Dragon's Cooking Class - Got a Question?

[rpmdds [sherpa]]

Burger recipe:

2lb medium or regular ground beef (or substitute lean/extra lean ground WITH 1/3 cup butter)
3 tbsp Worchestershire Sauce
1/4 cup bread crumbs or toast crumbs
1/4 cup beer
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp freshly minced garlic (or substitute 2tbsp garlic scape pesto)
1 tsp hickory smoke
2 tbsp bacon jam (or substitute 1/2 cup minced onion fried in butter)
1egg

Mix thoroughly and form into 8 large patties, and lighly coat with your favorite grill spice (I use Back Eddie's Seasoning Salt). Grill over high heat for 2 mins then flip, another two minutes and finish over medium heat.

[Flu]

But Doc....what do you do with the rest of the keg of beer after you measure out 1/4 cup?

[GrnMtnDragon [sherpa]]

I'm a burger purist, I guess. Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and maybe a little granulated garlic if I'm in the mood. In my book, anything else mixed in makes it meatloaf.

[Aronion]

My wife makes a jalapeno/mushroom/bleu burger that is amazing. She doesn't really measure things out when she makes these, so I can't tell you how much to put in the burger.

[CKWendel (gra-fixer)]

Dragon you had mentioned a while back that you ran a small catering company and made simple foods and mentioned shepherd's pie as one of the things you made. would you share your recipe?

When i went on vacation to Las Vegas I ate at nine fine irshmen in hotel new york and had the shepherd's pie which was really great. Now I'm looking around to see what I might do to make it myself.

[GrnMtnDragon [sherpa]]

It's actually pretty simple, Chris. Traditionally it should be made with ground lamb (hence the name) but it's rare to find that these days. The classic Irish version is ground lamb or ground beef, browned with garlic, onions, rosemary, thyme, and parsley. Mix in some peas, place that in a casserole dish and cover it with about an inch thick layer of mashed potatoes however you like to make them. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 375-400 degrees F until the potatoes have a nice crust and the filling is all bubbly.

The Americanized version uses corn instead of peas. Corn isn't native to Ireland so it would never be used for a true Irish Shepherd's Pie.

One of my favorite ways of making a really simple Shepherd's Pie is when I make meat loaf for dinner, I make a double recipe. Then a day or two later, I crumble the leftover meatloaf into a casserole dish, add canned corn, and cover it with freshly made mashed potatoes. It always comes out great because of how I season my meat loaf and it's about as quick and dirty a comfort food dinner as you can make.

[CKWendel (gra-fixer)]

It's actually pretty simple, Chris. Traditionally it should be made with ground lamb (hence the name) but it's rare to find that these days. The classic Irish version is ground lamb or ground beef, browned with garlic, onions, rosemary, thyme, and parsley. Mix in some peas, place that in a casserole dish and cover it with about an inch thick layer of mashed potatoes however you like to make them. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 375-400 degrees F until the potatoes have a nice crust and the filling is all bubbly.

The Americanized version uses corn instead of peas. Corn isn't native to Ireland so it would never be used for a true Irish Shepherd's Pie.

One of my favorite ways of making a really simple Shepherd's Pie is when I make meat loaf for dinner, I make a double recipe. Then a day or two later, I crumble the leftover meatloaf into a casserole dish, add canned corn, and cover it with freshly made mashed potatoes. It always comes out great because of how I season my meat loaf and it's about as quick and dirty a comfort food dinner as you can make.

Thanks. I tried this over the weekend but burnt my tongue on the first bite. even with my burnt tongue it was good but I'm not sure if it was because of my problem or not but the meat didn't taste right. I made with carrots instead of peas, and tried some different seasonings. I didn't make enough meat thou, will have to double my beef next time I try this.

[huckleberry {council}]

have any of you used the indoor turkey fryer by Masterbuilt? piece of crap or useful kitchen appliance?

[Flu]

Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

[GrnMtnDragon [sherpa]]

Please don't, under any circumstances, use a turkey fryer indoors. Ever. You're safer putting your hand in a wood chipper.