Running out of food is not something I want to happen, especially when I’m cooking for quests.  I and since I’m not very good at figuring out the right amount of food to have on hand I often end up with leftovers.  Anyone that loves to BBQ and Grill knows that leftovers are okay to have.  But sometimes, especially, with hamburgers coming up with something different to use the burgers with is often a challenge.  Leftover burgers lends itself to some nice chili, maybe a burrito but other than that I’m often at a loss.  This time around we made some pretty amazing Sloppy Joes.  (This recipe was adapted from a Paula Deen version)

Sloppy Joe’s

• 2 lbs leftover grilled hamburger patties, chopped
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon BBQ rub (I used Plowboy’s Bovine Bold)
• 1 can condensed French Onion soup
• Hamburger Buns
• Mustard (Optional)
• Sliced Onions (Optional)
• Cowboy Candy (Optional)

In a skillet combine the chopped grilled hamburger patties, BBQ rub and flour.  Stir to incorporate everything.  Make sure the flour is cooked through.  Add french onion soup and stir.  When the mixture starts to thicken add enough water to make a “sloppy” consistency.  You can add some hot sauce at this point if you want.

Serve on toasted hamburger buns with onion, mustard and Cowboy Candy.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Larry Gaian

There is nothing more All-American than the hamburger in my book.  There has got to be a good reason hamburgers are found at family reunions, picnics, tailgate parties and the like.  It’s because they just scream friends and good times.

In my book there isn’t much you can do to improve upon the hamburger.  So when I got the chance to give August Kitchen’s J-Burger seasoning I took it.  Most “hamburger” seasonings are dry spice type seasonings.  As you’ll see this is far from the case with this product.

I’m always interested in how a product comes to market.  The August Kitchen story from their website:

Why not fresh ingredients?

We were seasoning our burgers with dry, processed powders and decided to give the real stuff a try. We were amazed at the difference it made in our burgers. They tasted delicious and so moist. We then tried our mix with other ground meat dishes like meatballs and meatloaf and realized our seasoning made any ground meat dish taste better but it required so much chopping and prepping.

After constant requests for J-Burgers, having to make extra mix for friends and family to take home, and requests for the recipe, our friends and family encouraged us to take the recipe and bottle it.

We’ve taken our homemade recipe and shared it with everyone looking for that gourmet meal without all the work.

I was expecting more of a sauce when I opened the jar.  Something along the consistency of A1 Sauce with a little chopped onion in it.  I was pleasantly surprised to see, truly a seasoning, instead of sauce.  It actually looked like it had some “meat” to it.

J-Burger Seasoning is a concoction made from Fresh Onions, Worcestershire Sauce  Diced Tomatoes, Bread Crumbs , Olive Oil, Kosher Salt and Spices.  I’ve got to be honest and say that when I first opened the jar I was not impressed with the aroma of the product.  It actually didn’t smell all that great.  But I’m used to a variety of BBQ products not smelling as good as they taste.  So I put that aside and set out to make me some burgers.

The instructions call for 1 tablespoon of J-Burger Seasoning for each 5 oz patty.  I wanted to make sure I could taste the seasoning so I went with 1 tablespoon for each 4 oz patty.

You can see that the chopped onions and tomatoes really add a great deal of thickness to the seasoning.  This made it really easy to mix in into the hamburger.  Make sure you mix it up good, you don’t want any chunks of the stuff to bite into.

Form into your patties and get them on to your hot grill.

I almost always make quarter pound patties for the family and I’ve pretty much got the whole process down to a science for cooking them.  I know how many briquettes to use and how long to cook them on each side to get medium rare burgers.  I’m not sure what it was this time, maybe it was my timing or maybe it was the J-Burger Seasoning but what normally came out as medium rare came out medium to well done.  I’m going to go through the whole process again but use hamburger with a little more fat in it next time.

The burger tasted awesome.  I’m normally a fully loaded burger guy.  I love pickles, red onion, pickle relish, tomato, lettuce and sometimes avocado and jalapenos.  This time I went with 1,000 Island Dressing, tomato and lettuce.  Wanted to make sure I could taste the J-Burger.  It tasted good, it had a nice flavor that complimented the meat and the condiments.  It seemed the meat carmelized a little more than normal.  That also added a nice texture to each bite.

J-Burger Seasoning also comes in a “Onion & Chipotle” version that I’m going to try soon on some meatloaf smoked on the Traeger.

For those with dietary allergies to worry about J-Burger Seasoning contains: Contains yeast, wheat, egg, milk, sunflower, soy and sesame.

Where to find J-Burger Seasonings.

What did that first face of Memorial Day look like in 2009?

Memorial Day looked like people.

Where's all the girls? I'm looking so cool!

Enjoying each other's company

I love hot dogs!

Why are you taking my picture?

Can I get the whole dog in my mouth?

The face of Memorial Day 2009 was the face of food.  Lots and lots of food.

300 hot dogs grilled and eaten

Gotta have some hot links too!

Country style pork ribs.

Lots of salads to choose from

But what about the second face of Memorial Day.  Have we forgotten, except for a couple of brief news stories or brief mentions around the BBQ grill.  That other face of Memorial Day looks like this:

It’s the face of James Lacy Havins, my great, great grandfather.  A civil war doctor who braved the vicious battles between the North and South to try and save lives.  Only to end of dying without anything in a Civil War Veterans Hospital in Austin, Texas.

It’s the face of Robert Everett Gahan, my grandfather, who lied about his age to enter the Navy at age 16 and fight in two wars.

It’s the face of Charles Everett Gaian, my father, who also joined the Navy to serve in the Vietnam War.

It’s the face of numerous uncles who also served their country.

Today to me the face of Memorial Day is:

It’s the Stars and Stripes.  The American Flag.  Old Glory.

The flag now flys in front of my house 24/7 (it’s lit at night) in honor of the Matthew David Ross, my son-in-law who finds himself away from home and his new bride serving his country somewhere south of Bagdad.

God Bless all those soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen who serve their country honorably so we can sit in the comfort of our chairs and stuff our faces with hot dogs and cole slaw.

If you happen to read this, would you mind leaving a comment for our service men and women.  Maybe, some way, some how one of them will find them and be comforted.

The picture says it all…