Tri-Tip Cheeseburger with Bacon & Egg (BGE)

Tonight I wanted to do my first burger on the Egg. I didn’t want it to be just any old burger. I wanted as much of it to be done on the Egg. Our compatriot on the board, beercuer, told me several years ago that ground tri-tip makes great burgers. Back then I had my butcher grind some tri-tip for me and I found beercuer was quite right. Fast forward a couple years to today and I wanted to make a special burger with as much done from scratch as possible. So with that in mind I ground my own tri-tip this time around using the grinding attachment for the KitchenAid stand mixer. I made my own hamburger rolls also using the KA stand mixer for the first time for this process. I wanted to try baking the rolls on the BGE and I was going to cook the bacon on a cast iron skillet I was also given recently. I used the cooking method for a burger recipe in the BGE Cookbook which had you grill them at 600 degrees to get good sear and a crispy crust. I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. Oh and let me mention I am including the pictures from making the buns. Whenever I post pictures of burgers with homemade buns several folks express interest in making their own burgers. My purpose in posting the pictures is to show folks who are thinking of doing this just how easy it is. It is super easy with a stand mixer, as I found out today. But I’ve made this recipe with a hand mixer as well as hand kneading it. Any of these ways works well and look how easy this recipe is....

BTW the recipe is found on the King Arthur Flour website under beautiful burger buns:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/beautiful-burger-buns-recipe/



The ingredients are assembled: All-purpose flour, SAF instant yeast, 1 egg, butter, salt, sugar and 105 degree water.





Using my zero tare scale I was able to put the mixing bowl on the scale and zero out it’s weight and add the flour straight into the mixing bowl. The other ingredients I put in glass bowls and added them into the mix later.





The other ingredients are measured out into bowls The next step is to add the contents of the glass bowls to the mixer’s bowl.





The mixer has been fitted with a dough hook beater. The ingredients are mixed on the lowest setting to combine them correctly.





Once the ingredients are combined, the mixer is bumped up one speed.





After 5-6 minutes of mixing on Speed 1, the dough is done and has a hour hour rise ahead of it. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a portable hand mixer or hand knead the dough. The stand mixer is certainly the almost hands free deluxe way to go.





The dough goes straight from the mixer’s mixing bowl to a dough doubling pail. The dough doubling pail has a lid to seal it. The dough doubling pail goes to an unheated oven for around an hour so it has risen to at least twice it’s original volume. I turn on the oven’s light which actually warms the oven just a bit and helps the rise.





Here we are one hour later and the dough has more than doubled in volume. It gets turned out onto a floured work surface, and punched down (deflated).





After some brief hand kneading the ball of dough is reshaped into a round log.





The log of dough is cut into 6 equal sized pieces which are placed in my KAF hamburger roll pan, which has been sprayed with a non-stick baking spray





Normally at this point I make and egg wash out of one egg and some water. You brush this over the tops of the buns. It helps hold the poppy seeds on it. I didn’t have the egg, so I used melted butter. This proved to be a mistake. Not only did it not hold the poppy seeds on very well, it also kept the bun tops from browning as much as they usually do. Once it was too late to change, I remembered having the same problems once before about 5 years ago when I substituted butter too. So word to the wise: better to use egg in your egg wash, don’t use butter.




The buns are on the Egg and are a little over halfway through the 12-15 minute bake time. I had preheated the BGE to 375 for 30 minutes before adding the buns. My neighbor came over to check out my new toy. I got so busy talking with her, I forgot to snap a picture of the finished buns coming off the BGE.




The next step was to cook some thick sliced bacon up.





The finished bacon.





This cooking method came from a burger recipe in the BGE Cookbook and had you bring the BGE up to 600 degrees. Here the 1/2 pound burgers have just gone on the Egg.





The recipe called for 3 minutes per side at 600. I ended up adding some time based on readings from my instant read thermometer. Here the burgers are done and a slice of cheddar cheese is going on.





The cheese melts in about 30 seconds at that temp.





The burgers are off, the buns are on. Once again a real quick cook at 600 degrees. Once I had the 8th bun half on, it was time to start pulling the first half.





I got a nice toast on the buns IMHO.





The burgers had the bacon added and both the burgers & buns are plated.





The burgers were delicious. The had a great crisp char on the outside and were still moist on the inside.






The homemade buns had nice texture and flavor, plus I love the sweet flavor home made baked goods usually have. The cast iron grill grate gives a nice sear and great grill marks, just like enameled CI gates on my gas grill.





Ground Tri-Tip has a bit of a different texture than other ground beef I’ve tried. These were among the best burgers I’ve made.

Tonight was a great learning experience on the Egg and the final product was amazing!

Jim

Now, that be a 5-star burger, Jim! Yessiree, American cuisine fine dining. Luv the texture on the beef. And it looks so moist and tender. I also agree-- a beautiful toast on the buns. Way to go!

BTW, Aren't those silicone dough mats wonderful?

Awesome!! I'm speecheless....almost. Been wanting to try those burger buns for awhile now. I even have the recipe printed out right here on my desk. need to get off my ass. Burgers looks amazing too. Have you tried a 50/50 chuck and tri-tip? Wonder how that would work.

