Grilled Saganaki Lamb Burgers/Three Floyd's Rabbid Rabbit Saision/The Heavy Company "Midwest Electric"

Our Mother's Day meal consisted of these spectacular gyros-style burgers.  We freshly ground leg of lamb and cloves of garlic and formed into patties.  The burgers were seasoned with lemon zest, oregano, salt and pepper before being grilled. We topped these beauties with grilled saganaki, fresh tomato, thinly sliced red onion and a homemade banana pepper tzaziki.    It was right up there with one of the best burgers we've ever had. We paired the burgers with a new release from Three Floyd's, their Rabbid Rabbit Saison Farmhouse Ale.   It was a beautiful day to grill, so the made for summer new release from Indiana's own The Heavy Company "Midwest Electric" was blasting out of the speakers.

Grilled Saganaki Lamb Burgers - The inspiration for this burger started with a thought to create a burger with all of the flavors and components of a gyro, hence the tzaziki sauce, onion, tomato and lamb patty.  We were all set to add some traditional feta and call it a day, but then we thought "what if we grill some saganaki and have that be the cheese that tops the burger?"   We've been waiting patiently until Sunday to finally jump in and make this thing.  We start with the all important meat.  We are using a boneless leg of lamb that we slice into strips.  You want to make sure that you keep the fat intact and not trim it off.  The lean lamb meat and fat will create a beautifully tender, juicy and delicious burger.   We'll also need a few cloves of garlic to add to the meat grinder.  For the seasoning, we'll need the zest of a lemon, oregano, salt and pepper.

Feed the strips of lamb through the grinder adding a clove of garlic every 3-4 strips so that the garlic is interspersed into the lamb evenly.  We are using a coarse grind on these which will result in ground lamb that looks like this.

We're looking for a patty size of about 1/3 lb on these.  Form into a circular shape.  For the seasoning combine the finely diced zest of a lemon with a tablespoon of oregano.  Add salt and pepper to taste and combine.  Season the patties with the mixture then refrigerate.

Before we get to the grill, let's knock out the tzaziki.  In a large bowl add one 6 oz. container of plain Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons of the liquid from jarred hot pepper rings, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1/4 finely diced cucumber, 3-4 chopped banana pepper rings and 2 tablespoons of chopped dill.  Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.  Refrigerate until ready for use.

We can head out to the grill, but before we can work on the burgers we have to tackle the saganaki.  Our goal here is not so much to make restaurant quality saganki (which we did) but to come away with eyebrows still intact (which we also did).  Get a grill going to hot and place a cast iron pan over the hottest part of the flame.  Add a couple of tablespoons of grape seed oil and wait a couple of minutes until the oil is hot and shimmering.

Next up is the cheese.  You have several options here, our choice was dictated by availability.  We went with Halloumi which is a semi-hard sheep's and goat's milk cheese that stands up great to grilling/pan frying.  Slice the Halloumi into slices that are just a little smaller than the size of the patties and place in the hot oil.

After a couple of minutes, flip the cheese over and let cook for another minute.  Now the fun part.  Traditionally Ouzo is used to ignite the flame, but any higher proof alcohol will do.  We used a few shots of Sherry to ignite the cheese.  Have a couple of slices of lemon nearby to squeeze onto the cheese and extinguish the flame.  What you wind up with is this melted cheese that has a beautiful browned crust on all sides of it.

NOW we can get to the burgers.  The fire should still be very hot so oil the grates and add the lamb burgers to the hottest part of the grill.

Since these are thinner than the normal 1/2 pounders we normally do around here, 3-4 minutes is all they will need before needing to be flipped.

We cook these for another minute or two, top them with the saganaki then move to the cool side just to let the cheese warm up again for a minute under a covered grill.  Remove the burger from the grill and lightly toast the hamburger buns.  We are using soft wheat buns today which are innocuous enough in both flavor and texture to not compete with or detract from all of the tasty Grecian ingredients.

Let's build this thing.  Two slices of red tomato goes on the bottom bun which is then topped with the lamb patty.

Top with finely sliced red onion and some of the banana pepper tzaziki and there you have it.

Other than this being one of the tastiest burgers we've had, a couple of additional observations.
1.) These tasted exactly like a gyro, garlicky and highly seasoned with no need for a spit and 2.) There is no substitute for freshly ground lamb, the texture was almost buttery. The lamb was melt in your mouth tender.  These were such a big hit, the request has been made to make them again this week.  Fine by us!

