As a whole, I am not a fan of left-overs. I enjoy cooking, I enjoy eating it right then. After that though, well it just doesn't really seem like something I want to eat. Fortunately, though I am married to a devote lover of left-overs, so it really has never been a problem.
But now, if you go back a couple of cooks ago, I bought a full beef tenderloin. I then attempted to slice some nice filet mignon's out of it. At that point, I really had no clue what I was going to do with the rest of the tenderloin, so I bagged it and threw it in the freezer until I could figure out a plan.
A few weeks later I got a text from a friend wanting to BBQ and drink some beer. Now historically, this meant me going over to his place and drinking while he cooks. Apparently, my reputation behind the grill has taken over. I didn't realize it, but he was inviting himself over to my house to drink while I manned the grill.
It was a little last minute in that I had no cook prepped. The last thing I wanted to do was pick up some pre-made burgers and dogs. Then it hit me! I had a couple pounds of left-over tenderloin, I have a meat grinder, I have bacon. So I picked up some additional chuck and fired up my meat grinder. An hour later, I had 16 beautiful hamburger patties.
I kept 8 out to cook that night and froze the other 8 for a future meal. I cracked open a Coor's Banquet, seasoned the patties with Southern Links hamburger rub and fired up the kettle. I gave the patties a quick seer, and then slow cooked them until they were medium rare.
The combination of grinding bacon in with the beef is amazing every time I bite into it. There is just something about it which takes a typical burger completely over the top. I have always loved a good burger, but these are even a step beyond that. I guess after eating them, it really isn't much of a surprise that people are inviting themselves over to my place for BBQ.
Now, all in all, this is not a completely new cook for me. Hell, I wrote about it before. Yet today it is worth writing about because it marks a new realm of cooking for me. I am not cooking purely what Mikey assigns me. I am looking in my freezer and coming up with a cook based on what I see. Now, I hesitate to think of myself as a pitmaster, but I am pretty damn impressed with myself to make it this far!
Until next post, remember kids.....CHUNKS not chips!
