp salt
2.0 pounds fresh frozen shrimp, peeled

We placed this sauce and the peeled shrimp into a 1 gallon ziploc bag and let it sit in the fridge for 3-4 hours. When it came time to cook it, I emptied the bag contents (sauce + shrimp) into a skillet.

I turned it up to medium heat and let it simmer for a few minutes, until the shrimp looked cooked (pink in color). I then used a slotted spoon to remove the shrimp from the skillet, and set it aside.

I then added a pinch of guar gum (a thickening agent) to the skillet, and continued to simmer the sauce while stirring for another minute. This allowed the sauce to thicken up nicely.

The results were teriffic. I probably cooked the shrimp a bit too long - next time I'll remove them from the skillet as soon as they turn white/pink. The flavor was great - a big winner.

We served this with a side of steamed frozen broccoli seasoned with some extra virigin olive oil and salt, pepper.

Creole Potato Salad

Well not exactly potato salad, as I would never actually eat such starch filled abominations :) This is our low-carb version instead:

We decided to take a swing at this side dish using steamed cauliflower and Emeril's Original Creolo Potato Salad recipe.

As usual, we just steamed a fresh head of cauliflower for about 8 minutes, until it reached 'boiled potato' softness. We set that aside, and mixed up the following:

0.5 cup mayonnaise
0.25 cup pimento stuffed green olives, minced
2.0 tbsp yellow onion, minced
2.0 tbsp green onion, chopped
1.0 tbsp dried parsley
1.0 tbsp sweet pickle relish
1.0 tbsp white wine vinegar
1.0 tbsp juice from jar of stuffed olives
1.0 tsp Worcestershire suace
0.5 tsp ground black pepper
0.25 tsp salt

We mixed all of this up into a bowl, then added in the cauliflower and tossed to cover. The results were good, but not great. The flavor was not quite strong or punchy enough for either of us. We did mistakenly omit the two hard-boiled eggs that were called for, as well as some chopped celery (I hate the texture) and green bell peppers (I hate the flavor).

The next time around, we will also add:

1.0 tsp celery salt (to punch up the taste)
2.0 tsp black pepper (we like it peppery)
2.0 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped

We also experimented with adding yellow mustard to the mix, which also helped bring out some flavor. We may try that next time, or some creolo mustard seasoning if we can find it.

Overall, not a bad start!