Oktoberfest Burgers

Wow, it's been a long time since I've been able to share some good BBQ recipes with you all! Not to worry.  I'm still alive, and still smokin' and grillin' up a storm!  With the hustle and bustle of fall winding down and the Thanksgiving and Christmas Seasonings fast approaching, I've been able to sneak in a few cooks.

We finished off the month of October in true Oktoberfest fashion, Dark Side BBQ style with my version of an Oktoberfest Burger!

My version of the Oktoberfest Burger uses a homemade pretzel bun (recipe below), a half pound patty of ground chuck, melted smoked Gouda cheese, all topped off with onions sauteed in Free State Brewery's Octoberfest, and finished off with some Inglehoffer  Stone Ground Mustard.

Stay tuned as I have a laundry list of good food for the grill to share for the holiday season.  Next, I've got a great Chicken Marsala recipe to share for the grill using the Grill Grates product for direct cooking on your pellet grill.  Until then, keep on smokin'!

Here's the recipe for the homemade pretzel buns (definitely a labor of love, but worth the effort!):

1 1/3 cups warm water (105 degrees or so; just warm enough to activate the yeast
2 T warm milk
2 1/2 t active dry yeast
1/3 c brown sugar
2 T butter, melted
4 cups of all purpose flour

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine 1/3 cup of the water with the the yeast.  Let that stand until foamy so we know the yeast is activated.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook, add the yeast mixture, additional cup of water, milk, sugar, and butter.  Stir until sugar is dissolved.

Add the flour, a little at time, and mix until it forms a pliable dough ball.

Turn the dough out on to  a lightly floured surface and need for about two minutes or so.  Roll this out into a log, approximately two feet in length and cut into twelve pieces.  Place the rolls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Cover the dough with a towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Form the dough into rolls, and cover them again with a towel and let them rest for 30 more minutes.

At this point, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  In a large stock pot, bring 2 quarts of water to boil, and add half a cup of baking soda.  Make sure your stock pot is big enough, so when you add the baking soda to the water, it doesn't foam over the pot and all over your stove.

Drop one or two rolls into the boiling water for 30 seconds, turning once.  Return to your cookie sheet.  Sprinkle the rolls with a healthy amount of kosher salt.  Bake them for 8 minutes or more, until they are nice an brown, like a pretzel.

Let them cool, slice and pile on your burger toppings.  These are very versatile rolls, so you could come up an endless number of possibilities of burgers or sandwiches.