Midwest Cowboy Mesquite Steak & Egg Burgers with Bacon, Cheddar and Maple

Ingredients

1 c. mesquite wood chips
12 slices thick cut maple flavored bacon
3 Tbs. salted butter
12 slices Texas toast
For Maple Steak Sauce Vinaigrette: 1/2 c. traditional steak sauce such as A-1
1/2 c. pure grade ‘B’ maple syrup (grade ‘B’ assures a full maple flavor, perfectly sweet and strong enough to compliment the steak burger!)
1 Tbs. mayonnaise
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
For Patties: 1/4 cup Sutter Home Zinfandel
1/4 c. green onion, thinly sliced
2 tsp. chopped chives
2 tsp. chopped parsley
1 cube beef bouillon, crushed
2 1/2tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2lb. ground chuck
1 lb. ground sirloin
vegetable oil for brushing grill rack
For Toppings: 6 medium eggs
salt
pepper
6 thin slices sharp cheddar cheese
1-bag baby greens

Instructions

For gas grill, place mesquite chips on large sheet of tin foil in a flat layer. Fold foil to make a flat pouch. Pierce pouch with fork and place under grate next to heat source. Turn grill to high setting until pouch starts smoking, then turn grill down to medium-high for grilling. For charcoal grill, prepare a medium-high fire, then toss wood chips on the coals.

Heat a large, heavy, fireproof skillet on the grill. Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Remove bacon, drain on paper towels then wrap in foil to keep warm. Remove pan from heat and add butter, swirl pan to melt butter. Brush 1 side of each slice of Texas toast with melted butter and set aside.

For Maple Steak Sauce Vinaigrette: In a blender mix steak sauce, maple syrup and mayonnaise on medium speed. Add olive oil in a stream while blending until all is incorporated. Add salt and set aside.

For Patties: Stir together Sutter Home Zinfandel, green onion, chives, parsley, beef bouillon, salt and pepper in large bowl. Add ground chuck and ground sirloin and mix gently and briefly with hands until all is incorporated, being careful not to over mix! Cowboys are tough but their burgers shouldn’t be! Form 6- Texas toast sized square patties. Make a golf ball sized, 1/2” deep indentation in the center of each patty. Brush grill rack with vegetable oil. Place patties indentation side down on prepared grill and close the cover. Grill for 4 minutes. Flip burgers over. Crack 1 egg into the indentation of each patty. Salt and pepper egg. Close cover and grill for an additional 7 minutes or until center of burger reaches 160° on an instant read thermometer. During the last 3 minutes of grilling, gently place 1 slice of cheddar cheese on top of each egg, close cover to melt. During the last 2 minutes of grilling place Texas toast butter side down on outer edges of grill to toast.

To assemble burgers, place 1 egg and cheese topped patty on each of 6 slices of Texas toast. Top with 2 slices of bacon and a handful of baby greens. Drizzle with 1/4 c. Maple Steak Sauce Vinaigrette, top with another slice of Texas toast and serve. 6 Servings