Cave Man Burgers... Going Primal

Of course the with the New Year, comes resolutions...

I have decided to make a change for myself and my family. Trying to eat in the healthiest manner possible, along with being active and doing physical activities as a family. Nothing crazy; right now the activity is a simple brisk 30min walk everyday with the family and our two doggies, Bach & Mozart. I'll work into other things as we go.

In the past I have had good results while following the Atkin's diet, no carb blah blah blah... This is a blog about cooking & eating; not about "not eating". While on the BGE forum, I came across a link to this site, Mark's Daily Apple. It is a site run by Mark Sisson. He is the author of several books, the one that I read is called "The Primal Blueprint". Not shilling for Mark's book or site; just wanted you to know where some of the ideas for my meals have come from and provide links so you can explore as well.

Anyway... Back to why you are here. The food! I'm not sure if this blog is a food blog with pictures, or will wind up as a picture blog that just happens to focus on food. I'm hoping for somewhere in the middle.

I'll take you through the steps for the Cave Man Burgers and the recipe will follow at the end...

The meal is Cave Man Burgers served on a bed of Sauteed Spinach and topped with a Fried Egg.

Well you can't have burgers without meat! This is about 2.5lbs of 90/10 organic ground beef. You could really use just about any ground meat for this, bison, venison, etc. Just try to make sure you get grass fed meats without chemicals or hormones.

I know right... A kitchen scale with "Thinner" on it. Very funny...

Here are the ingredients...

 A sharp knife (the only kind there should ever be) makes quick work of the peppers and onions.

Here's everything in the bowl ready to be mixed. Best to use your bare hands (washed first of course) with a little water on them so the stuff doesn't stick too bad.

Of course I'm going to throw in a portrait occasionally of my Egg... The blog's called "Eggin' With Edward after all.

 I set the Egg up to grill the burgers directly. Down on a cast iron grate just above the coals until they were seared and then I moved them up higher to finish. When you start down just above the coals, the dome temp can be between 350F - 400F, since it will be much hotter on the lowered CI grate.

Here are the burgers prepped to go on. While not in the recipe; feel free to add any rubs or seasonings. The burgers have a nice little coat of some Tasty Licks Black Bart Brisket Rub.

Once the Egg temp has stabilized and the CI grate is nice and hot; you can put the burgers on the flames. No better sound than meat hitting hot cast iron. No better smell either... Just ask my neighbors.

After they are seared; and you moved them up higher off the coals to finish cooking, its time to start on the rest of the meal.

The spinach bed is really an easy thing to cook. It's basically some oil, sauteed garlic, and the organic spinach with some salt (always kosher) and pepper to taste.

Here is garlic sauteing in the oil. A braising pan works well for this dish.

And the spinach just after it has been added and tossed...

 All this cooking and running back and forth from the stove to the Egg is thirsty work...

I'm pretty sure that cavemen didn't have Guinness... But they would have loved it if they did.

Here is what the spinach should look like when it's done. Just turn it down to the lowest setting to keep it warm while the burgers finish and you fry the eggs.

 Once the burgers are finished and have reached at least 165F internal on an instant read thermometer; set them aside to rest for about 5 to 10 minutes to let the juices settle. Now it's time to fry up your eggs and plate the meal... I like to fry the eggs in a little butter, the way it's supposed to be done, no margarine or cooking spray here...

Here is the finished dish... place a portion of the spinach on the center of the plate and set a burger onto it, then top it with a fried egg. You can garnish with some of the cheese and a little olive oil if you like.

Very healthy and hearty meal... lots of protein, iron, and very little carbs.

Here is the recipe and ingredient list...

Gourmet Cave Man Burgers

by Edward Harding

6039642

Ingredients

• Ingredients (This will yield 4 entrée servings)

Burgers

• 2.5lb to 3lbs of 90/10 ground beef (organic beef if you can)
• 2 Jalapeno Peppers – Cored & seeded.
• 2 Medium Onions
• 1 Tbsp of kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp of garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp of fresh ground black pepper
• Asiago cheese - shredded

Spinach Bed

• 11oz package of Organic Baby Spinach
• 4 Tbsp of olive oil – Enough to coat the bottom of a sauté pan well.
• 2 Tbsp of minced garlic
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Eggs

• 4 Large Organic eggs
• 2 Tbsp of butter

Instructions

Making the burgers…

Chop peppers into a small dice. Do not touch your face until you have washed your hands or make sure you were gloves.

Chop onions into a small dice.

Mix all of the listed ingredients thoroughly; adding the cheese to taste. For this batch, I used a couple of big pinches

If grilling; prep your grill and coals according to you particular equipment. Set up to grill the burgers directly.

If you are doing these in a pan, heat the pan (should be oven proof) on med heat on the stove top. Turn on the oven to 350.

Form the mixture into large burger / meatloaf sized patties. This batch yielded 4 burgers.

Grilling – flip after about 8 minutes and then move off the direct heat and cook until the internal temp is 165F.

If pan frying – sear them in a little bit of oil until the meat browns about ¼ of the way up from the bottom. Flip and sear them until the same on the 2nd side. Flip again and then place the entire pan in the oven and cook until to an internal temp of 165F.

Making the spinach…

Use a pan that will hold all of the spinach and that has a lid. A braising pan will do nicely for this cook.

Heat the oil and minced garlic over med heat.

Once you can smell the garlic cooking; add all of the spinach and cover pan with the lid.

After a few minutes; toss the spinach carefully with tongs, making sure to coat as much as possible with the oil and garlic.

Add salt and pepper to taste and turn the heat down to low.

Check occasionally and stir, the volume will be greatly reduced.

Making the eggs and finishing…

Once the burgers reach the 165F internal temp, remove them from the grill or oven and set them aside to rest for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the juices to settle.

While the burgers are resting and the spinach is warmed; now it’s to make the eggs.

Heat a frying pan with med heat.

Add a pat or two of butter to the pan.

Once the butter is melted, crack your egg and put it in the pan.

While the egg is frying, it’s time to prep the plate…

Take about a ¼ of the sautéed spinach and place it in the center of the plate.

Place a burger on top of the spinach.

When the egg is cooked to your liking; place it on top of the burger.

Garnish with a light sprinkling of the Asiago cheese. You can also drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the plate as well if you like.

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Please let me know if you make this meal and how it turns out.

Enjoy,

Ed