BLUE CHEESE BUFFALO BURGERS

 

These burgers were featured in Taste of the South, and I thought the patty had really good flavor so I am adding them to the blog as a future reference for making flavorful hamburger patties.  The burger itself was very tasty with the blue cheese, grilled onions, buffalo mayo sauce and served on a pretzel bun.  I served some really good crisp dill slices on it as well as a slice of a good summer tomato.  It was all delicious, but I will experiment with other cheeses inside and on top as well as grilled jalapeños to add to the grilled onions, and will probably use a mustard sauce and regular bun for variety.  But don't get me wrong -- this was a really tasty burger served as listed in the recipe.  If nothing else, try making the patty with the ingredients listed.  Denise and Mark were here, and Mark being such a great cook himself, asked me what all was in the patty -- so I knew he liked it!  (The picture is from the magazine, but I will post mine when I cook the 2 patties I froze to use later.)

PATTIES

2 lbs ground chuck

1 lb hickory-smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled *

8 oz crumbled blue cheese, divided

2 TB Worcestershire sauce

1 TB minced garlic

1 t ground black pepper

1/4 t kosher salt

GRILLED ONIONS

2 lg yellow onions, sliced 1/2" thick

2 TB olive oil

1/2 t kosher salt

1/4 t ground black pepper

BUFFALO SAUCE

1 c mayo

3 TB Buffalo wing sauce

1/2 t hot pepper sauce

1/4 t garlic power

1/4 t ground black pepper

8 pretzel rolls, split and toasted

Crisp dill pickle slices, optional

Slice of good tomato, optional

For patties -- In a large bowl, mix together beef, bacon, half of cheese, Worcestershire, garlic, pepper and salt.  Shape mixture into 8 patties.  Preheat grill to medium high heat (400-450 degrees).

Grill patties, covered with grill lid, for 5-6 minutes per side, or to desired degree of doneness.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese, and cook until cheese is melted.

For grilled onions -- Brush both sides of onion slices with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Grill onion slices, covered with grill lid, for 4-5 minutes, or to desired degree of doneness.

For sauce -- In a small bowl, stir together all ingredients. (Can be made ahead and refrigerated.) Spread sauce onto bottom half of each roll; top each with 1 patty and grilled onions, and if using also add pickles and tomato. Spread sauce on top half of each roll, and place on top of burger.

* The package of bacon I bought only had 12 oz so that's how much I used.