I would like to cold smoke some hamburgers this weekend if the weather is cool enough. Anybody out there have any suggestions as far as smoking times or wood flavor? Can I vacuum seal and then freeze what I don't use immediately? Is the smoke taste even worth the effort? I'm looking for some expertise here,and even though I haven't noticed a forum devoted to this subject, I'm all ears and open to all suggestions. Thanks.
P.S. I cold smoked some filet mignons and porterhouses this past weekend and they were as good or better than any steak I have ever cooked, thus the hamburger question....
I have never tried smoked hamburger and the closest to it was "Ain't Your Momma's Meat Loaf". Try it and see how it turns out.
Yes you can cold smoke and then vacuum pack. Most likely would intensify the flavor as well.
Is the smoke taste worth it? Trying it would be the best solution. I wouldn't think the flavor would be worth it if you are going to grill (especially on a charcoal grill), as burgers create their smoke from the fat drippings. If you are pan frying, broiling, or some other non-smoke producing cooking method (microwave?), then the additional smoke flavor would definately be noticable.
Ireally don't see how it would be much different from your filets mignon, except for the crumbly consistency. It sounds good to me.
I don't want to seem like an alarmist. With ground meat, I would be careful cold smoking, and then vacuum sealing it raw. Though it is rare, there is a chance of botulism. If you use proper food handling, cold smoke for a short period of time, them fully cooking all the hamburgers prior to vacuum sealing it should be safe.
Never cold smoked bugers, but I have hot smoked them on my side firebox unit useing hardwood. It turns out good but they do need to be cooked fast IMHO.
I did 8 hamburgers is great results. I didnt cold smoke em tho. Just get your heat at 200* with the wood you like. Took about 1.5 hrs to get em medium rare.
nepas
Thanks, all for the advice. Hab, if 1 out of 1000 people got food poisoning, I would be the 1. I think I will take your and Nepas advice and either cold smoke, cook, and seal...or just hot smoke them. I'll post my results when I do them.
Quote from: Ontrack on September 26, 2007, 12:59:47 PM
Thanks, all for the advice. Hab, if 1 out of 1000 people got food poisoning, I would be the 1.
Same with me!
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on September 26, 2007, 02:12:50 PM
Quote from: Ontrack on September 26, 2007, 12:59:47 PM
Thanks, all for the advice. Hab, if 1 out of 1000 people got food poisoning, I would be the 1.
Same with me!
Need 1.183 more of you posters to step forward as being the 1 in 1000 that will catch something, then the rest of us are in the clear. ;D :D
OK Tiny Tim, here you go...add my wife to the equation and me getting sick twice, and all the rest of you guys are safe. Smoke on!!!
I have done hamburgers in the Bradley. I placed them on the top rack while I was doing a pork but, careful to arrange them so they would not drip on the butt. I left them in the bradley for maybe 1.5 hours with hickory. I then finished them on the grill, they were somewhat cooked in the BRadley, so it didn't take long. Somewhere on the forumI posted the exact stuff. If I find it I will post the link. It was well worth it. Tasted like a great steak.
Malc
Here is that link: http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=4285.msg37050#msg37050
Thanks for the link Malc. My mouth is watering right now, ready to try some burgers. The plan for the weekend smoke...
Quote from: Ontrack on September 27, 2007, 12:55:57 PM
Thanks for the link Malc. My mouth is watering right now, ready to try some burgers. The plan for the weekend smoke...
No problem ;) Let us know how they turn out.
Will do !
Sounds interesting. I would think that as long as you cooked them thoroughly you would be fine. Probably best to smoke then grill on the same day though as opposed to leaving the meat at unsafe temps for any longer than necessary.
-Brian
Yeah, I agree Brian. I had planned on doing them Saturday, but the wife reminded me of a house warming party (great) we had to attend, so I guess I'll have to wait until Sunday. I think I'm gonna just make some patties, with no rubs or spices added, (highly unusual for me) and then give them about an hour of hickory, then finish them on the gas grill. Then, no buns, just a little salt and pepper so I can see how they actually taste. Then I'll know what to do the next time. I'll post Sunday night and let everyone know how they turn out. Kinda looking forward to trying something new...
