Guga's Burger Haze

[Mark_E]

I've recently become enamored with Guga's Burger Haze technique. I haven't seen many mention it in other vids or in forums either.

This is a no-lid cook - I noticed a thread on this recently regarding the lid off or on controversy.

Here is what I believe is Guga's original burger haze vid:

He uses a gas grill.

I've adapted this idea for my 22" Weber kettle and the end result has been outstanding! It's like achieving the char effect of a smash burger but pronounced and amplified.

Specifically, my favorite recipe for this is called the Farmer's Daughter Burger which is ranked #1 best burger in Appalachia. Google it if you want. I use 90 secs between flips rather than the 2 mins they call for.

I use an 18" cast iron griddle made for a Kamado. Found it on Amazon.

...because I liked the low profile edge. You want the flames to come up from the charcoal and ignite the juices on the griddle.

Works best if you get the griddle temp to 600 F + measured with a laser temp reader.

I use the sort of half moon Weber charcoal baskets and lifted them up a bit with a half-thick brick. The heat comes up under and also over the straight edge of the griddle.

I favor the cup smasher at the moment. More juice inside the burger because it's thicker but you still get plenty of char too.

Took a few tries to get it down, but the end result was fantastic! Really nice char and grill flavor on the burger while cooking on a Weber and a griddle. Best of both worlds!

Worth checking out.

 

[Randy]

That made me so hungry

 

[Darryl - swazies]

Those burgers have the quality right there, you can see the fat as well as the cheese dripping......this makes the mouth happy.........it's hard to believe that the little bit of fire on top of the cast is going to be the difference maker.
I would think, better salt or quality of beef would make a bigger difference.
They do look good however.....I have seen him before I like his videos.

 

[Mark_E]

I use 80/20 ground chuck from Harris Teeter. I think Food Lion sells it as well. Safeway doesn't seem to have it. Giant Food here locally (Maryland) doesn't have it either.

The flames which ignite on the cast iron griddle cook and sear the exterior of the burger as it sits on the griddle! It's an amplified smash burger taste. I think it's best not to get too carried away with the burger sauce. You don't want to mask the flavor of the finished burger. Also, don't get too crazy with the toppings - for the same reason.

I think Guga is on to something here.

 

[Jonas-Switzerland]

That's a 6-12kW burner. Hot stuff.

I guess the trick is to not overheat the cast iron. A strong burner can heat cast iron up to the wazoo, burning any cooking oil you can imagine. Ask me how I know.

I am afraid of burning the oil. it has been said to me that burning oil produces carcinogenic materials on your food. But this looks delicious. I wanna try it out, but my cookwear all have a high side wall. I would have to light up the oil myself on my gas grill, which feels silly.

*Pedantry on
Wok Hei does not refer to any flash fire or burning. Instead, it refers to the hot steam escaping the food.

Wok master Chef Wang having Wok Hei in his Egg fried rice.
*Pedantry off

I watched Guga years ago when he was doing sous vide. I found his technique OK, but not really interesting back then. Maybe I should watch him again. This looked like solid cooking to me.