Lamb & Veal Burger with Chanterelle Mushrooms

Ah, the burger. It's simple, versatile, and so damn tasty. Must I add that I make the damn best burgers in town? I have yet to taste a juicier and more flavourful burger. (To those who take the challenge to introduce me to something better: it's on.) Today's burger is one that emphasizes the sweet taste of wild chanterelle mushrooms. Since chanterelles have a delicate taste, it's very important to minimize ingredients in order to avoid overpowering the mushrooms. In that case, spicing will be concentrated on the meat. Also, a milder fresh cheese should be used in order to accentuate the chanterelles.

First, we prepare the patties. I used a lamb and veal combination since the intense taste of the lamb with the mild taste of the veal makes for a lovely experience.

Serves 2:
- 150 to 200 g ground lamb
- 150 to 200 g ground veal
- 1/4 cup finely chopped coriander (coriander and lamb are a superb combination)
- 2 tbsp finely chopped chives
- 1 glove of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp coarsely crushed black peppercorns
- pinch of salt, espelette, ginger powder, and mace

1. Preheat oven to a high broil (500 C) or preheat grill to the max.
2. In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients.
3. Make patties.
4. You will cook patties about 3 to 4 minutes on each side, depending on how done you like them. *Remember, when the meat bleeds, it's medium rare. It's about a minute more for each grade up.

For the garnish, I cooked up some chanterelles. Have them going as soon as you put your burgers into the oven or on the grill since they are very quick to make.
Chanterelle Garnish:
- 100 to 150 g chanterelles, pulled apart into slivers (there's no need to cut chanterelles since they pull apart easily and perfectly)
- 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp sliced yellow onion
- 1/3 tsp honey
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp broth (chicken)
1. In a pan at medium heat, throw in butter and onions.
2. Add honey, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes while stirring.
3. Add broth. Cook for another minute while stirring.
4. Add chanterelles. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Remove off heat and keep covered to keep the mushrooms warm until you put them on the burger.

The other two main key garnishes I added were the following:
- pickles (this is an extremely important part of a burger)
- slices of mozarella di bufala (the light taste of the fresh mozarella really accentuates the mushrooms)
 During the last minute of cooking the burgers, put the slices of cheese onto the lower buns and throw them into the oven to melt the cheese.

I also added:
- a very small amount of arugula
- slivers of tomato
- ketchup
- a creamy dijon

PS Hallah makes for the best buns.

As a final step, stack those ingredients up. I recommend cheese, arugula, mushrooms, patty, pickles, tomatoes, and mustard and ketchup on the bun; it seems to hold better in that order (the patty keeps the mushrooms in place). I guarantee that this burger will be a vertical challenge anyway. Good luck.

Lamb Chops

Quebec has some of the best lamb I have ever tasted. From the region of Kamouraska, this lamb is plump and might be slightly fatty. However, its fat melts into a rich flavour. Even for the non fat-eaters (like myself), this lamb's fat is quite irresistible. When cooked right, it becomes a foie gras- like delicatessen.

The secret to good lamb (and meat in general) is to not overcook it. Meat cooks really fast and many people fail to know/ remember that. Also, to preserve its natural rich flavour, you want to keep the seasoning to a minimum. Good meat = high heat + fast + minimal seasoning.

Serves 2:
- 8 lamb chops (Kamouraska lamb is really plump; you definitely wouldn't need more than 4 chops a person)
- 2 gloves of garlic, finely chopped
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 tsp of coarsely granulated black pepper
- 1 sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
- 3 sprigs of coriander, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to a high broil (make sure the heat is coming only from the top and turn it up to the maximum your oven can go to, which is 500 C on most ranges). 
2. In a bowl, add garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary, and coriander. Mix it all up.
3. Wash the lamb chops (always wash your meat and in cold water). Cover them up with the mixture.
4. Place the chops onto a grilling rack and throw it into the oven (when it reaches its appropriate heat of course).
5. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side depending on how you like them cooked and on the thickness of your chops. Sometimes, I cook the chops for only 2 minutes on each side; I like them pink and slightly bloody. Never cook lamb chops for longer than 4 minutes on each side. Actually, I even discourage cooking them for that long.

