I CAME ACROSS THIS TECHNIQUE FOR COOKING BURGERS ON THE BBQ PIT BOYS WEBSITE, THE ARTICLE CAN BE FOUND HERE. A CONCEPT SO SIMPLE YET GENIUS AT THE SAME TIME, AND PERFECT FOR THE FIREHOUSE "WOW" FACTOR. YOU ALL KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT, THE MOMENT WHEN YOU SERVE THE CREW AND THEY LOOK AT YOU LIKE YOUR SOME KIND OF MAD SCIENTIST. YEAH, THIS BURGER IS ALL ABOUT THAT. AND NOT LONG AFTER READING THE ARTICLE I STARTED GETTING TAGGED IN POSTS FROM OTHER FIREHOUSE CHEFS USING IT, SO WHILE I CAN NOT TAKE CREDIT FOR "INVENTING" THIS TECHNIQUE I KNEW I HAD TO TRY IT......I PRESENT THE "SLOPPY LUAU"
These burgers were partly a blessing in disguise in that the previous nights meal for the firehouse went bust due to me marinating chicken with pineapple. The acids from the fruit broke down the chicken WWAAAAYYY to much resulting in mush. Gross, I know, but I like to make lemonade out of lemons so to speak. So I took the grilled pineapple and mushrooms that were to be apart of the chicken disaster meal and used them here for the burgers.
The Process
Make a 1/2 - 3/4 lb. ball of ground meat of your liking (we used ground turkey here but be careful because it will dry out quicker than beef)
Make sure your ground meat is cold. Use a can to press down the meat. Fold the excess up the sides a little. Use two strips of bacon to wrap around the meat. Remove can. Stuff with whatever you want. Grill over INDIRECT heat for 45 minutes to an hour, this is important to cook the bacon completely as well as the meat without burning anything.
The "Sloppy Luau" is stuffed with maple caramelized onions, BBQ grilled pineapple and mushrooms and cheddar. It is then topped with more cheddar, "Sriracha Special" sauce and a fried egg. Oh and some arugula and whole wheat buns for good measure. The way the meat creates a "bowl" prevents the toppings from falling off the burger. Genius!