I grilled burgers tonight on my Char-Griller over Royal Oak and apple
chips. They were a mixture of ground chuck and ground lamb (I'd have
to say that Chuck squealed louder when I ground him than the lamb
did!), with just a little more lamb than chuck. I added crumbled feta
cheese to them before grilling. Once done, I toasted the buns in the
grill, and production began. One side of the bun got tzatziki sauce,
and the other side got olive tapenade. Each burger then got lettuce,
and a slice each of tomato, red onion, and avocado. They turned out
great- the best burgers I've ever made, or eaten! I had one problem,
however. While grilling the burgers, the instant I opened the lid, the
grill flamed up, with flames shooting almost a foot high. I kept
putting them out with water, only to have them start up again the next
time I opened the lid. I opened the lid only to turn the burgers once,
and then to toast the buns. Even after the burgers were done, and off
to the other side, the flames continued. I suspect that the culprit
was the ground lamb, as I've never had this problem on this scale,
since first using my Char-Griller in May of '05. Any ideas, as to why
the grill flamed so badly? Has anyone else grilled ground lamb, and if
so, did you have the same problem? What do you suggest to solve the
flame-ups? I closed the lid as soon as I flipped the burgers, and put
the buns on.

Thanks, I appreciate your help!

JimnGin

No experience with lamb here, but in my experience the soft cheese is
most likely the culprit. With low melting points, some of those
cheeses like feta, bleu, and the mexican soft cheeses simply melt out
of the patty when they can.

I have had much better luck when I add the cheese after the the flip
like they do at my favorite burger joint.

As always, just my 0.02.

Robert

On Sep 10, 9:10 pm, JimnGin > wrote:
> I grilled burgers tonight on my Char-Griller over Royal Oak and apple
> chips. They were a mixture of ground chuck and ground lamb (I'd have
> to say that Chuck squealed louder when I ground him than the lamb
> did!), with just a little more lamb than chuck. I added crumbled feta
> cheese to them before grilling. Once done, I toasted the buns in the
> grill, and production began. One side of the bun got tzatziki sauce,
> and the other side got olive tapenade. Each burger then got lettuce,
> and a slice each of tomato, red onion, and avocado. They turned out
> great- the best burgers I've ever made, or eaten! I had one problem,
> however. While grilling the burgers, the instant I opened the lid, the
> grill flamed up, with flames shooting almost a foot high. I kept
> putting them out with water, only to have them start up again the next
> time I opened the lid. I opened the lid only to turn the burgers once,
> and then to toast the buns. Even after the burgers were done, and off
> to the other side, the flames continued. I suspect that the culprit
> was the ground lamb, as I've never had this problem on this scale,
> since first using my Char-Griller in May of '05. Any ideas, as to why
> the grill flamed so badly? Has anyone else grilled ground lamb, and if
> so, did you have the same problem? What do you suggest to solve the
> flame-ups? I closed the lid as soon as I flipped the burgers, and put
> the buns on.
>
> Thanks, I appreciate your help!
>
> JimnGin

JimnGin:
Could be any one of the following:
The lamb was exceptionally fatty, try using a leaner cut.
The fire was too hot. Ease up on the charcoal.
Wood chips have a tendency to flame, not smoke. Bag the wood chips
and use a large chunk or two which has been soaked in water and placed
on the perimeter of your fire. You don't need any flaming chips on
the fire; all it needs is fat to begin the inferno.
Forget about using water to douse the flames; it'll stir up steamy ash
and land on your food. If your Char-Griller has one, close the damper
of the air intake to dampen the fire. As you did, make sure you have
a spot of indirect heat, so as to not feed the fire with dripping
fat.

The concept sounds delightful, especially the tapenade on the burger.
Good luck on your next attempt.

Pierre

I saw a lady make these on Bobby Flay's "Throwdown". I swear she had
the lid off the grill the whole time.

When doing burgers, unless it's really cold out, I like to leave the lid
off.

Also as mentioned, water isn't the best thing to use on a grease fire
(although I've been known to throw beer on a fire that got out of hand).