I mentioned in another post about how I had entered in the BBQ Brethren Forum's online competition for Beef Ribs. It seems like they have something new each week, so I jumped in the "Burger Throwdown" this week using the Rib-o-Lator. Here is my entry:
"As the current front runner in last/this week’s Beef Rib Throwdown, I figured I better flip a burger in the ring for this round, too. The Burger category has clearly prompted more people to dust off their winterized grills and re-don their aprons to join in this battle. The quality of entries is intimidating!
I will say these throwdowns are fun. You guys crack me up. The earlier Godzillaburger references seem very apropos. I would not want to run into many of the competitors’ burgers in a dark alley. I am in California for the moment where the earthquake risk is too high, so you will see that rather than building upwards, I went outwards. My burger shape coincides with the peppers and flat breads I selected.
A pool backdrop seemed like a nice pairing for burgers. With the competition coming in so fast and furious this time, I figure the only way I could have a chance was by breaking out my secret burger weapon!
I tried to stay true to California cuisine, so there is plenty of cilantro and avocado. The burger meat is mixed with fresh cilantro, onions, garlic powder, Worcestershire, and a few other spices. The burger layers in order are: garlic herb flatbread, bed of arugula, burger, thick-sliced bacon rails, Monterrey Jack cheese, thick-sliced cheddar bars, pasilla pepper, mix of sweet and red onions, chipotle salsa, and flatbread. The avocado and tomatoes are to be added at your leisure. The corn, fresh green beans and mushrooms are just sides.
My one significant digression was that I just had to go with hickory wood for this one. I had some eucalyptus and avocado wood available which would have been more “Californian”, but my mouth watered too much every time I thought about hickory roasted rotisserie burgers.
OK, my beer pairing with this burger is actually also not of California origin, but this was also worth making an exception for. With its coffee and chocolaty flavors, the 1554 from New Belgium Brewing Company is an amazing beer with burgers (and anything else for that matter). Unfortunately I was too busy drinking mine to remember to include it in the entry photo! BTW, thanks guys for all the votes in the Beef Rib Throwdown...I already feel like my non-beer consumption that day was worth it!
Anyway, here’s my entry for this week:
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