Fast, easy, and you'll love yourself for it. Just make sure to eat the chops right away because they lose heat pretty quickly. Anything that cooks quickly loses heat quickly. Also, remember to always buy meat from a local butcher shop rather than a grocery store (you'll taste the difference).

Brisket

Brisket, like many stew-like things, has its benefit: its taste improves over days (up to an extent, obviously). On top of being the lovely dish it is, brisket is also ideal to make into sandwiches the following day. That is, if it lasts that long. There are many ways to make brisket; however, they all take a long time. Some people marinade the meat for a day or two before cooking; others simply cook it for a long time. This recipe demands a 12 hour cooking time. Don't try to cheat by cooking it for less; I tried that once and it just wasn't as good.

Serves 3
- 650 g of brisket beef
- 1/3 cup of butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3/4 cup cup of fennel, chopped
- 6 slices of bacon (smoked or euro, from the butcher only) cubed
- 4 gloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 ancho pepper, crushed
- 1 chipotle pepper, cruched
- 1 to 3 scotch bonnet peppers depending on the spiciness you want (be careful, these are damn hot peppers) *Remember to always remove the seeds from hot peppers before cooking with them if you don't want extremely unpleasant surprises. Also, after dealing with the peppers, wash your hands with both soap and alcohol (alcohol is key) to avoid even worse surprises (like a deathly painful burn in the eyes or other unmentionable places).  
- 1 cup of mushrooms, chopped
- 1 apple, chopped (I put in a Honey Crisp apple.)
- spices (espelette, mace, Jamaican allspice, ginger, coarsely crushed black pepper, green pepper, paprika, laurel leaves, etc; a pinch of each will do) + salt- fresh herbs (rosemary and coriander)
- 1 tbsp hickory (if you cannot find hickory, put in a drop of liquid smoke)
- 1 tsp grains of paradise (don't worry about it if you can't find them; they aren't the easiest thing to find)
-1/2 cup of broth (either beef or chicken) *I keep fat and jelly left over from other dishes (eg: roasted chicken leftover juices) and use that instead of broth.
- 2 oz of vinegar (I use either cognac vinegar or apple vinegar.)
- 2 oz of apple cider or apple juice (or change it up and put in a light beer instead)
- 1/2 oz of alcohol (either a pastis, a scotch, or a cognac)
- 1 tsp of grape must

1. In a crockpot (the cast iron pot is crucial) on medium heat, put in butter.
2. When butter begins to boil, brown the meat in it on both sides and remove the meat from the pot (this means that you will cook the meat for about 30 sec on each side). Do not forget to remove the meat. Set the meat aside.
3. Throw in onions, fennel, and bacon. Cook for about 4 minutes uncovered.
4. Add peppers, mushrooms, apple, spices, herbs, hickory, and grains of paradise. Cook for about 5 minutes, covered.
5. Bring the temperature to low (the lowest in fact). Add in broth, vinegar, apple cider or juice, alcohol, and grape must. Stir.
6. Add in the meat. Make sure to cover up the meat with the contents of the crockpot. Cover.
7. Let cook for 11 hours on low heat.
8. With tongs, pull apart the brisket. Cover and let cook for one more hour.

I recommend serving the brisket atop of mashed potatoes or in a sandwich. Enjoy; it's really good. 

Steak Tartare

Tartare is a favourite dish of mine; it's easy, it's raw, and tastes so damn good. The absolute most important thing about tartare is the freshness of your meat or fish. Only get meat from a trusted local butcher. Same goes for fish. Here's a little trick in checking your fish's freshness: lift the gills; if there's blood, it's fresh. Stay away from fish with no blood in the gills. Another subject of debate is the grinding of the meat. My answer to that is no grinding. I always hand cut my meat because I feel that it retains the moisture better.

