Things you will need:
- 3 pounds of chuck beef (or you can buy ground beef)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp ground kosher salt
- 2/3 cups Italian bread crumbs
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 6-8 strips of bacon (bacon bits are ok)
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup of shredded cheese of your choice
- Buns and any garnish you would like
- 1 bag of Cowboy Brand Lump Charcoal
I like to start out by going to get 3 pounds of fresh chuck beef, the fatter the better. The fat in the meat is needed to keep your burgers nice and juicy while cooking. You should be able to pick this up at the meat counter at your local store. If you want to use fresh chuck, you will also need to have a meat grinder. But if you don't have one you can just buy fresh ground beef, 80/20 lean is best. While you are at the butcher's counter you should also pick up some thick cut bacon. It's usually better than the pre-wrapped kind.
Once that's done I normally head over to the spice counter. I understand not all stores have one, but you will at least have a spice aisle if you don't already have these ingredients at home. I like to keep things as fresh as possible, so I grind all the spices myself at home.
Ok now let's start getting our burgers ready. If you bought chuck beef, you will first want to start off by grinding that. Either way, take the ground meat and put it in a bowl. Once this is done, it's time to cook the bacon half way, then add the bacon and cheese to the beef. Next add the eggs and spices to your mix. Since we hand form our burgers, we wet our hands which helps to keep the ground beef from sticking to your hands and also helps form the patty.
Time to light your pit. MMB's pit of choice is our Big Green Egg XL or our Weber Kettle 22 inch, but the pit you chose isn't that important. Once you have your Cowboy Lump Charcoal in a chimney give it about 15 mins to get it hot and ready to cook. Pour your hot charcoal into your pit. MMB likes to pour it on top of unlit lump. Close your pit for 10 minutes to allow good air flow and to get your pit nice and hot. The temp should be between 400-450 degrees fahrenheit. Then put those burgers on your hot grates, give them about 3-4 mins on each side, and let indirect heat finish cooking your burgers to whatever temperature you like them. We like our burgers a nice medium rare. Make sure you don't push on the burgers or cut into them on the pit. Once the burgers are cooked the way you would like them, take them off the pit and rest them for 2-3 mins and serve with whatever garnish you prefer. And that's it! Sit back and enjoy with an ice cold beer and whatever sides you would like.
If anyone has questions, or just wants to let us know how your burgers came out, please email us! Don't forget to share and like us on Instagram and Twitter! And a HUGE shoutout to Cowboy Hard Lump Charcoal for making kick-ass products and being awesome to work with! If you haven't tried their product, I highly recommend doing so. Also check out their website as this blog will also be featured on their blog.
