Rub Your Burgers! *and a contest

Remember back in June, I showed you one of my favorite rub recipes? I used it on pork chops and than laster in the month, used it to make Chicken Fajitas. Today, we will use that same rub to make some very tasty burgers.

There is just one problem with this plan. If you have been looking at my recipes for awhile, you have probably noticed a I have a little friend who sits on my kitchen counter and supervises the goings-on that take place there. Today, I am afraid that the use of beef might be too much for my friend’s delicate sensibilities, so I have take steps to ensure that doesn’t happen.Incidentaly, we call this a cow, but in fact, we can’t be sure it really is a cow. My husband, Big Lar, grew up on a farm and he knows about these things. I grew up in town and when I see a field of large black or brown and white creatures, I think cows. In the last 34 years we have had this conversation roughly 643,972 times:
Me: Look, cows.
Larry: Steers.
Me: Whatever.
I don’t need to know if any given large black or borwn and white creature is a cow, steer or bull – I assume they know and that is good enough for me. The ruminant creature who resides on my counter was given to me by Lauren for Christmas a long time ago. Because he/she/it is sitting down, we can’t tell if it is a cow or steer or bull. And for the purposes of dispensing lotion, I doubt it matters.

Anyway – back to the matter at hand. I prefer not to mix ingredients into my burgers. This is because we eat our burgers rather rare and that means the ingredients in the interior of the meat don’t get cooked at all. Yuk. So, I always season the outside instead because that way the flavors get all nice and carmelized. These are 1/3 lb burgers, made from 85% lean ground beef. Any leaner, and you run the risk of the burgers drying out, particularly if you cook them from medium to well-done. Form the burgers, making sure they are uniform, so that they cook evenly. Rub each burger with about 1 teaspoon of olive oil, making sure to coat the entire outside. This will help your rub adhere to the meat and also forms a bit of crust which will keep all the yummy juices inside. Liberally coat the whole outside of the burger with rub, patting it on the surface so that it blends into the oil. That will keep it from falling back off when you pick the burger up to put it on the grill.I like to do this about an hour before grilling time which allows the flavors to meld with the meat. Often I add another, lighter sprinkle of seasoning right before grilling so that you get even more flavor from the spicy rub.Still doing ok Mr/Mrs/Ms bovine?I just made an executive decision! We are going to name this cow today and the name will determine the sex. Read to the end of the post for details.Grill the burgers however you usually do, be that on a gas grill, over charcoal or on an indoor grill. These would even be good on a contact grill, but be sure to get it very hot before putting the burgers on it. As I mentioned, we eat ours pretty rare, but you can do these well done without the seasoning getting burnt – just keep an eye on them. Serve on hard rolls with the toppings and condiments of your choice along with a yummy side dish like pasta salad.

Name that cow! This is the first contest I’ve run on my blog, so bear with me. In the comments, tell me what you think I should name this cow/steer/bull. Entries must be in by midnight Eastern time tonight. Tomorrow I will announce the winner, which will be chosen by none other than my fabulous grandson Mark who will be here later today for a visit. There is even a prize – the winning entry will receive a $10 Amazon.com email gift certificate. Everyone is eligible, so put on your thinking caps and hit me with your best ideas.

And then go make the burgers!