Serves 2 as a main course:
- 500 g of fresh meat (opt for the bavette)
- 1 large egg yolk (I like to put a duck egg yolk in.)
- 2 tsps of dijon
- 1 tsps of olive oil
- 1 tsp of ketchup or a tomato based sauce
- 1/2 of cognac
- 2 tbsp of chopped capers
- 1 tbsp of chopped cornichons (these are the very little sour pickles)
- 2 tbsp of finely chopped onion (I use yellow onion since it's the sweetest)
- 1 tsp of finely chopped garlic
- 1 tsp of chopped chives
- 1 tbsp of finely chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp of grated parmesan
- 1 tsp of finely chopped anchovies
- 1/2 tsp of black pepper
- pinch of salt
- pinch of espellete
- a few drops of tabasco sauce or a pinch of cayenne to liking (spicy or not spicy)
- 1/2 a tsp of grated or chopped truffle (optional) - some people cannot stand the intensity of truffle, so watch out

1. In a bowl, add all of the ingredients but the meat.
2. Only towards the end (right before serving), chop up the meat really finely and add into the mixture. (You will need a good and sharp knife for this and a wooden cutting board. Nothing else will do. Also, your hand may hurt.)
3. Either shape your tartare with a round and thick cookie cutter or shape it into a patty with your hands. Serve it right away. I recommend serving it with salad and freshly made croutons. Also, add a little lemon slice atop of the tartare; a little bit of lemon juice adds interesting flavour.

The beauty of tartare is that you can mix and match ingredients to your liking. However, I suggest not straying too far away from the basic recipe since it will overpower the taste of the meat.

BBQ Smoked Ribs

The trick to BBQ ribs is moisture, low heat, a long wait, and no sugar. Succulent ribs take patience, a whole 12 hrs of it. The key things you have to know about preparing ribs are the following: avoid direct heat; never place the meat on a direct flame. Make sure the flames are surrounding the meat or are on the opposite side of the BBQ. Always have a metal bowl of liquid on the BBQ to keep moisture circulating. Never coat the ribs with am ingredient containing sugar until the end as it will cause the meat to dry out since sugar burns easily (this means no tomato based sauces). Here's the down-low:

Serves 2:
-2 to 3 lbs of ribs (I use beef)
-a rub (combination of spices and herbs) I combine: ancho pepper, chipotle pepper, espelette, thick ground black pepper, rosemary, coriander, dill, garlic, and chives.
-applewood (or maplewood)
-3 oz of liquid (I use apple juice).
-a BBQ sauce (this is when the sweetness can come in). I combine apple cider vinegar, honey, a combination of hot peppers (chilli, chipotle, espelette, ancho, etc), garlic, and herbs (coriander, dill, thyme, etc). You can add crushed tomato for flavour.




1. Prepare your ribs. Cover you ribs in the rub thoroughly.
2. Prepare your BBQ. Make sure there is enough coal to burn for 12 hours (you may have to replace it once) or enough propane in the tank. Make two hand full size balls of applewood chips in aluminum foil with holes to throw onto the BBQ. Get a nice flame from the coal and smoke coming from the wood chips. Put the bowl of apple juice onto the grill as well (make sure the bowl is oven safe).
3. Once the BBQ is ready, put the meat on, fat down, away from the direct heat. Close up that BBQ, while still allowing for airflow in order not to kill the flame.
4. I recommend checking the ribs after a couple of hours to see if they aren't drying out, to see if the bowl needs more juice, etc. If the ribs seem to be drying out, I recommend taking them off the heat and covering them with aluminum foil. Check the ribs and the BBQ every so often.
5. Make the BBQ sauce: combine all BBQ sauce ingredient into a saucepan over low heat and cook for 20 minutes.
6. At the last hour or two (hour 10 or 11), put the ribs into aluminum foil if you haven't already and pour some apple juice or beer onto the ribs. Put it back on the BBQ.
7. After about half an hour to 45 minutes, cover the Ribs in your BBQ sauce and place back on the BBQ. Cook for about another 15 minutes in or out of the aluminum foil depending on their moisture.

After the laborious process, you can enjoy the sweet sweet taste of succulent ribs.