tarantula-stuffed Burger!?, 2 other ways to stuff a burger

So why in the world would I stuff a tarantula inside a perfectly good burger? Because tarantulas are the weirdest edible insects I know of and most people are disgusted by any type of spider. If that is too weird for your liking, I also made 2 other stuffed burgers with sane fillings- chao cheese and french fried onions, and peanut butter & jelly. Plus the buns are decorated too! 

I kind of enjoy trolling people I know with disgusting recipes- I just love seeing the reactions on their faces when I tell them about my creations. 

Of course, just making a video with one type of stuffed burger kind of would be boring and short, so I made two other stuffed burgers that sound more appetizing to the mere mortal. And just to be more extra, I decorated the buns!

So how did I stuff the burgers: with a Grillaholics Stuffed Burger Press(see HELPFUL LINKS)! It's convenient but you can stuff burgers by hand. Still, the recipe directions below are for if you're using the press.

Tip for thawing out 80/20 ground beef: Leave it in the fridge to thaw out for 36-48 hours(the fat in the meat takes longer to thaw out than the actual beef itself). 

I tried thawing for 24 hours and the meat was still frozen solid. To quickly thaw it, I had to put it in a sealed Ziploc bag and submerge the bag under cold for water for 15 minutes. I don't recommend you do this as you run the risk of the meat getting wet! 

So the big question on your mind is- what does a tarantula taste like? Here's the blow by blow about it: 

The legs- first had the texture of a crunchy pretzel which turned into a soft pretzel, which turned into some sort of unpleasant taste I've never experienced before in my mouth. 

The body- juicy like a cherry tomato(due to the internal organs inside the tarantula being crushed) and tastes like silkworm pupae, which is basically a wet sneaker. 

Yea, I think I turned you off cherry tomatoes and pretzels for life. Sorry not sorry.

The interesting thing about the tarantula, which was in plastic wrapping, inside a can is that the directions on the can say to eat immediately or store inside an air-tight container. My dad didn't let me try to store it but all you got to do to not be chicken like my dad is to just get a plastic container with a lid and seal tightly. 

So what exactly is chao cheese? It's a vegan, coconut milk, fermented tofu cheese that tastes like muenster cheese or provolone- really delicious! But just stuffing a burger with cheese sounds a little too normal, so I added French-fried onions to the filling and you get a flavorful onion taste in your mouth from the burger it was stuffed in.

And of course, putting peanut butter and jelly inside a burger is basically combining a common sandwich filling inside another sandwich(the burger). Though I probably should've followed the directions of this link to ensure the peanut butter and jelly didn't melt during the grilling process...

I wasn't originally going to make an apple pie spice bun. In fact my original idea was to top the bun with chocolate sprinkles- but then I realized said sprinkles would melt in the oven and the end result would be a soggy, chocolatey burger bun. 

Remember what I said about my dad being chicken earlier? Yea, he didn't try the tarantula burger- but he did try a piece of the peanut butter and jelly burger. Unfortunately, all he could taste was beef, but that's not a bad thing either(then again it was a tiny piece I gave him). 

HELPFUL LINKS: 

Stuffed Burger Press: www.amazon.com/Grillaholics-Stuffed-Burger-Press-Recipe/dp/B0140PKJUQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1499188511&sr=8-4&

Edible Tarantula: www.thailandunique.com/canned-edible-tarantula-spider

Pork Floss: www.amazon.com/Cooked-Dried-Pork-Product-Large/dp/B0086XSQRM/ref=sr_1_2_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1499188737&sr=1-2&

Furikake: www.amazon.com/JFC-Nori-Furikake-Seasoning-Ounce/dp/B0006G5KEY/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1499188266&sr=8-1&
You will need: 

Makes 3 stuffed burgers

For the cooking equipment: 

Stuffed Burger Press(see HELPFUL LINKS)
George Foreman Grill or any grill
A meat thermometer
A small bowl
Basting brush 
A lasagna pan

For the stuffed burgers: 

1 lb. 80/20 ground beef
Plain breadcrumbs
Salt
Pepper 

For the filllings: 

Burger #1: 1 Slice Chao cheese
                  French-fried onions
Burger #2: Peanut butter
                  Jelly
Burger #3: 1 edbile tarantula(see HELPFUL LINKS)

For the decorated buns: 

3 hamburger buns
1 egg white
1 tbsp. water
Burger #1: Pork floss(see HELPFUL LINKS)
Burger #2: Apple pie spice
Burger #3: Furikake(see HELPFUL LINKS)

For each of the stuffed burgers: 

1. Roll 3 oz. ground beef into a ball and flatten it with your hands. Put the flattened ball into the press and smush it with the lid. 
2. Break apart the lid and make a hole in the patty with the stuffer. 
3. For burger #1: 

• Break apart the slice of chao cheese and put it on top of the flattened patty, along with the French-fried onions.

   For burger #2: 

•  Place a spoonful of peanut butter and a spoonful of jelly on top of the flattened patty. 

  For burger #3: 

• Open the can of edible tarantula and take the tarantula out of the plastic. Handle the tarantula gently as it breaks easily! Place all of the tarantula on top of the flattened patty. 

4. Cover the fillings with 2 oz. ground meat, making sure all of the filling is no longer visible. Reassemble the lid and press the patty closed with the lid. 
5. Detach the base and put the patty onto a plate. 
6. To bind the patties, pour plain breadcrumbs on the patties and rub it in the patty. Season the patties with salt and black pepper & rub it in the patties as well. 
7. Preheat your grill and once it's done preheating, place the patties onto the grill. If you're using a George Foreman Grill, cook one patty at a time. Close the lid of the George Foreman Grill and grill the patties until the internal temperature of them reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit(for a medium burger, which is my personal preference). Of course, if you have an outdoor grill, you're going to have to flip the patties halfway through the grilling process. It's important to use a meat thermometer for checking the burgers' temperature as going by visual appearance alone is a terrible indicator as to doneness. 

For the decorated buns: 

1. In a small bowl, mix the water and egg white together. Dip the basting brush in this mixture and brush the tops of the buns with this mixture. 
2. Top one bun with apple pie spice, another with pork floss, and the last with furikake. 
3. Bake the buns in a 375 degree Fahrenheit oven for 6-8 minutes, or until the egg white on the buns are dry. 

Assemble the burgers(I paired the chao cheese and French fried-onion stuffed burger with the pork floss bun, the peanut butter and jelly-stuffed burger with the apple pie spice bun, and the tarantula-stuffed burger with the furikake bun). 

Put American cheese, lettuce, and ketchup in between the top and bottom buns, in addition to the stuffed patties(optional).

Bon appetit! 

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