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Inside Out Burger

Excited to end these two months of recipe shares with a family favorite.  And even though it's not summer yet, I couldn't help but bust out a grilling favorite, the burger, by using my stove-top grill pan. 

I've actually been making these inside out burgers for over a decade, but this isn't something I make for a large crowd, so only close friends and family have tried them.  So as not to discourage you, I'm just going to include a few more pictures to illustrate the prep and you'll can see why it's something geared more toward a small gathering than feeding a college soccer team.

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The inside out burger is nothing new...a burger stuffed with cheese.  Emeril debuted it on the Food Network Channel when I was first teaching myself to cook.  So it doesn't take a ton of skill, just extra attention to prep and making sure it gets cooked all the way through.  It's been redone by others to stuff the burger with favorite toppings, such as sauteed mushrooms and onions, but that may mean an even longer prep time.  Once you try it with cheese however, you can get creative with anything you like, such as bacon, jalapenos or spinach and feta, and really make this recipe your own.

The part that's different from Emeril is my secret ingredient that's added to the meat.  If you loved the Secret Ingredient Steak, then you'll love this recipe as well.  Remember that the seasoned alaea salt is a mix with over 10+ ingredients, so I buy it mixed instead of making it myself.  Using plain alaea salt will definitely not give you the flavor profile that the seasoned version will and since you're using it in both the steak and burger recipes, you'll get  a lot of great use out of it.

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Inside Out Burger

Serves 6

~2 lbs ground beef

1 egg yolk

1 1/2 Tbsp Seasoned Alaea Salt

1 Tbsp Worcestershire

Your favorite cheese: I used blue cheese crumbles, provolone, and monterery and colby jack

1 Tbsp coconut oil for the grill

Buns and your favorite toppings and condiments

1) Combine the ground beef, egg yolk for binding, seasoned alaea salt, and Worcestershire in a  large bowl being careful not to overmix.

2) Spread the meat evenly at the bottom of the bowl and using a trick I learned from Rachael Ray, score the meat into 6 equal pie shaped pieces.  This helps to make sure that your burgers are evenly sized for consumption and cooking time.

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3) Take each section and divide it in two in your hands and form patties for both, making them slightly thinner in the middle for a well for the cheese.  Stack the pair and set aside until you have 6 stacks of two patties each. 

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4) Take one patty and fill with your favorite form of cheese, staying in the middle.  Take the other patty and place it on top and mold the edges to ensure a seal.  Fill all burgers.

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5) Bring a grill plate to screaming hot temperature, placing a Tbsp of coconut oil or your favorite cooking oil to ensure the burgers don't stick.

6) Cook on each side for 6 minutes, placing a lid to partially cover the grill plate to help the meat cook through.

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7) Serve on a bun with your favorite toppings and condiments.

~Have fun and live healthy

Secret Ingredient Steak

So for some special occasion recently when my husband and I had a date night, because 3 kids aged 4 and under make that a novelty, I asked him if he wanted to go to the local steak house.  When he said no, I got worried he wasn't feeling good.  This is a man that likes to eat meat with a side of meat and have meat for dessert.  Then he gave me the best compliment ever about my cooking, or he was just buttering me up to stop pushing vegetables on him.  But anyway, he said that I marinate the best steak ever so there's no reason to go get steak anywhere.  In case you think he's biased, I do have a relative that told me I should bottle the marinade and sell it, but I thought it was too simple: 3 ingredients couldn't get any easier.  Still, I haven't shared the recipe until now just to keep an illusion of gourmet when I make it for others.

But I'm going to let you in on the secret, which Wailani's and the steak recipe have in common- Alaea salt.  I'm sure many of you have heard of the trendy Pink Himalayan Salt.  I love the idea of 84 minerals and elements, but prefer to support the great products of the USA and since Hawaii's Alaea salt has 80 minerals and elements, I don't think I'm missing out on too much.  These great nutrients have wonderful consumption as well as topical benefits, which is why I use it in the Salty Hibiscus Body Scrub.

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While the Alaea salt in the Scrub is the plain version. I use a seasoned mix in the recipe.  And to keep it super simple, I buy the Seasoned Alaea Salt and don't mix it myself.  To give you an idea of just some of the seasonings in it that add the awesome flavor to this steak, there is Alaea salt, garlic, parsley, pepper, thyme, cumin, paprika, and crushed chili pepper.  See, this would sound like a really complicated recipe if you were mixing the seasoning yourself, but since I'm not, I just call it my amazing secret ingredient that takes your steak to the next level.

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Secret Ingredient Steak

Seasoned Alaea Salt

Brown Sugar

Worcestershire Sauce

Steak

Pick your favorite cut of steak (pictured is Filet Mignon).  Rub equal amounts of Seasoned Alaea Salt and brown sugar on both sides of the meat and drip Worcestershire sauce on both sides to cover the surface of the steak.  Let sit for 30 minutes.

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Grill to desired wellness.  Pictured is medium to medium-rare and for the thickness of the steak was grilled on high 4-5 minutes per side.

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