Three Floyd's Rabbid Rabbit Saison -  This may have marked our longest drought between trying new Three Floyd's offerings.  You can imagine our excitement when we saw a new 22 oz. bomber of a new Three Floyd's creation in the cooler.   Their Rabbid Rabbit Saison is their take on the classic Beligum Farmhouse Ale.  Not traditionally one of our favorites, but Three Floyd's has a way with making each style their own and usually for the better, so with no hesitation we packed the cart with a few bottles of these.  The Saison poured a very cloudy yellow with a foamy white head.  Bubbles cascaded upwards in the glass reminiscent of champagne.   The aroma is earthy, grassy and spicy with just a little sweetness on the nose.  The flavor profile is full of spices with coriander and spicy black pepper being the dominant tastes.   The beer also has a pleasant sweetness from the rock candy used during the brewing process.   That sweetness is complimented nicely by a good amount of booziness.  Rabbid Rabbit is not a beer that we could drink a ton of, but it's a really interesting one that we enjoyed.  It was a good call with the burgers, the sweetness in the Saison bringing out the natural sweetness in the lamb.

The Heavy Company "Midwest Electric" - We came across these guys during the NFL season when we were doing our Sunday BBQs based on who the Bears were playing.  When the Indianapolis Colts popped up on the schedule we found The Heavy Company from nearby Lafayette, Indiana to provide the soundtrack with "The Heavy (Please Tune In...)".   We have been eagerly awaiting the release of their follow up album "Midwest Electric".  This latest release is heavy on the soulful southern rock leaning more towards Drive-By Truckers than the Truckfighters.   The album kicks off with its heaviest hitting and best track in "The Humboldt County Waltz".   The opening riff is awesome and recalls Humble Pie's "I Don't Need No Doctor" before the song settles into a little more southern-fried rock territory along the lines of Georgia Satellites or The Bottle Rockets.  "A Groove a Mile Wide" is a chill slice of psychedelia that picks up steam about halfway through and morphs into a rollicking slice of psychedelia before returning back to end the song.  On "Neil Young" the organ makes its first well-timed appearance providing a winding backbone behind the whispering drawl of the vocals which have a certain Jakob Dylan-esque quality to them. The excellent instrumental "Greasy Mush" gets served up with some downright funky bass sounding like something you'd hear on a theme song to a 70's t.v. sitcom.  Throw in some electrifying guitar work and some really loose drumming and you have the makings of one pretty sweet jam.   Things get turned up and fuzzed out on "One Big Drag", a great heavy outlaw rock track that ends with a two minute psychedelic jam.   "Sailing Toward the Setting Sun" is an instrumental of sorts.  Atmospheric with only a couple eerie vocal chants peppered here and there.  The album ends with "El Bango Grande", a boot-stomping lighting fast number that slows way down courtesy of a Pink Floydian outro.  The track is another one of the album's highlights.  The album sounds great start to finish, perfect to put on and let play when outside barbecuing on a warm May day.

Grilled Da Burger/Finch's Brewing Secret Stache Stout/Trouble "Manic Frustration"

Da Burger is a uniquely Chicago creation that can be found at every pro sports arena in the city.   Full disclosure, we've never had one! That didn't stop us from trying our hand on a home cooked version though.  We freshly ground pork sirloin and pork tenderloin then season generously before grilling the patties over hot coals.  The burgers are then topped with grilled onions, canadian bacon, melted cheddar and spicy BBQ sauce.  All this goodness is piled high on an onion roll.  A soon to be Chicago classic indeed.  Sticking with the theme, we're drinking the latest release from Chicago's Finch's Brewing and their Secret Stache Stout.  Chicago's most famous doom rockers Trouble is providing the music as we spun their underrated "Manic Frustration" LP.

Grilled Da Burger - This burger is all about the meat.  We are using pork tenderloin and pork top sirloin for a good combination of fat, flavor and texture.

Using the coarse grind plate, we grind the pieces of pork then form them into 1/2 lb. patties.

We season the pork generously with Back of the Yards and on to a hot grill these go.

We're looking for a nice char on these, about 5 minutes or so per side.  Since we are dealing with pork, these need to be moved to the cool part of the grill and cook under a covered grill for an additional 5-10 minutes to ensure these cook through.

As the burgers finish cooking, we throw down a couple of slices of canadian bacon on the grill until they get slightly crispy.  Place the canadian bacon on top of the patties.

Next up is some thinly sliced red onion that gets their turn on the grill until crisp.  Remove from the grill and set aside.

Place a slice of sharp cheddar over the burgers and cover the grill until the cheese begins to melt.

