Today I performed a second test of the smoke generator, this time on a hamburger. By ‘smoking’ the burger then cooking it sous vide, I want to get an outdoor cooked result without firing up the BBQ. The process was similar to the smoked sous vide hot dogs – place the meat into a recloseable bag with a valve, force the smoke in, allow it to ‘soak’ in, cook it sous vide, then grill if desired. Again, the fun of my job allowing me to test new products has me excited for the results. These burgers are not going to be plain either. Upon visiting the Angry Pig Tavern in Chicago last week, I want to do my take on their signature Angry Pig Burger – a burger topped with swiss cheese, ham, jalapeno bacon, and fried egg on a rustic bun.  My take will be a burger topped with pepper jack cheese, Canadian bacon, maple brown sugar bacon, tomato, and red leaf lettuce with a parsley aioli on a pretzel bun. So let’s jump in and find out if this test works!

• Heat the water bath to 135 degrees F.
• Start with 2 hamburger patties, a recloseable bag with valve, some wood chips, and salt and pepper.
• Salt and pepper both sides of the burgers.

• Place the burgers into the recloseable bag and seal until nearly closed.
• Insert the smoke generator hose and press the seal tightly around it.
• Start the smoke generator and light the wood shavings, capturing as much smoke inside the bag as possible.

• Seal the bag and allow the burgers to ‘marinate’ in the smoke for 15 to 20 minutes before flipping and repeating the process for the other side.
• When the ‘smoke soak’ period is complete, use a hand vacuum to remove the air from the bag.
• Place the bag into the water bath and cook for 90 minutes.
• Remove the burgers from the water bath and allow them to rest for 10 minutes before searing, if desired.  Sear with a torch, grill, or hot cast iron pan.
• Put it all together and enjoy!

The results were amazing!  The smokiness of the burger was quite evident and enjoyable. That smokiness really worked with the two types of bacon, the spicy cheese, and the parsley aioli – salty, smoky, sweet, spicy, and fresh.  I declare this one a winner!

The Gusto Smoke Infuser used for this experiment is available for purchase, either on the Vesta Precision website or on Amazon!