Oregon Hazelnut Bacon Blue Burger

Pairs well with:

Cabernet Sauvignon

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

Fresh and local ingredients from the Pacific Northwest.

Ingredients:

For the Patty:

3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced

2 large shallots, chopped

2 teaspoons of dried thyme

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

2 teaspoons of kosher salt

2 pounds of 80/20 ground sirloin

2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons of the juice from jarred banana peppers

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

For the Sauce:

1 cup of Mayonnaise (I like Best Foods)

2 cloves of fresh garlic, minced

1 tablespoon of juice from jarred banana peppers

¼ teaspoon of kosher salt

¼ teaspoon of cracked black pepper

1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard

Hazelnut blue cheese spread:

1 8 ounce container of Mascarpone cheese

1 8 ounce container of crumbled blue cheese

2 cloves of fresh garlic, minced

1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

¼ teaspoon of kosher salt

¼ teaspoon of cracked black pepper

12 slices of thick cut smoky bacon

1 large sweet onion (Walla Walla or Vidalia)

1 head of romaine lettuce

6 ciabatta hamburger buns

4 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions:

Combine the garlic, shallots, thyme, pepper and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Remove the ground beef from the refrigerator and place it in a large mixing bowl. Add the Dijon mustard, banana pepper juice and Parmesan cheese to the meat. Then add the spiced that you set aside early to the meat. Mix the ingredients together just until combined. Don’t over work the meat or it will become tough. Form six equal size patties. Press your thumb into the center of the patties to create a ½ inch dimple. This will help keep the burgers flat during grilling. Refrigerate until you are ready to grill.

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl. Use a wire wisk to fully incorporate the ingredients. Refrigerate the sauce until needed.

For the hazelnut bleu cheese spread, combine all the ingredients in a medium size bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Cook the bacon in a fire-proof skillet until crispy on both sides. Drain the bacon on paper towels and set aside until needed.

Cut the onion into 6 equal size slices, lengthwise through the onion (about ¼ inch thick). Push a 6 inch bamboo skewer through the onion slice to help keep it together during grilling. Season the onion with salt and pepper and set aside until grilling.

Cut the romaine lettuce into bite size pieces and put them into a salad spinner. Run cold water through the salad spinner to rinse the lettuce. Spin the lettuce until all of the water is removed. Set aside.

Preheat the grill to medium high. When the grill is hot, rub the grill with olive oil to prevent the burgers from sticking. Place the burgers on the grill and cook on each side for 3-5 minutes or until desired doneness.

Place the onions on the grill at the same time as the burgers, turning them when you turn the burgers.

Split the burger buns in half; butter the inside of all the buns. When the burgers are done, place the buns inside down on the grill for about one minute or until grill marks appear on the buns.

Building the burgers; slather one tablespoon of sauce on the bottom half of the ciabatta bun, top with a handful of lettuce, then the patty. Top the patty with a heaping tablespoon of the hazelnut blue cheese spread, the grilled onion slice and 2 slices of bacon. Spoon 1 more tablespoon of the sauce to the top bun, this will finish the burger. This hearty burger goes great with my new favorite red wine “Ménage a Trios!”