Guest Chef Ry - THE BIG CUBANO


Chef Ry

My name is Ryan Parks; my friends often call me “Chef Ry”. I am a father and husband to my beautiful wife Saundra and our two teenage boys Zack and Tony. We live in sunny Southern California, where anytime is a good time to get grilling. I have a great passion for cooking and my specialty is cooking out doors on the “que”. A good piece of meat and a cold beer makes my life a little easier day by day.

For over 25 years my friends and family have requested one thing more than anything else in my foodie arsenal, the “Ry Burger”.

For most people the first foods you ever cook on a grill is hot dogs and hamburgers. It’s simple, and they’re quick and tasty. I still to this day have to grill hamburgers and or hot dogs at least once a month, and I’ve been doing that for a very long time.

Having a burger that sticks out amongst other run of the mill patties is an honor and a pride I won’t deny. I’ve grilled hamburgers with just about anything and everything in them, on them and around them. But my basic burger, the “Ry Burger” is simple and tasty all by itself.

Having Ken offer me a chance to be a guest on Datenight Doins, I wanted to incorporate my burger and something special that I haven’t seen on his site yet (I could be wrong, but I haven’t seen it posted since I have been a member of Datenight Doins). So I decided to share my personal version of the Cuban burger. It’s fairly simple, tastes fantastic and will have your friends and family putting you on a pedestal at the next cook out.

This is my personal recipe, and as you know - nothing is set in stone, feel free to mix it up - I chose to use potato buns because I love them, they are bigger than normal hamburger buns, and the bread melts in your mouth. And here in this recipe, it’s crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. I also chose to use provolone cheese, which is my favorite - rather than swiss cheese, which is the “normal” choice for Cuban burgers. I used minced garlic instead of a garlic salt or a garlic butter. All in all, this is a burger as fine as a Cuban cigar and a tall glass of amber ale on a hot August night .

Chef Ry - THE BIG CUBANO

1.5 lbs beef
4 country potato sandwich buns
8 slices provolone cheese (or swiss)
4 large slices deli cut ham
8 slices 1/4 inch dill pickle slices
Kosher salt
Ground pepper
Liquid smoke
Lawrys seasoning
Mayonaise
Dejon mustard.
Minced garlic

CHARCOAL GRILL

Prep time: 30 min.
Cook time: 15min.

Grill should be at high heat when burgers are put on.

Form 4 burger patties.

I use about 1 tbsp of salt, 1 tsp pepper, and then 1 tsp of Lawry’s seasoning - and dash them on each side of the burger, and rub in.
I use about 1 tsp of Liquid Smoke on only one side of the burger, rub in.

Grill burger patties on the BBQ at high heat for about 4 minutes on each side, lid closed.
Set burgers aside.

Put mayo, mustard and a dash of minced garlic on the inside of each hamburger bun (or deli roll). Place a slice of cheese on the inside of each bun (this will be 2 slices per burger, one on bottom and one on top).

Place burger on top of cheese on the bottom bun. Add one large slice of deli ham on top of the burger. Add two sliced pickles on top of the ham. Add another slice of cheese and close burger.

Wrap each burger in strong tinfoil

Place burgers close together on the grill. Rest a heavy skillet or two bricks (which I use) to lay on top of them, pressing down to flatten.

Grill 1 minute, remove bricks, flip burgers, put bricks back on and grill 1 more minute.
Serve immediately.

Chow down !!