Oregon Smokey Blue Moon Bacon Burger

Pairs well with:

Zinfandel

Bright and full-bodied, this Zinfandel wine is a curious contradiction in tastes.

Ingredients

Smokey Blue Cheese Dressing
½-cup mayonnaise
½-cup sour cream
6 ounces Oregon Smokey Blue cheese crumbled
¼-teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¼-teaspoon garlic salt
3 drops lemon juice
12 thick bacon slices
Patties
2 pounds ground chuck
1 teaspoons salt
¾-teaspoon garlic salt
½-teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
¼ cup dried plain breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons Zinfandel
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 egg yolks (well beaten)
Vegetable oil, for brushing on the grill
6 (5-inch) soft Kaiser Rolls split
6 ¼ inch thick sliced large tomatoes slices

 

Instructions

•Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium high. •To make the blue cheese dressing, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, blue cheese crumbles, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic salt and lemon juice in a medium bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until serving. •Place the bacon in a large fireproof skillet, cook on the grill until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain well. When cool enough to handle, crumble the bacon. •To make the patties, combine the crumbled bacon, ground chuck, salt, garlic salt, black pepper, breadcrumbs, honey, Zinfandel, Worcestershire, and egg yolks in a large bowl. Handle the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it, mix well. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form portions into patties to fit the rolls. •Brush the grill rack with oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover, and grill until browned on the bottoms, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the patties and continue grilling until done to preference, about 5 minutes longer for medium. During the last few minutes of cooking, place the rolls, cut side down, on the outer edges of the rack to toast lightly. •To assemble the burgers, spread the blue cheese dressing over the cut sides of the toasted rolls. On each roll bottom, place a patty, and 1 tomato slice. Add the roll tops and serve. Makes 6 burgers