Southwest Gorgonzola Burgers with Grill-teed Vidalia Onion and Garlic/Chive Mayo

Pairs well with:

Cabernet Sauvignon

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

Ingredients:

Grill-teed Vidalia Onion
1 large vidalia onion
1.5 tbsp butter
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 sheets aluminum foil

Southwest Gorgonzola Burgers
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp worchestershire sauce
2 tbsp fresh minced basil
1.5 tbsp fresh minced oregano
2 tsp tabasco sauce
1.5 tsp mustard powder
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
.5 tsp cumin
.5 tsp salt
2.25 lbs fresh 80% lean ground beef
4 oz crumbled gorgonzola cheese
6 fresh Kaiser rolls

Garlic/chive mayo topping
3/4 cup freshly cut chives, minced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups mayonaise

Instructions:

Peel the top layer off the onion and discard. Slice the onion in half and carefully separate the layers, taking care to place them aside in order – you will be reconstructing them later.

Lightly rub the inside and outside of each onion layer, then lightly coat each with salt, pepper, and chili powder. Place seasoned onion layers back together to re-form each half. Individually wrap each half, twist the top of the foil and fold back over.

Grill on medium-high for 10-15 minutes (start them 5-8 minutes before the burgers). Flipping or turning isn’t essential, but doing so may help the juices forming inside the foil to more evenly distribute if the onion was misshapen or any of the rings broke during assembly. The onion halves will basically sautee inside the foil packages.

When the onion is ready, the pieces will be soft.

Combine all burger ingredients except gorgonzola crumbles in a large metal bowl. Note, it may be easier to work in two batches instead of a single large batch. Work ingredients into beef until evenly distributed, adding a dash of Worchestershire sauce as necessary to offset dry ingredients. Take care that fresh herbs and powders do not clump up.

Once the meat has been seasoned, add gorgonzola and work into seasoned beef. Form into balls slightly smaller than a baseball and gently pat to about 1 inch thick round burger patties, pushing any large chunks of gorgonzola back into the interior of the burger to avoid losing during cooking. Finally, with your thumb, push a large indent in the center of one side of the patties. This will keep the burgers from puffing up during cooking.

Stir garlic and and chives thoroughly into mayonnaise to create mayo topping.

Grill the burgers on medium-high heat, covered, 4 minutes per side, turning once. Place rolls on grill less than a minute until the surfaces are just golden brown.

Remove burgers and Grill-teed vidalia onion from grill and carefully unwrap onion foil packages.

Transfer burgers to Kaiser rolls and top with Grill-teed vidalia onion and top with garlic/chive mayo.