You're gonna wear that Egg out if you don't take it easy. Oh wait....they don't wear out. And they have a lifetime warranty (on most parts)!

Quick question....did you get the 3 green feet that comes with it? Sometimes dealers forget to include it and I've also heard that BGE is/has quit making them so only Eggs that were made before they quit and were already in stores will have them. Just wondering if you got yours.

The poppy seeds were a nice touch for the buns, and since you're your own boss you don't have to worry about giving any "test samples" at work the next day!

What's the distance from the cooker lip to the grate? Did you use 2 spatulas for the buns? I'm thinking that a special spatula with a long, offset handle might be useful for times you need to work quickly and get right under whatever's on the grill.

So would you like to be called Ron, Wendy, or just "the King"?

Thanks for looking and commenting guys.

beercuer:
Thank you my friend. You were the inspiration for that cook since you were the one who told me to try tri-tip.

Griffin wrote:

...Have you tried a 50/50 chuck and tri-tip? Wonder how that would work.

Nope yesterday was a lot of firsts for me including first time grinding my own ground beef. Also first burger on the Egg, first baking , first time cooking bacon in the CI fry pan. I'm in a very experimental phase just now.

Griffin wrote:

...You're gonna wear that Egg out if you don't take it easy. Oh wait....they don't wear out. And they have a lifetime warranty (on most parts)!.

Actually I am the one who must now take it easy. I need to do some online continuing ed courses to maintain my Architect's license. I need to take some time off and do those in the next 5 days.

Griffin wrote:

...Quick question....did you get the 3 green feet that comes with it? Sometimes dealers forget to include it and I've also heard that BGE is/has quit making them so only Eggs that were made before they quit and were already in stores will have them. Just wondering if you got yours.

No I didn't get 3 feetz. Where I plan to keep mine in a nest permanently I didn't sweat it.

Griffin FWIW: If you do bake those buns on the egg in a roll pan in I'd suggest rotating them 180 degrees midway through the cook to even out the cooking. Oh and don't use butter on top instead of an egg wash. The recipe mentions using butter, but it didn't work well and affects the browning.

ScreamingChicken wrote:

The poppy seeds were a nice touch for the buns, and since you're your own boss you don't have to worry about giving any "test samples" at work the next day!

Yes but the butter didn't hold them as well as an egg wash (egg and water mix).

ScreamingChicken wrote:

What's the distance from the cooker lip to the grate?

For the setup yesterday I'd filled the charcoal up to the top of the half dome firebox. On top of the firebox was a 4" fire ring and then the grate. So 4" yesterday. The picture below shows the Egg filled up that way. The CI grate sits on top of the upper lip of that 4" ceramic fire ring.

ScreamingChicken wrote:

Did you use 2 spatulas for the buns? I'm thinking that a special spatula with a long, offset handle might be useful for times you need to work quickly and get right under whatever's on the grill.

Just one spatula. On my gasser I've used a fish spatula with a wide head to grab several things at once. The Egg has a tigher working area and I felt the wider spatula would cramp my style for the buns and be slower. I do need to get used to working fast in far tighter quarters.

ScreamingChicken wrote:

So would you like to be called Ron, Wendy, or just "the King"?

So let me see I have three versions of who you think I am to choose from: 1) A red-headed clown 2) A redhead freckle face girl or 3) a computer enhanced King figure with a huge scary head. Jeez I thought you liked me What did I ever do to you?

Jim

I use the feet to elevate things off the placesetter. Like pizza stones, casserole dishes, ets. Allow airflow between them and the place setter and allows it to cook more evenly. Also use it under drip pans. If you are going a brisket, butt, things of that nature, I like to go place setter legs up, feet, drip pan, grate resting on top of placesetter and then meat. If you set the drip pan directly on the place setter, the drippings will burn and you won't be able to use them in sauces or gravy. You don't need the feet, but you need some way to elevate. Some people use washers. Heck, even if you don't want them, I'd ask for them. Some people will pay you for them.

Awesome looking burgers Jim!!
I have to admit, I’ve had Tri Tip burgers, but I bet they taste great, since the cut itself is very flavorful. Any plans for brisket burgers in the near future

Look at all that burgery goodness! Gracious... I need to try grinding different cuts of meat other than chuck and sirloin for burgers. I did add some dry aged fat to some burgers once and they were amazing! Again, great job!

Everything looks great. Were the buns soft inside? A lot of times when I do hamburger buns they seem to dense. Not sure why.

jsperk wrote:

Everything looks great. Were the buns soft inside? A lot of times when I do hamburger buns they seem too dense. Not sure why.

These are not as light and fluffy (and not as tasteless) as storebought rolls. They are somewhat heavier than storebought rolls, but nowhere near as dense as an artisan type bread or roll. For me the trade off of more flavor for a bit more density works.

