We invited Paleo Mom & Dad over for dinner to celebrate Father’s Day last Sunday. And while the Seattle weather wasn’t exactly screaming for a BBQ, I decided upon a BBQ menu anyway. I was just itching to try something new, and I had remembered that Bill the Butcher had something called “Bacontastic” that I had wanted to try – basically, ground beef mixed with chunks of bacon for making burgers. Mmm. Bacon.

Bill the Butcher has a fantastic and wide selection of grass-fed beef, but they also have some selections that are grass-fed and then 30-day corn-finished, and some that are just “natural,” so we always double-check our order just to make sure we’re avoiding any corn-fed beef. It turned out that the Bacontastic I had set my heart on was one of those grass-fed/corn finished selections. Disappointed, I wasn’t sure what to do next. I already had this menu idea planned and really had my heart set on these burgers.

Lucky for us, Scott at the Redmond location always takes great care of us at Bill the Butcher. (And no, he doesn’t pay us in free meat to write these nice things. But I wouldn’t complain if he did.) He recommended we use the ground lamb meat, and offered to mix the bacon in with it for us, thus creating our very own Lamb Bacontastic, 100% grass-fed. I knew my parents loved lamb, so I was super excited to try this.

Now, you’ve probably taken note that I made Sweet Potato Fries as our side dish. This is, in general, a Paleo “no-no.” I fully acknowledge that I am a hypocrite for even posting such a thing. But, sweet potatoes are include in Loren Cordain, Ph.D.’s book “The Paleo Diet for Athletes” as a post-workout food. Any type of starchy veggie or fruit should only be eaten when and if your body is best able to process the starch content. So, in the spirit of a holiday, wanting to try something new, and reinventing an old favorite of burgers & fries, this meal was born, devoured, and raved about afterwards. Switch up the Sweet Potato Fries for your favorite veggie (perhaps the Blasted Broccoli I just posted?) for something a little more guilt-free :)

We found this recipe for the Sweet Potato Fries on the Everyday Paleo site. She’s got some fantastic recipes there!

So, here goes…

BURGER INGREDIENTS:

• 1.75 lbs. ground lamb bacontastic (you can just chop up some raw bacon and add it to the ground meat)
• Dried Parsley, several shakes (fresh parsley would be great also)
• Dried Oregano, several shakes (fresh parsley would be great also)
• Sea Salt, to taste
• Black Pepper, to taste

BURGER INSTRUCTIONS:

• Add bacon, parsley, oregano, sea salt, and black pepper to the ground lamb.
• Mix by hand until all herbs are evenly distributed.
• Divide into 4, and form burger patties with your hands
• Top with another sprinkle of the parsley and oregano
• While the burgers are grilling, cook up a few more pieces of fresh bacon!
• Grill to Medium
• Top with fresh-cooked bacon (I broke the pieces in half so they would fit nicely atop the burgers)
• Top with Guacamole or Salsa
• Serve & enjoy!

Butcher’s Mix of Lamb Bacontastic

Grilled to perfection!

SWEET POTATO FRIES INGREDIENTS:

• NOTE: These fries are pretty darn spicy. If you don’t like a lot of heat, modify the spices to your preference!
• 2 bags of Sweet Potato Spears from Trader Joe’s, or, 2-3 sweet potatoes cut like French fries
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• ½ tablespoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon cayenne
• Black Pepper, to taste
• Sea Salt, to taste
• ¼ cup Olive Oil

SWEET POTATO FRIES INSTRUCTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 400.
• In a large bowl, whisk all spices together with the olive oil and then toss the sweet potato spears in the olive oil mixture until all the spears are coated.
• Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and evenly spread the potato spears on the foil.
• Bake for 20 minutes, turning the spears over half way through the cooking time.
• Fries will be soft when done. For a crunchy fry, try frying them in coconut oil!

One HOT combination of spices!

Our favorite Olive Oil.

Trader Joe’s makes it so easy!

Mix olive oil, spice mixture, and spears until well-coated.

Spread on a baking sheet (we used two sheets to give the spears some room).

At halfway done, they pretty much look the same. Flip & continue baking.

Hot out of the oven!

I think the final dish makes a lovely presentation! There is so much color and flavor in this meal – a great one for guests!

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE RECIPE FOR LAMB BACON BURGERS!

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE RECIPE FOR SWEET POTATO FRIES!

Happy eating :) Joey