Here’s another episode of “Cooking with Annie”. This go around Annie wanted to try making sliders using some different meats. She visited J&R Natural Meats and decided on ground lamb and ground buffalo. There was also a wine pairing in her head and she decided on a 2014 On The Road (Grenache) from Herman Story Winery and a 2014 Mourvedre from Vines on the Marycrest.
I will let Annie describe the slider recipes below but the clear winner to me was the lamb sliders, although the buffalo was good. Personally, I thought both wines worked with it but the Mourvedre was really nice with it.
Okay guys…let’s start with how I did the lamb sliders, shall we? First of all, let me just tell you that lamb is one of my absolute favorite meats (besides venison and elk). I love the gaminess that it has, it’s perfect for some of those delicious gamey rhones that we have full access to around here! Okay, so I mixed the ground lamb with rosemary, garlic, and crumbled goat cheese. I added tons of freshly ground black pepper and then mushed it all up and pattied it out. I also made up a dried cherry and caramelized onion reduction with balsamic vinegar to spread on the buns and bacon…of course….bacon.
For the buffalo burgers, I grated some aged english cheddar with truffles and added that to the meat, along with garlic and parsley. More black pepper here and then they got slewn into patties as well. One little cheat trick that I like to use when I’m mixing ground meat up for burgers, meatballs, meatloaf, or whatever is to take a little dab of the mix and throw it in the micro for about 10 seconds. That way you get to taste it and correct any seasonings if needed. Yeah, I know, the texture is off, but you get the idea!
Okay, so there you have it, folks. That was what we grubbed on with some fabulous wines from right here in our backyard. We’ll definitely be doing that again soon!!!
YUMMM!!!