A stellar burger and great walleye

I just got back from a week at our place on Lake Kabetogama for a little vacation catching big walleyes and eating some excellent food with good friends. Teresa and I were there with our friends Steve and Kathy Rudh and Denny and Gail Cletcher from Indiana. The fishing started out very slow but we caught enough "keepers" to have a fish fry and it was marvelous. Fresh walleye straight out of the lake and into a fry pan is an amazing thing. We seasoned all-purpose flour with Lawry's seasoned salt, Penzey's Fox Point seasoning and Course Ground  Black Pepper, then made an egg wash using two eggs and a little Half & Half and seasoned some Panko bread crumbs with the same seasonings as the flour. We dipped the fish fillets in the flour first and then into the egg wash and finally the Panko mixture. Peanut oil was our fry medium heated to 350 degrees in a cast iron fry pan to a depth of about 1 inch. It was fried for about 2 minutes on each side or until nice and golden and then placed on a plate lined with paper towel to hold them in the oven until all the fillets were cooked. We served the fish with Tartar Sauce and cole slaw and that was enough. Absolutely fabulous! We could hardly stop eating that stuff.
We had planned to do some burgers during the week and Steve brought some preformed patties that he cooked with cheese and bacon that were excellent and because we had used his patties I had some 80/20 ground chuck leftover. After we got home I decided to make burgers again to use up the beef so here's how it went:
1 Lb 80/20 ground chuck
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 package of Cream cheese softened
8 to 10 Manzanilla Green Olives sliced
1 Claussen Kosher Dill Sandwich Slice, Minced
3T Bacon Jam (see my blog post for the recipe)
3 or 4 Hamburger buns
Mix the sliced olives and minced pickles into the softened cream cheese until thoroughly combined and set aside. Spread out the beef in a large bowl and then season it with Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, then form it into approximately 1/3 lb patties 1/2" thick. Make a small depression in the center of each patty so that as it cooks and begins to sear, the burger will swell in the center and end up nicely shaped in an even thickness. Grill the patties for about 4 minutes per side until medium well.
Meanwhile, split the buns and grill them until well toasted. Spread 1 Tablespoon of the Bacon Jam onto the bottom half of each bun and then place a burger patty on top. Spread a generous 1 to 2 Tablespoons of the Cream Cheese mixture over the patty and top it with the rest of the bun. Serve with whatever sides you normally like alongside a tasty hamburger.
The bacon Jam gives you a nice salty balsamic smoky flavor as you bite into it because that's the first thing that hits your tongue. Next comes the great beef flavor and the finish is the creamy, salty , pickly smooth and melty cream cheese layer. Now that's what I call a burger!
Happy Grilling!
Tim

Bacon Jam

It has been a while since I last posted here but things have been a bit busy lately. That said , I have been reading a fun book lately entitled Food Trucks, by Heather Shouse, which is a great look at food on wheels across the country and among the gleanings there I found an idea by the owner of a converted Airstream called Skillet out of Seattle. Joshua Henderson makes a burger there that sounds great and what makes it great is his Bacon Jam, which he slathers on the bun before serving it. He didn't give the recipe but a few tips on what he does to make it so I figured it out on my own after some experimenting. Here's the deal:
1 lb bacon cut in 1/2" pcs
1 sweet onion, diced
2 T balsamic vinegar
3 T malt vinegar
2 t brown sugar
1/2 t chipotle powder(www.penzeys.com )
1/2 t allspice
1 t fresh ground black pepper
1/4 t kosher salt
Place the bacon pieces in a saute pan over low heat. While the bacon is slowly rendering, spoon 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat into another saute pan and add the onion. Cook over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring often and occasionally adding a little water or beer and scraping the carmelized bits from the pan with a spatula. Once the onions are deep brown, add the balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, chipotle powder, allspice, pepper, and salt and cook for two minutes more.
Add the onion mixture to the pan with the bacon, keeping the heat on low and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the moisture has been absorbed, about 2 hours. Add 3 tablespoons malt vinegar and cook for about 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat and transfer to a food processor and pulse until the mixture is a smooth consistency. Transfer the mixture to a jar draining off any excess fat and store in the refrigerator where it will set to a jam-like consistency.
Use the jam as a condiment on burgers, fried egg sandwiches, etc.;
Enjoy,
Tim