I’ve cooked beef/bacon burgers once before, back in May 2016. On that occasion, I smoked them at 300-325°F using the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. Delicious and smoky, to be sure. But on this occasion in August 2019, I grilled beef/bacon burgers using my Weber Summit 450 gas grill.

A company named Porter Road Butcher gave me a two-pound package of their Beef Vs. Bacon mix to try. It’s a 50/50 blend of smoked pork belly bacon and dry-aged beef trimmings. Porter Road doesn’t specify the percentage of lean-to-fat in the ground beef, only that it’s “lean ground beef”. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s 90/10 ground beef or something close to that.

If you’ve never tried a beef/bacon mix for burgers, you should, especially if you’re a bacon lover. It’s amazing how much flavor bacon adds to otherwise delicious ground beef. But these Bacon Vs. Bacon burgers had it all—the fat and smokiness from the bacon plus the hearty beef flavor that only comes from dry-aged beef. Continue reading Beef Vs. Bacon Burgers From Porter Road Butcher →

I last wrote about grilled peaches in August 2014 when two members of The Virtual Weber Bulletin Board shared their approach to grilling this wonderful summer fruit.

It’s almost the end of peach season here in Northern California, and before summer is over and we rush headlong back into our fall routines, I wanted to share some grilled peaches that I made just for you, and they could not be simpler to make.

Start with perfectly ripe, juicy peaches. Freestone peaches works best. The ones shown here are from Andy’s Orchard in nearby Morgan Hill, CA…probably the best stone fruit you’ll find still grown here in “The Valley of Heart’s Delight”.

Gently rinse and dry the peaches. Use a sharp knife to cut in half from pole to pole, twist to open, and remove the pit. Continue reading Grilled Peaches Redux →

Grilled corn on the cob is so easy to make that it hardly demands a post on the subject, but here goes anyway.

Buy fresh, sweet corn on the cob. Look for large ears that are long and even in width. I like white corn more than yellow or bi-color corn, it just seems sweeter to me, but purchase whatever corn is your favorite. Most important is that it be in-season and fresh.

Remove the husks and silk as best you can. Cut off the stem flush with the cob. Cut off the pointy end to remove those janky little kernels and to make a flat spot to insert a corn pick after grilling.

Preheat your Weber gas grill with all burners on MEDIUM for 10 minutes. Clean the cooking grates with a grill brush.

Continue reading Grilled Corn On The Cob →

I’ve mentioned loco moco previously here on The Virtual Weber Gas Grill, so I will let you read that article to learn the basics about this popular Hawaiian meal.

For this loco moco, instead of using a ground pork patty, I grilled-up some high quality Creekstone Farms Black Angus ground chuck burgers.

Continue reading Loco Moco Revisited →

I picked up this piece of meat at Lakewood Meats in Lodi, CA after a barbecue contest. Nice folks, good quality meats. The butcher cut a pocket in one side of the lion and stuffed it with their in-house garlic sausage, then wrapped it in bacon and tied it up tight.

I grilled this guy for 90 minutes over indirect heat with burners 1 & 4 on LOW and burners 2 & 3 on OFF. To prevent sticking, I sprayed the bottom surface of the roast with non-stick cooking spray. Continue reading Bacon Wrapped Garlic Sausage Stuffed Pork Loin →

The Popularity Of Pomegranate

In 2007, pomegranates hit their peak of popularity in the United States. A news article at the time reported that over 450 new pomegranate-based products were brought to market that year. Stores were flooded with pomegranate juice and every kind of pomegranate-flavored food. Even Jelly Belly got into the act with pomegranate-infused jelly beans and Burt’s Bees made pomegranate shampoo!

Today in 2018, pomegranates are still going strong, and pomegranate molasses is the current darling of the food world, appearing in many of the latest recipes in new cookbooks and on television cooking shows. This ingredient of Middle Eastern origins is simply pomegranate juice that’s been boiled down into a sweet/sour/tangy syrup. Pomegranate molasses can be used as a glaze on grilled meats, drizzled over roasted vegetables, substituted for vinegar in a salad dressing, mixed into hummus, and used in desserts and cocktails.

Pomegranate Molasses Glaze On Grilled Steaks

I recently listened to an episode of Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio podcast in which a phone-in caller asked about using pomegranate molasses with cooked meat. While Kimball suggested brushing it on full-strength at the end of cooking, co-host Sara Moultin suggested making a mixture of pomegranate molasses, butter, Dijon mustard, and a little garlic.

I tried Moultin’s suggestion when grilling some Certified Angus Beef sirloin steaks. Moultin did not offer a recipe with measurements, so I just winged it as follows: Continue reading Pomegranate Molasses Glaze For Grilled Steaks →

Why make a skillet apple pie on the grill when they’re easy to make in the oven? One good reason is if the weather is hot and you don’t want to heat up the kitchen, then cooking everything outside on the grill—including dessert—makes a lot of sense.

This skillet apple pie recipe comes from Trisha Yearwood (yes, the country music Trisha Yearwood with a cooking program on Food Network). It’s easily made using store-bought pie filling and pie crust, and I will warn you it’s a bit on the sweet side. But we like it and I there’s a good chance you will, too.

Continue reading Skillet Apple Pie On The Grill →

Mike Lang from Another Pint Please posted a photo of planked meatballs on his blog and I thought I’d give it a try on my Weber Summit 450 gas grill.

Make your favorite meatball recipe, form into 2.5 oz balls, and bake or grill them to a food safe temp of 160°F. Continue reading Hickory Planked Meatballs With Marinara Sauce →