The Hoosier Burger

Some of the ingredients that are used is what you see on a traditional American hamburger, so I thought it would be fun to add a twist and put it inside the burger, and jazz it up a bit.I live in a farming community so most of the ingredients that I used you can go down on the farm to get it, so I feel that the Hoosier Burger represents where I live in Muncie, Indiana.

Ingredients:

Patties

2 1/2 pounds ground sirloin

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cracked black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

2/3 teaspoon thyme(recommend McCormick’s)

2/3 teaspoon dry mustard

Filling

1/4 cup finely chopped raw sliced natural hardwood smoked sliced bacon

1/4 cup chopped cherry tomatoes(trim & discard the stem end on the cherry tomatoes)

1 green onion finely chopped(remove the root & cut off the very tips of the green onion.but use the green stem)

1/4 cup bleu cheese crumbles(recommended: Treasure Cove)

Mayonnaise Topping

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon cracked black pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

2/3 teaspoon dry mustard

2/3 teaspoon thyme(McCormick’s)

2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, for brushing the grill rack

6 potato hamburger buns ( Recommend :Aunt Millie’s)

Instructions:

Preheat gas grill to medium high.

To make patties ,combine the sirloin,Worcestershire sauce,salt,cracked black pepper,ground cayenne pepper, thyme, and dry mustard in a large bowl handling as little as possible. Shape into 12 patties. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

In a medium size bowl carefully combine the bleu cheese, the chopped bacon, cherry tomatoes, and green onion.

To make the topping, in a medium size bowl combine , mayonnaise, cayenne pepper, cracked black pepper,salt, dry mustard,and thyme. Mix well with a spoon, set aside.

To assemble the patties top 6 of the patties with equal portions of the filling. Then place the other 6 patties on top of the patties with the filling, pinching edges to seal.

When the grill is ready, the temperature should be 350- 400 degrees. Brush the rack with vegetable oil. Then place the patties on the rack, cover, and cook, turning once, until done to preference, 5 to 7 minutes on each side for medium.Place the buns cut side down, on the outer edges of the rack to toast lightly during the last 2 minutes of grilling.

To plate the hamburger patties, place the 6 hamburgers on the toasted buns and top it off with the mayonnaise topping( I use at least 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise topping for each burger)

Makes 6 double burgers