Foodie Friday! The Bethlehem Burger

From time to time my hubby plans to be a guest contributor on a Southern Girl's Guide.  Several weeks ago he introduced us to his Burgers Around the World concept which is something he has been working on for the past two years or so.  We have had some fantastic burgers over the years and I hope you tried his turkey burger that he shared before Thanksgiving because it was really yummy.  He's back this week for another installment of Foodie Friday and is sharing his latest creation, The Bethlehem Burger.  I would say his historical data is loose at best but it's a fun idea and it was truly melt in your mouth delicious.  I'll let him tell you more.

Guest Blogger:  A Southern Girl's Northern Guy

The challenge of the Bethlehem Burger was to create a burger with flavors that would transport you back to your childhood Christmas eve dinners but also capture cooking styles and methods that may have existed when the wise men were following the star to the manger. 

Although no one knows for sure where or when meatloaf was invented but it was mentioned in cookbooks as early as the 5^th Century and it is conceivable that it was around BC because its goal was to make a tough piece of meat more palatable, feed more people and use up other things they had lying around.  To keep true to my hamburger roots though, this meatloaf is smoked on the grill, which was also a more common cooking method then grilling back then. 

This isn’t your mother’s meatloaf, but it taste and smells like something she probably used to make.  When I took my first bite, it immediately reminded me of my moms French Meat Pie, tourtiere.  Pronounced Tuut K, it was the thing I most looked forward to during the holidays.  It turns out the recipes don’t have a whole lot in common except for clove, but boy are they both good.  I think my wife will be sharing my mom’s special tourtiere recipe over the weekend as part of her favorite holiday dishes week.

Mix the following ingredients and form a loaf on a cookie sheet, then put the sheet on the smoker, or indirect heat until inside temp is at least 165, which takes about 2.5 hours You want the smoker around 250 and we used Pecan Wood.

1 slice bread

5 crushed crackers

2 teaspoons cloves

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 chicken bullion cube

¼ cup water

1/2 small onion

1.5 lbs ground beef

1 egg

While your loaf is smoking you should mix up your sauce.  I never really measure ingredients when I make sauces, I  keep tasting it until it is just right, but here is what I can tell you.  Start with a lot of ketchup, and then add more brown sugar than you would think and finish it of with some nutmeg and a few squirts of jalapeno mustard

Top the loaf with the sauce for the last half hour of cooking, but save some of it to put on the finished burger.

Instead of a bun, use a flatbread, we tried one that was lightly toasted with olive oil and rosemary and topped the burger with feta cheese, you can use feta too unless you can find gvina bulgarit, a crumbled cheese from that area. 

Enjoy