To finish these off,  we placed the burgers on an onion roll, topped with grilled red onions and our favorite spicy BBQ sauce.  Man, these were great!  We'll need to get one from one of the stadiums to truly compare, but if it tastes anywhere close to our version, we'd be happy.

Finch's Brewing Secret Stache Stout - We love Finch's beer but this one made us hesitate for a second.  Anytime we see "vanilla" on a beer label, it takes us back to one too many vanilla beers that taste so sickly sweet, they were more in the milkshake family than the ale family.   We started to walk away from the purchase once again until our buddy who runs the beer department reassured us that it tastes more like a milkstout than your typical "vanilla beer".  Good enough for us, to the counter we went with our 4 pack of 16 oz cans.   We were still a little apprehensive when we were ready to pour these, the dark viscous liquid that slowly poured from the can didn't make us feel any better.  It may as well have been coming out of a quart of Quaker State.   The beer pours pitch black but with a fair amount of effervescence.  The head is a deep tan and darker than the color of some beers.  The aroma is sweet and chocolatey with a hint of vanilla.   The vanilla is more prominent in the flavor, but there also is a good amount of booziness to it offsetting some of the cloying sweetness.  The beer is not oaky like some other boozy vanilla ales we've had and actually the mouth feel is deceptively light given the color and viscosity of the beer.  Light as it may be, the sweet vanilla and alcohol burn make this beer anything but easy drinking.  We put this beer in the dessert beer category.  More at home with a huge slice of chocolate cake than the pork goodness the sandwich put forth which demanded something a little lighter and crisper.

Trouble "Manic Frustration" - This album came out in 1992, right after what most consider the classic Trouble period bookended by their debut "Psalm 9" in 1984 to their Self-titled release in 1990.  "Manic Frustration" was the band's next studio release and is a change in musical direction of sorts.    The album is not as dark and doomy as the previous 4 albums, instead moving toward a more hard-driving rock sound (think The Cult or Drivin & Cryin).  Although the music may be a little different, there is no mistaking the raspy wail of singer Eric Wagner that reminds you that you're listening to a Trouble album.  "Come Touch The Sky" is a great opening track with a infectious "Fly Me Courageous" riff.  The song is loose but still retains a great groove.  "Scuse Me" features an arena rock chorus and guitar and is just a fun song.   The intro "The Sleeper" is made for the open road.  A blistering track that gets a little doomier as the song progresses.   "Rain" starts off with a definite Pink Floyd feel.  It is one of the more chill acoustic Trouble songs.  "Tragedy Man" is probably the song that sounds the most like the older Trouble material, mostly due to the darker lyrical content.   The title track  has a great funk groove that rolls along behind a heavy riff.   Some old school thrash makes its appearance on the not very heavy metal titled "Hello Strawberry Skies".   The best track on the album is "Mr. White".  Killer riff, tight groove, smokin solo and the strongest vocals on the album all appear on this song.  The album ends with "Breathe", a chilling atmospheric track that is dark and eerie in classic Trouble form.   While maybe not as strong start to finish as their debut, "The Skull" or their self-titled, we put "Manic Frustration" up there with "Run To The Light", another excellent release.

Homemade Beef and Cheddar Sandwiches/Ska Brewing ESB Special Ale/Fireball Ministry "FMEP"

We passed an Arby's not too long ago which brought back fond memories of one of our all-time favorite fast food sandwiches from our childhood.  The famed Arby's Beef and Cheddar.   Sure we've had them as adults, but they always seemed to disappoint, never living up to the taste we remembered from days gone by.   Could we create a better one at home, while still maintaining the um, charm, of a fast food sandwich?  You bet.  We took a 4 lb. chuck roast and seasoned both sides with onion soup mix.  Due to some weather issues when we made this, we had to change venues from the grill to the kitchen.  The meat was seared in a dutch oven then partially covered in water.  The meat slow cooked until fall apart tender.  The roast beef was layered on soft onion rolls and topped with cheese sauce, horseradish sauce and a homemade Arby's sauce.  Wow.  We washed these down with another offering from Ska Brewing, this time going with their ESB Special Ale.   On the stereo, we listened to an old EP from Fireball Ministry, simply named "FMEP".

Homemade Beef and Cheddar Sandwiches - Let's start with the meat.  We are using a 4 lb. chuck roast that gets rubbed down on both sides with onion soup mix.

The roast gets placed in a hot dutch oven with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.  Let the meat sear for 5-7 minutes until a deep rich crust appears.  Flip and repeat on the other side.

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees and add enough water to the pan so that the liquid comes up about a third of the way up the meat.  Cover and place the pot in the oven.  Let cook for 6-7 hours until the meat shreds easily and remove from the pan.

