Tag: sandwich
Lamb Merguez Burger
Lamb Merguez Burger
What most people don’t know is that anytime you make sausage, you are left with extra bulk sausage that doesn’t get stuffed into casings. With the size of my small sausage stuffer, I get at least a 1/2lb. In an industrial stuffer, you’l get 1-1 1/2lbs. For me, it presents any opportunity to turn that extra bulk into a burger. While making some merguez sausage, I thought “why not a burger?” This lamb patty was topped with cucumber, grilled cherry tomato, harissa mayonnaise, on a toasted brioche bun. You could also cook the sausage crumbled and serve all of these ingredients in pita. Attached is also the recipe if you just want to make the burgers and weren’t planning on making sausage.
Equipment
- chimney starter
- charcoal
- charcoal grill
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground fennel
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp paprika
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp harissa
- brioche buns
Burger Toppings
- cucumber thinly sliced
- cherry tomato
Harissa Mayo
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1/2 tsp harissa
Instructions
- Mix together the burger ingredients.
- Form into 3 patties.
- Let your charcoal turn gray in the chimney starter. Pour in the grill in a single layer and place on the grill grate. Place the patties directly over the charcoal.
- Grill for 5 minutes a side.
Burger Assembly
- Mix together the mayonnaise and harissa.
- Spread the harissa mayo on both sides of the bun. Place the cucumber slices on the bottom half of the bun.
- Place the patty on the cucumber slices, followed by the grilled cherry tomatoes.
Choripan
Choripan
Choripan is eaten all over many South American countries. Choripan is the combination of 2 words: chorizo and pan(bread). A toasted baguette get slathered in chimichurri sauce, then an Argentinian-style chorizo is placd inside. If the sausage is split down the middle and grilled, it is called mariposa-style choripan.
Ingredients
- Argentinian chorizo pan fried or grilled
- baguette or hoagie buns
- 1 tbsp butter
- chimichurri sauce
Instructions
- Melt the butter on a griddle. Split the baguette down the middle and toast for 3-4 minutes.
- Flip over and toast for 1 more minute.
- Spread a liberal amount of chimichurri sauce inside the baguette.
- Top with a chorizo.
Chimichurri Sauce
Chimichurri is a raw sauce originating from Argentina. It is used on all types of meat, fish, vegetables, and doubles as a marinade. Chimichurri’s base ingredients are parsley, cilantro, onion, garlic, red wine vinegar, and olive oil. There are a couple ways that you can prepare chimichurri. The first way is to process all of the ingredients in a food processor. This produces a a sauce with a homogenized blend. The other way is to process the herbs, onion, and garlic. Then the rest of the ingredients are stirred in. This gives the sauce a chunkier texture. Both are great. The sauce keeps for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup parsley
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1/2 medium white onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Chop the onions and garlic in a food processor.
- Add in the parsley and cilantro. Process until the herbs are finely chopped. Scrape into a bowl.
- Stir in the red wine vinegar, olive oil, oregano, chili flakes, and salt.
- Store in a container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Smoked Pork Leg Torta
Smoked Pork Leg Torta
Tortas are one of my favorite sandwiches. The one I’m very partial to is the cubana torta at Los Ocampos in Saint Paul. It has breaded steak, chorizo with egg, ham, salchicha(thinly sliced hotdogs), and shredded chicken. Plus lettuce, tomato, cheese, avocado, onion, jalapeños, refried beans, and mayo. The sandwich is easily 2lbs. I can put it down like nothing.I wanted to make a somewhat simpler version at home. The tortas I made used slices of smoked pork leg that I had done up earlier in the day. I smeared some refried beans with chorizo on the bottom half of a bolio roll; mayo on the top. The sliced pork goes the beans, then topped with lettuce, tomato, pickled jalapeños and carrots. You can additionally add cheese and avocado; but I think I have enough on mine.
Ingredients
- teleras or bolio rolls
- smoked pork leg thinly sliced
- refried beans with chorizo
- lettuce shredded
- tomatoes sliced
- mayonnaise
- pickled jalapeños and carrots
Instructions
- Slice the bread rolls in half. Tear out the insides of the bread.
- Spread the beans on the bottom half and the mayonnaise on the top half.
- Place the pork on top of the beans; followed by the tomato, lettuce, and pickled jalapeños and carrots.
Refried Beans with Chorizo
The musical fruit returns; now with chorizo added to these porky refried beans. These beans are a great accompaniment to any meal and makes a great dip. Use these beans as the base on your bread when making tortas.
Equipment
- bean masher
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp lard
- 1/2 medium white onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves sliced
- 1/4 lb bulk chorizo
- 3 cups cooked pinto beans + bean broth
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt the lard in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté the onions and garlic for 3 minutes.
- Add in the chorizo. Break up finely and cook for 5 minutes until browned.
- Add in the beans with it’s broth. Mashed the beans to your desired consistency. Cook for 10 minutes on medium low until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Smoked Pork Leg
Most people I feel aren’t very familiar with raw pork leg. Once cured and smoked, you may know it as ham. But the raw pork leg is a great cut that is really inexpensive and doesn’t deserve the neglect it gets. A whole pork leg is around 10-12lbs. You can usually find half legs at any grocery store if you don’t want 10lbs of pork. For smoking purposes, you will want to trim off the outer skin.The marinade is an oniony/garlicky blend with orange juice and vinegar acting as a tenderizer. Marinate the leg for 24 hours. If you are going to smoke the leg, it will need to rest in the refrigerator on a rack for 24 hours. If you are going to roast the pork leg, it will be ready to go. Smoke for about 5 hours in your smoker at 250 degrees. If roasting, bake for 2 1/2-3 hours at 350 degrees. Let your pork leg rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing.
Equipment
- food processor
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 5 lb pork leg
- 10 garlic cloves
- 1/2 medium white onion
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp Mexican oregano
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 6 bay leaves
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
Wood Chips
- 1/2 applewood
- 1/2 pecan
Instructions
- Dry toast the onions and garlic in a sauté pan over medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Place the onions and garlic in a food processor along with the other marinade ingredients.
- Pulse until all of the ingredients are blended. The marinade doesn’t need to be puréed smooth. Semi-chunky is ok.
- Remove the outer skin of the pork leg.
- Place the pork leg in a gallon sized storage bag with the marinade. Marinate for 24 hours.
- Place the marinated pork leg on a rack. Allow to dry out in your refrigerator for 24 hours. Let rest at room temperature for 2 hours before smoking.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place the pork leg in the smoker.
- Smoke for 5 hours.
- Let the pork leg rest for 15 minutes before serving.
