Bacon, Blue, and BBQ Burger

Pairs well with:

Cabernet Sauvignon

This rich red easily complements your homemade chicken dishes, red meats, game, and mildly seasoned pastas.

Ingredients:

Bacon, Blue Cheese, and Cabbage salad
1/4 head – Green Cabbage
1/4 head – Red Cabbage
8 slices of thick cut bacon
2 teaspoons – fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup – Apple Cider vinegar
1 teaspoon – salt
3/4 cup – Treasure Cave Crumbled Blue Cheese

Patties
2 lbs – 80/20 ground chuck
1 teaspoon – salt
1 teaspoon – freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon- garlic powder
2 teaspoons – paprika
2 tablespoon – Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons – favorite BBQ sauce, such as Sweet Baby Rays
1/4 cup – breadcrumbs
1 large egg

Olive Oil Spray, for grill rack
9 tablespoons favorite BBQ sauce, such as Sweet Baby Rays
¼ cup- Treasure Cave Crumbled Blue Cheese
6 of your favorite high quality hamburger buns split, preferably S. Rosens

Instructions:

Preheat a gas grill to high heat.
Preheat a large, heavy, nonstick, fire-proof skillet on the grill.

To make the salad, chop green cabbage and red cabbage into large pieces (at least 1″x1″). Wash cabbage in a colander, and set aside.
Place bacon on wax paper, grind pepper over both sides of bacon.
Cook 4 slices of bacon directly on the grill rack until crispy, about 8 min each side. Transfer to paper towels to drain, then wrap in foil to keep warm. Cook the 4 remaining slices of bacon in the large skillet until crispy, about 15 minutes each side. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain, then wrap bacon in foil to keep warm.
While skillet is still hot, add the apple cider vinegar to the pan and scrap all the leftover bacon bits off the pan.
Do not drain the bacon grease from the pan.
Add cabbage to the pan and mix with the vinegar, bacon grease, and add salt. Cook about 3 minutes, keeping the cabbage crisp. Remove cabbage mixture from the heat, put in large bowl, and give 2 minutes to cool.
Mix ¾ cup of blue cheese into the cabbage, mix, and set aside for 10 minutes.
Crumble the bacon into the cabbage and blue cheese mixture, cover and set aside.

To make the patties, in a large bowl mix together with your hands the chuck, salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce, breadcrumbs, and egg. Combine well, handling the meat as little as possible. Form it into six patties (1/3 pound each) and refrigerate until ready to grill.

Spray the grill rack with Olive Oil spray.
Place the patties on the grill rack. Dab 3/4 tablespoon BBQ sauce on the top side of each patty and spread. Cook patties 8 minutes. Flip patties and dab 3/4 tablespoon BBQ sauce on the top side of each patty and spread. Cook patties 8 additional minutes, until desired doneness is reached. During the last few minutes of cooking, sprinkle crumbled blue cheese on patties, separating ¼ cup evenly.
Remove patties from heat and let settle.
Place the buns cut sides down on the outer edges of the rack to toast lightly, about 30 seconds.

To assemble the burgers, place a patty on each bun bottom and top with equal portions of the salad. Add the bun tops and devour!

Makes six burgers.