The Hellfire Burger from Xtreme Smokehouse isn’t exactly comfort food. There may be a good two or three seconds of warm and fuzzy when you first bite into it. That’s when the honeymoon ends and unadulterated mouth-terror kicks in. At a claimed 1 million SHU, the Hellfire may be the hottest hunk of ground beef ever tucked between two buns. Outside of the porn industry, that is. For point of reference, Ed Currie’s Carolina Reaper, the hottest pepper on Earth, clocks in at 1.5 million SHU. American pepper spray weighs in at 2 million SHU. Conquering a Hellfire Burger is asking a lot of digestive system. In fact, you should probably buy it flowers and wine before you even ask it to process the thing.
Big Game Burger: Green Packers pack on the venison, beef, bacon, and more
The NFL playoffs are not for the faint hearted and neither is this massive burgerhemoth served by the Green Bay Packers this postseason. Not content to dog pile linemen onto receivers, the franchise is bringing that tactic to the concession stand with its Big Game Burger. The $20 monster is 1 1/2 lb of meat and toppings held together by two of the hardest working pretzel buns in the country.
San Diego Burger Battle Part 3: Execution
Time is the one currency you can never make back. Once it’s spent, it’s gone forever. Going into the last few days before the San Diego Burger Battle, I’d invested a good deal of chrono currency preparing for the big day, August 9th. Game time loomed and it was time to face the competition on the field of battle.
San Diego Burger Battle Part 2: Training Up
Scouting was over. I knew the conditions of the San Diego Burger Battle. Time to roll up the sleeves, plan, and execute. We would have two hours to create our burgers and turn in two presentation boxes–one for appearance judging, one with enough burgers to feed the four judges. You could provide each taster with their own full hamburger or chop one into fourths; sliders were an option too and you’d need one per judge to munch on.
San Diego Burger Battle Part 1: Recon
Last month saw my first food competition: the San Diego Burger Battle. I’d judged KCBS barbecue, assisted Doug Keiles in Oakland, and covered the World Food Championships, but this was my first time at the helm of my own competition effort. I learned a lot from the experience and over the next couple of days I’ll be sharing those lessons here for anyone who’s thought about competing.
All Spice Cafe: Fun with Chipotle Tapenade Burgers
As interesting characters at the Fiery Foods Show go, JD Cowles ranks near the top of the list. He’s usually rocking a dyed goattee and ‘stache while showing off the latest and greatest spicy offerings from his All Spice Cafe in Venice Beach, California. JD’s been going to the show for at least as long as I have, so he knows his way around making great spicy sauces, snacks, and more. Like his Chipotle Olive Tapenade.
Burn! Tested: Grill Daddy BBQ Multi-Tools and Burger Stomper’s Slider Press
After I’ve spent a few hours over a hot grill, the last thing I want to do is wash a bunch of barbecue tools and do the dishes. Usually this is because my innate laziness and The Itis dictate I take a nap. Grill Daddy understands my lack of motivation and made their line of Heat Shield tools to make it a little less likely I sit on my backside with a sink full of dirty dishes. Here’s what I mean.
