Sausage Burgers, Omelets & Beer-Butt Chicken Sandwich

I know what you’re thinking, “Oh what beautiful cross-hatching!” The idea for these sausage burgers came from the fact that I only had hamburger buns and didn’t feel like eating sausages in their usual form. So, I simply squeezed out the meat and formed patties, topped them with slices of jalapeno pepper havarti and then served them with Dijon mustard and pickles. What I wasn’t expecting was that sausage meat, as compared to hamburg meat, takes longer to cook. The result? Raw centers. For those parts that were cooked, the burger was good and a not-so-bad idea.

Seeing as I’m still off (with pay) because of the fire at the building I work, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying myself. I got up this morning to cook an omelet for my loved one before she headed off to work – it sucks that she has to work to get paid… I’ve determined that when making omelets, it’s better to leave milk, cream, or water out of the beaten eggs. They hold together better and don’t have that weird texture which tickles the soft pallet.

For her omelet, I put a few leaves of fresh thyme in with the eggs. Once the omelet was flipped over, I added thin slices of red onion and some goat cheese, folding the omelet in half. For myself, I used leftovers of the gravlaxsas in the beaten eggs. I then put some gravlax, goat cheese, and onion sprouts between the soft fold of the omelet. Served with a tall glass of fresh apple cider, yet another day “off” had started beautifully.

After spending my morning listening to French chansons and reading the May edition of Gourmet Magazine (highly recommended by the way), I made lunch with some leftover barbecued chicken I had. Next time I’m making the now common beer-butt chicken I’ll post it. (For those of you not familiar with the process, a half-full can of beer is stuck into the cavity of the chicken which is then placed upright onto the grill with the lid closed for about 50 minutes. Some stores now sell special rigs that make the balancing act of the chicken on the grill much easier. The result is a very tender chicken which tastes so beautifully of barbecue smoke.)

The leftovers of this chicken make for a great sandwich. I sometimes mix some mayonnaise and green onions in with the shredded chicken but I opted for a less heavy pairing of grainy mustard and the ever versatile onion sprouts on a whole wheat Kaiser bun. With a strong cup of home-brewed coffee, the week just keeps getting better.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll go to the beach again. Getting paid while sitting on the beach….ah, that’s life…

P.S. I'm sorry for the crappy quality of my pictures. My digital camera needs a good thrashing.

Gravlax with Gravlaxsas & Goat Cheese on Rye

I'm finally on a role! I've been curing some salmon Scandanavian style since Friday and I've finally tasted it. Oh and what a taste! I read that gravlax (cured salmon) is usually served in an open sandwich and so I did my take on that.

I toasted some dark rye bread and cut it into bitesized chunks. I then crumbled a bit of goat cheese onto every piece. Be careful not to put too much goat cheese as it will make the hors d'oeuvre too heavy. The goal of the goat cheese is cheese to smooth out the sharp taste of the gravlax (which is cured in salt) and the gravlaxsas. After the goat cheese, lay some thinly sliced gravlax and pour over about one and a half teaspoon of gravlaxsas. Finally, I topped it with onion sprouts but any type of sprouts would do.

The result of this combo is a party in your mouth. You get the smooth taste of goat cheese coupled with the rye bread, followed by the taste of the salty gravlax and the sharp gravlaxsas which finishes off with the subtle and crunchy sprouts. If you let the gravlax shine through - that is to say that the other ingredients haven't taken over - the whole should finish off with the perfect taste of the cured salmon.

Play with quantities and vary the layers to see what works best for your palet. You could also replace the goat cheese with cream cheese or any other soft and mild flavoured cheese.

Gravlax

Fresh salmon fillet, skin on

Large bunch of dill

3 tbsp sea salt

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp pepper

1 tbsp spirits (I used spiced rum)

1. Curring salmon extracts the liquids from the fish. The dish you place the salmon fillet must therefore be large enough so the salmon fillet is not swimming in the liquids you're trying to extract from it.

2. Mix all ingredients and rub into the salmon, making sure that ingredients are well dispersed.

3. Place something heavy over the rubbed salmon fillet. If you have a dish the same size as the first, lay that one on top. I just used a small dish with a can on top.

4. Wrap the whole with clingwrap and place in fridge. It should take between 36 and 72 hours to cure the salmon depending on what your preference is. Every 12 hours or so, turn the filet over and baste it with the juices at the bottom of the dish it is curing in.

5. Once done, you have a few options of what to do with your cured salmon. A) If you have a smoker, you could smoke the salmon; B) You can serve the salmon in a sandwich or in a wrap, there are many recipes online for these. Just look for recipes which ask for smoked salmon; C) You can incorporate the salmon in a frittata; D) Let your imagination run free...gravlax ice cream anyone?

Gravlaxsas

4 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

6 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp fresh dill, chopped

1. Mix Dijon, mustard powder, sugar and vinegar together.

2. Gradually incorporate olive oil. The end consistency should resemble a liquid mayonnaise.

3. Fold in chopped dill.

4. The gravlaxsas should keep for a while if it's covered and placed in the fridge.