Well, I did it. I hot smoked them today with 1 hour hickory, a total of 2:10 cooking time. They turned out pretty good, probably not quite what I was expecting. I just did a salt, pepper, and a little onion powder rub. I think my biggest problem was using ground chuck. It took the smoke very well, but I think I would have better results with a less lean meat. I'm sure I'll try it again someday, but there's a lot of other food I'll be smoking first. It was just something I wanted to try, I did it, and now I know.
And now I'll add this: I had a few smoked patties left over from Sunday night and had them last night(Monday). They were delicious! They were exactly like I had hoped they would be, just nuked them for a minute or so.The perfect smoked flavor. Like everything else I've smoked in the Bradley, if I'm lucky enough to have any leftovers, they are much better the second day. I'm sure I'm not telling you guys anything you don't already know. Anyway, after Sunday meal that was just not quite as good as I expected, lasts nights' made up for it and changed my perspective on smoking burgers. End of story.
Quote from: Ontrack on October 02, 2007, 03:32:28 PM
And now I'll add this: I had a few smoked patties left over from Sunday night and had them last night(Monday). They were delicious! They were exactly like I had hoped they would be, just nuked them for a minute or so.The perfect smoked flavor. Like everything else I've smoked in the Bradley, if I'm lucky enough to have any leftovers, they are much better the second day. I'm sure I'm not telling you guys anything you don't already know. Anyway, after Sunday meal that was just not quite as good as I expected, lasts nights' made up for it and changed my perspective on smoking burgers. End of story.
End of story???
Ontrack I'm happy to inform you this is only the begining my friend, so hang on to your waist size cause it's gonna try and run away from you real fast! :D ;D ;)
Hey Iceman--Wait, hold on, I meant the end of the HAMBURGER story! I thought I kind of rambled on about the burgers, which I didn't even cold smoke as I said when I started the thread. But you guys will be seeing me around here for a long time! This forum has taught me so much (and already increased my belt size), and I have no intention of "ending the story". I have only been on one other forum in my life(NASCAR on Speedtv.com), and was locked out for life on the second night when I told some snotty-nosed teenaged know it all punk where he could shove his useless opinion. So, it's a great pleasure to be welcomed into a group of people who know what they're talking about!
Steve
Hey Ontrack...there's a semi-decent NASCAR forum at racingstalkers.com that I'm a member of. Gotta have some thick skin, but if you ignore poster "Bill", you'll be alright.
Wow Ontrack that sounds like one forum to stay away from. :o I belong to a few that are sort of like that. They expect you to be an expert on everything and when you ask questions (which I do often) they about bite your head off. Heck I got banned right off the bat just for posting in the wrong colume. :D I just don't get it I guess. I thought forums were to discuss things and share knowledge, not lash out and criticize.
I think that's part of why the Bradley forum is so successful. You will probably never meet a better quality of people than you have here on this forum. It's become almost family to many folks and for good reason. I myself have to say I've made some very, very good friends here and have been lucky enough to meet some of them and share some fun. It's a nice place you decided to join and your imput is valued very much as is everyone elses so keep on smoking and posting buddy. ;D :)
Thanks Tim and Iceman, you hit the nail on the head. I've become spoiled by reading and posting on the Bradley forum, where I can learn something new and not have to argue with anybody about anything. I'm old school NASCAR (mid 70's), and I'm not going to lay down to some know it all. So, I think I'm just going to stick to this forum, soak in the knowledge, and hopefully I'll be able to help somebody out one of these days like everyone here has done for me.
I tried the smoked burgers once and wasn't very happy with my results. I think I need to try Malc's recipe and finish them on the grill. I didn't like the consistency of doing them start to finish in the Bradley.
I agree 100% begolf. I wish I had put them on the grill for 20 minutes or so. I don't know if it was the fact that I used ground chuck, or if like you said it was a consistency problem, but I just wasn't real satisfied the first night. But, like I stated in an earlier post, they were delicious as nuked leftovers the next night.