Howdy everyone! Happy summer. I can’t believe we have reached June already. It’s absolutely crazy how fast time is going. Before we know it, fireworks will be booming in the air; shortly after, pumpkins will be lit on front porches, and then we will be saying Merry Christmas to everyone we know. Phew. Take all that in. Makes my head spin.
This summer, let’s try to live in the moment. Well, instead of “moment,” my brain just typed, “Let’s try to live in the mountains.”
Well, wouldn’t that be nice! I’d do it. Ocean or mountain for me? Mountains, hands down. Whether you are vacationing in the mountains of Gatlinburg, TN, the beaches along the Carolina coasts, sandy white beaches of the Caribbean, heading out west to YEE HAW, or, like me, vacationing along the old Susquehanna River for two weeks over the fourth of July, make the best out of your summer. It is such a fun time of year. HOT, but fun.
We, and by we, I mean Chris. Hahaha! He loves cooking on our Blackstone and is quite the grill master. I find the recipes, prepare them, and he cooks them. But now, Ty loves to cook on our Blackstone, too, and they sometimes have a polite dispute over who gets to cook on it for that meal. Not gonna lie; it’s nice for a change to let my boys take over and cook dinner. They love it as much as I do. Having two grill masters now? Pretty sweet.
For the past few years, we would take the Blackstone back and forth from the river, which kinda got to be a pain in the rear. Now that we had a shed to store stuff in, we knew getting one just to keep at the river would be ideal.
This year, we were blessed enough to have a friend who knew someone who was throwing out a Members Mark’s griddle, which is Sam’s Club version of their own Blackstone. The top was very rusted, but after some time cleaning it and treating/seasoning it, it ended up being the perfect addition to the lot this year. It looks almost brand new! It’s actually bigger than our Blackstone, too, which is perfect because we typically cook for larger groups of people up there.
The recipes you can do on a griddle are endless! We love trying new things.
I wanted to share this recipe that we love making on our Blackstone for the kick-off to summer.
Happy grilling, everyone!
Smash Burgers Tacos
Ingredients:
• 1 pound ground beef
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 6 slices American cheese
• 6 flour tortillas, street taco size
• Shredded lettuce
• (optional) other toppings: bacon, white onions, pickles
Directions:
Prep Burger Balls: Add ground beef, salt and pepper to bowl. Mix to combine. Divide into 6 equal-sized balls. Set aside.
Prep Other Ingredients: Make sure you have your tortillas and cheese, salt + pepper ready to bring to your Blackstone. Also make sure your other toppings are ready to go (shredded lettuce, cheese, pickles, ect.). The cook time goes super fast so having everything prepped is a must!
Cook Patties + Toast Tortillas: Preheat flat top griddle to a medium-high heat. Place balls on flat top. Using a burger press, slowly press down on each ball to flatten until the patties are flattened as much as you possibly can. This will take 15-20 seconds per patty. Let sit and cook for the next 40 seconds (feel free to season patties at this point if you want). Flip and immediately add a slice of cheese to each – this is also when you will put the tortillas on the cook top. Close lid (if you don’t have one it’s okay) and let burgers cook approx. 2 minutes. Open lid and flip tortillas. Use spatula to lift patties up and place on top of toasted tortilla. Transfer to plate.
Finish Building Taco: Add shredded lettuce, condiments, and pickles. Feel free to also add bacon and thin white onion if you want. YUM!
