Bleu Cheese Burgers - Say What?

Click Here to view an instructional video.

In my neck of the woods, things started warming up this week. Being a seasoned (meaning getting old) individual, I also know the pattern. You get this blast of spring-like weather only to be shocked into wintery submission by a late winter / early spring storm. I've seen it play out many times. Regardless, it drove me to fire up the charcoal grill, so as far as I am concerned, the grilling / barbecue season has officially been launched. (My wife smashes a bottle of champagne against my kettle grill)

Today's column doesn't deal with barbecue. Instead, it covers one of the most basic of all grilled foods, the hamburger. But, we put a twist on it with a bleu cheese spread that will absolutely rock your world. The main downfall to preparing this burger this early in the season is that all grilled burgers for the remainder of the grilling season will be compared to it, and that's a problem. In all honesty, I think this is the best tasting burger I have ever fixed. If you don't believe me, I will fight you. I will.

Some basics on burgers. First, get some good ground chuck. Go to your butcher or your supermarket and buy ground beef that is eighty percent lean and twenty percent fat. Don't get all health freaky when buying ground beef for burgers. The fat holds the burger together and provides moistness and flavor. Indulge a little. Don't government studies tell us that thirty percent of our caloric intake is supposed to be composed of fat? Yeah, I'm going with that.

When making your patties, form a ball the size of a baseball, then begin flattening. Make sure the middle of the patty is thinner than the outside of the patty. That's a little secret. It will prevent your hamburger from mounding up into a poorly shaped meat ball during the grilling process.

With this bleu cheese burger the flavor comes from the spread, so all you need is kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper on both sides pf the patty to season the beef. Allow the patties to come to room temperature (very important) and then it's time to throw them on the grill.

For grilling burgers, I am just as happy on a gas grill or on charcoal. Sorry traditionalists...shoot me. I am just telling the truth. When fluids start percolating to the top of the burger, they are ready to be turned. With other cuts of beef I love medium rare. However, with ground beef, I would suggest cooking it to medium or medium-well, which is 150 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Ground beef has been handled a few more times, and the grinding process can introduce elements that...um...let's just say....aren't to be eaten cold. Again, just being honest. It's my job.

In terms of the buns I have now switched away from the traditional buns and have gone to the thin sandwich buns which are now easy to find in your supermarket. We prefer the whole wheat, and we toast them, which adds texture. I truly like them better than the normal buns.

There is a restaurant in Louisville called The Bristol. They serve their burgers on an English muffin. It has that kind of a feel to it. It's awesome.

Spread the bleu cheese spread on both toasted buns, top and bottom. We added spring lettuce and sauteed mushrooms. Oh...my....gawd. So good. As I said, the only downfall to this recipe is that you will compare all burgers against this burger for the rest of the grilling season, which really isn't fair to the other burgers.

Bleu Cheese Spread

• 3 to 4 oz of Bleu Cheese, depending on how much you like bleu cheese
• 1/2 lb of soft cream cheese
• 1 Tbsp of cognac
• 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts
• 1 Tbsp of minced onion
• salt and pepper to taste

This recipe will provide enough spread for four 1/3 lb burgers

Dave welcomes your questions and your feedback and assures you every question will be answered by him personally. You can contact him directly at his website, www.BBQMyWay.com. Let him know what you would like discussed and he will try to include your topic in future columns. You can also subscribe to his free monthly newsletter, “The BBQ Gazette.”

Click Here to view a quick, instructional video on these swesome Bleu Cheese Burgers.

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