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Grilling season is in full swing. When I was in college at Ball State, I’ll never forget walking to work at the campus newspaper on warm evenings and smelling barbecue grills all around campus perfuming the air like fresh cut grass on a five-acre lawn.
According to a 2009 study conducted by the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, 82 percent of all U.S. households own a grill or smoker and during peak grilling season 45 percent of those grill at least 1 or 2 times a week. The most popular grilling occasions are Fourth of July, Memorial Day and Labor Day, but 56 percent report they grill during the wintertime. The survey also says the most popular foods for cooking on the grill are, in order: burgers (85 percent), steak (80 percent), hot dogs (79 percent) and chicken (73 percent).
For this recipe, I make America’s favorite grilling item – the burger. An avocado spread with jalapeño and lime juice gives it a signature flavor complimented by bacon, onion, tomato and cilantro.
BEHIND THIS BITE
This is an improvement on a concept that I originally did two years ago with my fourth column for print. It was a little different and I used chicken, but the basic idea here is deconstructed guacamole distributed throughout a sandwich. My basic recipe for guacamole is avocado, jalapeno, red onion, tomato, cilantro and lime juice. All of those elements are found here surrounding a bacon cheeseburger. (With pepper jack cheese for a little extra spice.) Bacon and avocado work so well together that it can make any sandwich taste awesome, and I must say, I absolutely destroyed two of these. My Dad made pretty quick work of the other two.
Another element to this sandwich is the charcoal flavor.
I recently upgraded to a 22.5” Weber grill from an 18” to have more room for roasting larger chunks of meat. What I have found is that the extra room and distance from the coals allows the meat to soak up more of the smoke created in the larger container. I am truly amazed at how much better the charcoal flavor is. This is the item recipe I have cooked on the new grill and all three have had exceptional charcoal flavor. If your in the market for a new charcoal cooker from Weber, spend a little extra and get the 22.5” size – It’s well worth it if your a fan of charcoal.
Eat well, cook often …