Now we can move on to the Arby's sauce.   It starts with 1/2 cup of ketchup and 1 teaspoon each of the following: Season salt, onion powder, honey, garlic powder, chili powder and water.  Stir and check for seasoning.  Set aside.

The cheese sauce is warmed cheese whiz thinned out with a little water and we are using a store bought horseradish sauce.    We are now ready to put this sandwich together.  The bread has to be onion roll.  We microwaved ours for a few seconds to get that steamed texture.  On the bottom half of the bun goes thinly sliced/shredded beef which is then topped with cheese sauce.

On the top half of the bun, a big smear of "Arby's sauce" and horseradish sauce.

Close the sandwich up and wrap in foil or wax paper for that authentic drive-thru look.  Have plenty of the two sauces nearby to dunk the sandwich into.  This was a near exact replica of the Arby's version except for the meat component. Anytime you can swap a beef-like loaf product for slow cooked and seasoned real beef, that's a trade we'll take anytime.  Add some curly fries and a jamocha shake and you'd swear you were eating an Arby's meal.

Ska Brewing ESB Special Ale - Ska Brewing is responsible for one of the best IPAs out there with their excellent Modus Hoperandi.  We wanted to see how well they would do with a traditional ESB ale.    The beer is a beautiful golden orange hue with a fluffy white head.  The beer is also super cloudy.   The nose is equally malty and hoppy and is extremely vibrant.    The winner in the taste department is malt in a landslide with the hops playing more of a supporting role before coming on strong at the end.  The beer is predominantly sweet and bready with a medium to heavy mouthfeel.  A much bigger ESB than we are used to.  There's a definite booziness to it, but oddly the ABV is below 6%.   The finish is full of hoppy bitterness.   This is a big bang for your buck kind of beer, with all of the big flavors and complexity of some of the ABV big boys.   We had it in our heads that the Beef and Cheddar sandwich was very English for some reason, so we immediately reached for our English Special Bitter (ESB).  We were right with our hunch (not so much with the Beef and Cheddar being English, still need to confirm that), but that the beer and sandwich would work really well together which they did.   The malty brew worked both with the oniony beef and rich cheese sauce.

Fireball Ministry "FMEP" - Talk about a band where it's just plain shocking that they are not a huge success.  Fireball Ministry has some of the catchiest tunes you'll hear anywhere courtesy of some great grooves and awesome vocals.  We had an old playlist going recently and "Thought It Out" from their most recent self-titled album came on.  It's such a great song and prompted us to go a little further back in the catalog for this evening's meal.  "FMEP" was the predecessor to their 2nd full length release "The Second Great Awakening".  Arguably some of the best tracks off of "TSGA" were on "FMEP" starting with the opener "King".  The riff is ridiculously huge and the drums sound like they are going to blow out your speakers at any minute.  Toss in vocals that sound a little like Ozzy in his prime and you have one killer track and formula.   "Choker" is another track that made it to the full length album.  This one features a much more controlled groove, a slow head banging track.  Once again, the vocals put things over the top.   A very cool bluesy intro kicks off "Maidens of Venus", which is also on "TSGA".  The song stops just short of being a ballad, instead opting for more of a melodic slow blues jam.   The last five songs are covers which almost all of them give the originals a run for their money beginning with the Alice Cooper classic "Muscle of Love".    It's a little faster paced than the original, but other than that stays pretty true to form.   Their most adventurous cover is Priest's "Victim of Changes".  There are only a few bands that when you see that a band covers them, you immediately think "Oh no, this can't be good".  Judas Priest is one of those bands.  Fireball Ministry's cover is actually really well done.  Other than on a couple of ill-timed parts where singer James A. Rota tries hitting the notes Halford does, they do the song in their own style.   Blue Cheer's "Fortune" is the next cover and they do a great job mimicking that 60's garage sound which closely resembles the original.   Stepping out of the genre slightly, the band tries their hand at Misfits' "Cough/Cool".   It's tough for any band to match the intensity of Misfits.  The original is really dark, whereas Fireball Ministry's has more of a lighter, catchier feel.   The album ends with the biggest surprise in Aerosmith's "Movin' Out".  It is a spot-on remake of one of our favorite all time Aerosmith tunes.   "What's the point?" you may say.  Well, the first Aerosmith album is so poorly produced, it's great to hear this song thick and loud like it should be heard.  This cover is right up there with Puny Human's "Cheshire Cat" for best Aerosmith cover song.   A great EP that set-up the classic stoner rock release of "The Second Great Awakening".  Their entire catalog is worth checking out.