Pineapple Stuffed Chorizo Burgers

Sunday, March 17, 2013

EIE Challenge Tip of the Day 21: Happy St. Patty’s Day! Enjoy the luck of the Irish! Relax with friends and family, be in the moment! If you choose to drink to celebrate today, cheers with a cider or tequila!! Avoid the green beer and just wear green ; ) Drinking earlier and stopping at night is better for your sleep and rest to start your week fresh!

Mobility:

Gristle/Groiners
Super rack or Tricep mash
Wrists and Ankle mobility
Assisted bottom of Squat

Strength:

15 min to establish 1RM Clean and Jerk

 Notes: This should be a squat clean. Focus on speed under the bar. Work up to the heaviest weight in which you can maintain good form. If your form falls apart decrease the weight and make the movement crisp. Keep the bar close to your body and your weight in your heels.

Conditioning:

3 rounds for total reps:
1 min ME Front Squats (135/95/65)
1 min ME HSPU/ hand release pushups
1 min ME Kettle bell Swings
1 min ME Pull-ups
Rest 1 minute

 Note: In this case the ME is the total accumulated reps within the min time frame for each movement. This means you can put the bar down and pick it up again time permitting. The front squats are not from the rack.

Cool Down:

Jog 400 meters
Foam roll: quads, glutes, lats

With the weather being warmer out and the time change giving us more evening daylight gives me the urge to pull out the grill. Grilling is a great way to hangout with friends and family, cook delicious food, and soak up some vitamin D. Sounds like a win/win situation to me! This past week I was able to break in my new grill making pineapple stuffed chorizo burgers, YUM! Below is the recipe from PaleOmg website. It is definitely a site to check out for some new recipe ideas. Enjoy your Sunday with some great friends and food!

Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 40 mins
Serves: 4-5

• 1 pound chorizo
• 0.5 pounds ground beef
• ½ of a whole pineapple
• 1 sweet potato or yam, thinly sliced
• 2 avocados
• juice of ½ a lime
• juice of ½ a lemon
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons bacon fat

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. First, get the pineapple ready. Cut the pineapple in half. Cut off the end, then slice the sides off (you are just trying to get rid of the hard skin). Once the skin is off, cut slices of the pineapple into ¼ inch slices (thin enough to place insides a burger). Use your knife to cut out a circle in the middle of your pineapple slice to remove the hard core. You will need 4-5 slices.

3. Now place the thinly sliced sweet potatoes or yam in a bowl along with the thin pineapple. Coat with coconut oil and a sprinkle of salt. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, baking sure not to overlap. Put in oven to bake for 10-12 minutes, flipping half way through. The pineapple may cook a bit quicker and you may need to remove it before the sweet potatoes. (I baked these ahead of time. Then when I went to grill I placed them on the grill a few minutes before the burgers were done to get the grill flavor and marks. Also you can cut extra pineapple to grill and even generously season both sides with cinnamon for dessert! You won’t regret it!)

4. While that is cooking, place the chorizo and ground beef in a bowl and mix well. Use the mixture to make 8 equal size balls. You could make 10 (to create 5 burgers) but they might not hold together as well. Flatten balls out into patties.

5. Then you’ll want to make the avocado topping. Cut avocados in half, remove pits, and use a spoon to scoop out the avocado. Place in a food processor along the the lime, lemon, cayenne pepper, and a bit of salt and pepper. Puree until smooth.

6. Once the pineapple is done cooking, let cool then place on top of one of your patties, place the second patty on top and use your fingers to seal up the burger, pinching the edges a few times. The more you make sure it is closed up, the better they will stick together when you cook them. Repeat with all burgers. Salt both sides of your burgers.

7. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a couple tablespoons of bacon fat to the pan. Once the pan is extra hot, add the burgers to the pan, making sure not to crowd the pan so you get a nice crust on the burgers. Cook for 4-5 minutes per side. (This is where I cooked the burgers on the grill instead of the skillet.)

8. Once burgers have cooked on both sides, place in the oven either in your skillet or on a baking sheet. Bake for 6-8 minutes.

9. When burgers are done, place on top of a stack of sweet potato slices, then top with the avocado puree. (I placed the burgers on a bed of arugula as well.)

Enjoy : )
~Jess