A few months ago my father-in-law borrowed my New England style hot dog roll pan in a quest for an airy supermarket like roll. He did two dozen different attempts. Ultimately he failed, but in doing research he found that texture is often the end product of dough conditioners and enzymes added to the dough. Their purpose is long shelf life and more rolls for less dough - in both meanings of the word. I've seen some recipes for hamburger rolls with "airy" in the name. There is one on the KAF web site. Honestly I was so pleased with this recipe I never tried them. I should probably try some others myself.

Jim

jfm0830 wrote:

jsperk wrote:

Everything looks great. Were the buns soft inside? A lot of times when I do hamburger buns they seem too dense. Not sure why.

These are not as light and fluffy (and not as tasteless) as storebought rolls. They are somewhat heavier than storebought rolls, but nowhere near as dense as an artisan type bread or roll. For me the trade off of more flavor for a bit more density works.

A few months ago my father-in-law borrowed my New England style hot dog roll pan in a quest for an airy supermarket like roll. He did two dozen different attempts. Ultimately he failed, but in doing research he found that texture is often the end product of dough conditioners and enzymes added to the dough. Their purpose is long shelf life and more rolls for less dough - in both meanings of the word. I've seen some recipes for hamburger rolls with "airy" in the name. There is one on the KAF web site. Honestly I was so pleased with this recipe I never tried them. I should probably try some others myself.

Jim

Gentlemen, I do not wish to intrude with my discovery when not invited. I have found a way to get a bigger rise out of my dough. Just let me know if you want to hear it.

beercuer wrote:

Gentlemen, I do not wish to intrude with my discovery when not invited. I have found a way to get a bigger rise out of my dough. Just let me know if you want to hear it.

I'm not sure I'd want a bigger rise for these. This was the first time I used my stand mixer to make this dough. I got such a big rise that the dough was sticking to the underside of the sheet pan I used to cover the roll pan during the second rise. But I digress.

beercuer: it is my thread, so consider yourself more than invited. I'd be very interested in hearing what your discovery is.

Jim

Now that is the application of some serious skills in pursuit of the perfect burger. Mission accomplished.... looks so good I almost want one of them buns!

jfm0830 wrote:

beercuer wrote:

Gentlemen, I do not wish to intrude with my discovery when not invited. I have found a way to get a bigger rise out of my dough. Just let me know if you want to hear it.

I'm not sure I'd want a bigger rise for these. This was the first time I used my stand mixer to make this dough. I got such a big rise that the dough was sticking to the underside of the sheet pan I used to cover the roll pan during the second rise. But I digress.

beercuer: it is my thread, so consider yourself more than invited. I'd be very interested in hearing what your discovery is.

Jim

Jim, I appreciate your sentiment about the texture. I have enjoyed many a burger on ciabatta rolls. I thought this method might be of value to your father-in-law, in search of the illusive "puffy cloud" roll. This end result is of value to me, as I frequently work with 100% whole wheat which is significantly more dense than refined flour as you know. Also, many times I make a pan pizza which begs for a substantial rise.

That being said, I know this method works with instant yeast. I don't know about other kinds of yeast. The "secret" is to catch the dough on the first rise. By that, I mean you know how you can get a tremendous rise on the first go? Well, I wondered what would happen if I did not punch the dough down for a second or even third rise before it is finally shaped. Now I know there are "purists" who insist one needs to develop the gluten, let the yeast super multiply etc. Bald sheep! Baad and misleading information. As long as one respects time, there will be plenty of developed gluten and bready yeasty flavor.

So, I begin by mixing my ingredients and kneading the dough very well and thoroughly-- a good ten minutes (sigh... I really should invest in a bread machine). Then I immediately work the dough into its desired shape, whether it be a bread, a pizza dough, or a bun. Now one has a choice. One can either fridge the dough and pull it out to rise to the desired amount for later. Or one can let the dough rise immediately and fridge for later use. It's the resting in the fridge that develops the flavor.

Thanks for sharing this but I am not 100 percent sure of where you are going with this and I do want to understand....

With my hamburger rolls (when using a stand mixer) you mix it and turn it out straight into a greased dough doubling pail. It rises for an hour. Then you turn it out, punch it down, hand knead it a few times, then roll it into a log and slice it. The slices go into the greased hamburger roll pan, which gets covered and you get another 1 hour rise. Then into a 375 degree oven or BGE.

So are you saying I should go straight into the hamburger roll pan after it is done in the mixer, and do an even longer than 2 hour rise there? I may be misunderstanding you, but I see two problems. The first is the dough is less "workable" when it is first formed, so it would be far harder to divide and place into the roll pan. The second is the larger rise. This batch of dough was the first I used a mixer on. I got a huge second rise. So much so that the dough rose to the underside of the inverted sheet pan I covered the roll pan in. If you want there to be a larger rise I guess I'd have to pull the cover off before the dough rises to the top and let it finish the rise uncovered. But then wouldn't I get 2-story high rolls? Sorry to be dense.

Speaking of dense, my buns have nowhere near the texture of ciabatta rolls which I think of as rather tough and chewy. They just aren't as soft as the store bought rolls which are very squishy. They are closer to that of the white part of fresh French or Italian bread.

Jim