Bluegrass Benedictine Bourbon Burger

Pairs well with:

Pinot Grigio

You won’t need a bouquet of flowers when you share our Pinot Grigio. This crisp wine with floral aromas is a wonderful way to make an entrance.

Ingredients:

1 large cucumber
1 cup onion
8 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of cayenne pepper
Dash green food coloring
2 medium onions
4 tablespoons of butter
1 pound of maple-cured bacon
3 pounds of 80/20 Hamburger
6 tablespoons of Bourbon Smoked Sea Salt
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of butter
6 King’s Hawaiian Sweet Roll Hamburger Buns

Instructions:

Light charcoal and while coals are being prepared, begin making Benedictine spread.
To make Benedictine, peel cucumber and wrap in paper towels and squeeze out excess juice. Finely chop cucumber by hand and dry on paper towel. Using a small food processor, finely chop the onion. In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, cucumber, onion, salt, cayenne pepper and food coloring. Mix well until a smooth and spreadable texture. Refrigerate until ready to dress hamburgers. The process of making Benedictine takes about 15 minutes.
Coals have now warmed for 15 minutes. In large skillet on the grill, place one pound of bacon. Cook until crisp. When bacon is finished cooking, drain on parchment paper. The process for making bacon takes about 20 minutes.
Slice two medium onions and place in aluminum foil with four tablespoons of butter. Wrap and seal aluminum foil into a packet. This step takes approximately 5 minutes.
Prepare burgers by shaping into 1/2 pound patties. Rub with sea salt and pepper. This step takes approximately 5 minutes.
Place burgers on the grill. At the same time, place foil packet with onions on the grill.
Sear burgers on one side for 30 seconds; sear on second side for 30 seconds. Cook burgers on one side for approximately 10 minutes; flip burgers, cooking on second side for approximately 10 minutes; checking for medium well doneness.
As burgers near finishing, butter buns and place them butter side down on the grill until lightly browned. This step takes approximately three minutes. Remove buns from grill and set open-faced on plates.
Remove burgers from grill and place on buns. Remove onions from grill.

Top burgers with Benedictine spread; then top spread with 3 slices of bacon per burger. Place grilled onions on top of bacon and top with bun. Plating of 6 burgers takes approximately 10 minutes.
The entire process for making Bluegrass Benedictine Bourbon Burgers takes approximately one hour, 20 minutes.