Wind and Bacon

I love Good Stuff Eatery burgers.... I find myself fantasizing about them at inconvenient and indecent times - like 7 in the morning or in the middle of a really tough work-out. I also wanted one this morning and lucky for me chef Spike was conveniently featured in today's DC Grill Masters Series presented by Wagshal's Market.

Spike cooked the Coletti's Smokehouse Burger and prepared his famous Toasted Marshmallow Shake. He also shared with us his recipes for both and gave us some insight into his future restaurant ventures. His upcoming pizza place, which will be right next door to Good Stuff, will feature hand-made pastas and charcuterie items along with pizza. A Vietnamese tapas place, along with a cookbook and a new TV show "Original Recipe" are also in the works.


Here is the recipe for the burger along with pics of the ingredients on site:

30 oz ground sirloin 80/20
6 potato buns
1 lb applewood-smoked bacon
6 slices sharp Vermont cheddar slices
Chipotle barbecue sauce (below) also sold at Wagshal's



Prepare six 5 ounce balls of ground sirloin into a patty, set on a tray and refrigerate. Toast the buns. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add a little canola oil. Cook bacon until crispy. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Reduce heat to medium and season patties with salt and pepper. Cook patties on skillet for 3 minutes/side. During the last 2 minutes place 2 slice of bacon and cheese on the patties, cover with a lid and cool until cheese melts.

Sweet & Mild BBQ sauce 2 cups ketchup 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup water 1 tsp salt 1 tsp vinegar 1 tsp mustard 1/4 tsp paprika 1/4 tsp pepper

Chipotle BBQ sauce 1/2 7oz can chipotles in adobo sauce 2 cups sweet & mild bbq sauce (left) 1/2 ketchup 4 tbl apple cider vinegar 1 tbl molasses

Combine all ingredients for Sweet & Mild BBQ in a saucepan. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until well blended. Puree chipotle peppers until smooth, add the sweet & mild BBQ sauce, ketchup vinegar and molasses - puree until smooth. Strain the mixture to remove seeds.

Cliff's Homegrown Vidalia Onion Petals 4 Vidalia Onions sliced into eighths 4 cups batter (right) Canola oil Salt

Batter 3 cups all purpose flour 1 tbl salt 1 tbl paprika 1 tbl brown sugar 1/2 tbl Old Bay seasoning 1 tsp ground cumin pinch of black pepper pinch of ground cayenne 1 cup beer 1 cup buttermilk 1 large beaten egg

Sift 2 cups of flour, salt, paprika, brown sugar, Old Bay, cumin, black pepper and cayenne into a bowl. In a separate bowl mix the beer, buttermilk and egg. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ones and mix with spatula to prevent lumps (don't over-mix). Let sit for 1/2 hour.

Heat canola oil in a skillet to 350 degrees. Toss the onions with 1 cup flour and shake off excess. Dip onions in batter to coat well. Add petals one by one to oil not crowding the skillet. Cool until golden brown and crispy. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels. Season with salt and pepper white hot.

Assemble the burger: Place 1 patty on the bottom of each toasted bun. Top with bacon, chipotle BBQ sauce and vidalia onion pearls. Cover with top bun and serve immediately.



The event benefits the American Diabetes Association. Carla Hall is next to be featured in this series. Visit Wagshal's website or call 202-363-0884 to reserve a space.