Patti and I have set one night a week just for us. It’s our date night. We usually put something special on our Green Mountain Wood Pellet Grill/Smoker but sometimes we cook inside. We always eat outside on our patio where it is very comfortable with a rainforest theme. Wood burning stove, little lights, candles, lanterns and surround sound. We enjoy a little wine, or strawberry margaritas using frozen strawberries for ice, good food, music and sometimes a dance or two…
We love a great taco and a great burger. I couldn’t make up my mind as to what to make for dinner. It’s date night and I like to put something on the grill and spend a relaxing evening with Patti. Giving it some thought I came up with a ½ pound Super Taco Burger with all the flavors of a good taco and topped with Chipotle cheddar cheese, jalapenos and salsa.
As a special treat we were given some of Lumberjacks new “Lumber Jill” Italian Blend garlic wood pellets adding a nice smoky garlic flavor to our burgers. I smoked them for an hour. Very nice, you have got to try these.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour smoke @ 150 degrees (65c), 12 minutes @ 350 degrees (177c)
Grill: Green Mountain Wood Pellet Grill
Pellets: Lumberjack’s New “Lumber Jill” Italian Blend garlic pellets
Ingredients:
- 1lb. ground beef 80/20
- 1/3 cup sweet onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon taco seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Green Mountain “Sizzle” rub
- 2 teaspoons chipotle powder
- 2 teaspoons dried red pepper flakes
- 1 Tablespoon fresh minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Country Bob’s Honey Habanero All Purpose Sauce
- Chipotle cheddar cheese, to taste
- Chunky red salsa, to taste
- Lettuce, tomato and condiments of choice
Directions:
Mix all the seasoning and onion with the meat in a bowl and form your patties. We made 2 half pounders. Whew! Place them back into the refrigerator until you are ready to put them on the grill. Hamburgers hold together better when they go on the grill cold.
I smoked these for an hour at 150 degrees (65c). Then, I pulled them off the grill and turned up the heat to 350 degrees (177c). We used our “Grill Grates” and they sear at 350. Put the burgers back on the grill for 6 minutes per side with a quarter turn at the 3 minute mark. Then, top off with the cheese after the last turn.
On The Grill Grates, You can Smell the Garlic in the Smoke
Cheese Me, please
Looking For 165 degrees (74c) to be U.S.D.A. Food Safe
Time to Build your Burger
Cooking Directions: Green Mountain Wood Pellet Grill
To prepare the grill for cooking, check your pellet supply – top off or change flavors as needed. Scrape grill grates off. Set the temperature to 450 degrees and press the “Start” button. Give the grill about 15 minutes to reach temperature and the grates to burn clean.
Note: You can set the start temperature anywhere you want. I do 450 (230c) for a quick cleaning burn.
I like to smoke everything for at least 30 minutes with an hour being even better. After all the Green Mountain wood pellet grill/smoker is an awesome smoker so use it for all the wood smoke flavor it will add to your food.
So, after the grill comes up to temp and burns clean turn it back down to 150 degrees (65c). Place your burgers directly onto the grill and just let it hang out in the smoke and get happy for an hour or so. This is referred to as “Smoking” or “Hot Smoking”, the temperature is 150 degrees (65c). 30 minutes of smoking is not enough to have any cooking effect on your meat but it is enough to open the pores so that the meat can pick up all the flavor of the smoke.
After an hour, turn the (Temperature Control) up to 350 degrees (174c) and pull the meat off the grill. When the grill comes up to temperature put your meat back onto the grill for 6 minutes per side with a quarter turn at the 3 minute mark. Finish by topping off the burgers with the cheese after the last turn.
When the meat reaches an internal temp around 165 degrees (74c) to be U.S.D.A. Food Safe pull it off, cover it and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. Keep in mind that the meat will continue cooking for another 10 degrees after you pull it off the grill. I use a Maverick ProTemp Instant Read Thermometer for checking meat temps.
Note: I get a lot of questions about the kind of pellets you can use with a recipe. Keep in mind that a recipe is just an outline. Some you need to follow closely like when you are making bread, but most you can do anything you can dream, our favorite way to cook. Feel free to mix and match the pellets until you find a combination you really like. Also you are only smoking at temps less than 250 degrees (122c), anything higher is cooking and there will not be much if any smoke so it does not matter what kind of pellet you are using.
Let’s Eat
About our Recipes
The important thing to keep in mind is TIME & TEMPERATURE. You can even do some of them in the oven or crock pot, but, then you lose all the flavors you get from cooking outdoors. But sometimes it does rain.
Remember that a recipe is simply an outline; it is not written in stone. Don’t be afraid to make changes to suit your taste. Take it and run with it….
