Vegas Burger Bash: Grill Like a Pro with Tips from Celeb Chef Michael Mina

Only Las Vegas can make stuffing your face with burgers sexy (unless you think Paris Hilton is sexy, in which case, then yeah, Carl’s Jr. can too, I guess).

The food porn marketing geniuses at MGM Grand Hotel and Casino hosted its 2013 Burger Bash Presented by Amstel Light on Oct. 5, poolside in typical decadent Vegas fashion. This battle of the burgers event, part of their 4th Annual Food and Wine All Star Weekend, featured eight of the hotel’s elite restaurants competing with one another for top burger honors outside at the Grand Pool, while bikini-clad women basked in the warmth of the sun.

I’ll be honest, none of those bikini-clad women were actually eating, but I myself showed up in a baggy shirt and got down to business, trying every single burger.

And just to help you imagine how big my belly bloated, here are the entries with their official descriptions. Yes, even Bravo’s “Top Chef” judges Tom Colicchio and Emeril Lagasse’s renowned restaurants entered to win the coveted 2013 Burger Bash award.

Of all the entries, my favorites were Michael Mina’s PUB 1842 with a Double Smoked Bacon Cheeseburger that showcased an amazing BACON JAM alongside a generous portion of smoked bacon. Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill’s slider tantalized with a kicked up habanero tomato chutney on a patty made from fresh ground short rib, brisket, and New York strip steak.

Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House also made me smile when I first bit into a freshly ground patty made from oxtail, short rib, top sirloin, and brisket, then topped with a mix of havarti and horseradish cheeses and an oxtail ragu. But, don’t take my word for the best of the bunch, you’ll have to camp out at MGM Grand and hit up restaurant yourself, because I’m no critic, I’m just a skinny girl with the very big heart of a fat kid.

Needing time to digest, I sat down with celebrity chef and James Beard award winner Michael Mina, who graciously offered Crave and all of us Grill Masters In Training a few very effective tips.

“Try very hard to get fresh ground meat, preferably ground that day,” Mina warned.

“Don’t be afraid of higher fat content,” Mina said.

When forming your patties, Mina suggests making a ball with your meat, pressing it delicately, but leaving it a little loose. 

Your grill should be very hot — ideally, around 600 degrees.  “Learn your grill. You’ll have your hotter and colder spots,“ Mina said, advising grillers “get a good char on your meat, then probably finish it in a corner” of the grill. 

And Mina’ s final crucial rule for great burger grilling:

And, if at all possible, cook over wood as opposed to using a gas grill.

Heed that advice, grillers, since Michael Mina’s PUB 1842 rose victorious at the 2013 Burger Bash with their Double Smoked Double Bacon Burger.

Both Mina and his Executive Chef Anthony Schutz credited “smoke” as their secret weapon in winning the competition.  PUB 1842 was the only entry to smoke their burgers.

While I’d never want to contradict Mina, I’m a firm believer in that old adage “bacon makes everything better” — and I think their bacon jam definitely sealed their win.

Schutz was kind enough to share its ingredients: high quality bacon, shallots, garlic, sherry vinegar, and dark brown sugar.  Schutz recommends rendering the bacon with shallots and garlic, then adding smoke from the bacon, sherry vinegar, and a lot of dark brown sugar, slowly simmered until it leaves a jellied glaze.

What’d I tell you?  Damn, that’s sexy.