Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped BBQ Burgers With Caramelized Onion Bacon Jam

 

 

I have a confession to make.

I've never cooked on a BBQ before.

Is that weird?

I feel like it is weird.

Maybe because I am in the kitchen baking or cooking nearly every single day I feel like it is something I should know how to do.

Well, tonight I solved that dilemma. I was trying to be patient and win a BBQ. Honestly - the last two years I have entered every contest I could find where a BBQ was involved as a prize. Of course, I never had any luck winning one. About 2 weeks ago I finally broke down and bought a BBQ at an end-of-the-season sale and tonight I finally broke it in. 

Can I just say I was pretty excited to use the BBQ. I had Sue and her hubby up for dinner so she was here in case I needed back up.

I actually did one of those little inner screams that leaks out as "eeeeeeeeeee" while doing a shake-your-booty happy dance.

Sue gave me a high five for how awesome my dance skills are. I'm pretty sure she was being sarcastic but I'm choosing to believe she was sincere.

I've got mad dance skillz.

Word.

 

 

Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped BBQ Burgers with

Caramelized Onion Bacon Jam

 

Ingredients

Caramelized Onion Bacon Jam

6 strips bacon, diced

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

 

Burgers

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 cup onion, finely diced

1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 egg

salt & pepper

1 Tbsp prepared mustard

2 Tbsp BBQ sauce

 

4 slices cheese (I used Havarti)

8 slices bacon

 

Directions

In a medium fry pan, cook bacon until it is crispy. Remove from pan onto paper towel to drain excess grease. Reserve 2 Tbsp of the bacon grease but drain the rest.

Return the 2 Tbsp of bacon grease to your pan and place over medium-low heat. Place coarsely chopped onion in pan. Cook onions over medium-low heat until onions are reduced and brown, stirring every couple of minutes. You want to do this very slowly to caramelize them. This takes about 15 - 20 minutes. During the last 5 minutes, add the cooked bacon back into the onions and stir well. Remove from heat and serve warm. (You can also place this in the fridge and serve it chilled.) (See photo below for finished results)

 

 

To make burgers: Combine the 7 ingredients listed above for the burgers in a bowl. Mix with your hands until well combined. Make into 8 even sized patties. Cut out cheese from the cheese slices to fit inside the patty. (See below)

 

 

You can use a cookie cutter or glass to cut out cheese.

 

Place cheese on top of one patty and top with another. Seal well. (I used the ring from my English muffin set as a shaper so the patties would all be uniform. You can use a sealer ring from a canning jar for this purpose as well.)  You will end up with 4 burger patties in total.

When you are done forming the patties with the cheese inside you want to wrap them with 2 slices of bacon per patty.

 

 

Put your patties in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to chill before proceeding to the BBQ. Your patties can be made up several hours before hand and chilled until you are ready to cook them.

When you are ready to go, preheat your grill for about 5 - 6 minutes on high heat.

Place the patties on the grill and turn the heat down to low.

 

 

Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, until bacon is nicely browned on the bottom side. Flip burgers over and cook for another 10 minutes, until burgers are cooked through.

 

 

Make sure you have your condiments and toppings ready to go....

 

 

Do you know what the best thing about BBQing is?

The smell that fills the entire neighbourhood. I used to be so jealous when that smell came wafting through our window when the neighbours were BBQing.

I'm not going to lie...I felt pretty cool being the one responsible for creating it tonight.

Not to mention the burgers were craaaaaaazy delicious.

I think my first time with the BBQ went pretty well. I can't wait to try chicken next. I am working my way up to trying homemade pizza on the grill. I hear it is the best way to eat pizza.

Hmmm...pretty bold statement...we'll have to see if it is true!

 

Be sure to visit Ms. enPlace and Carol's Chatter for some great links!

My Turn (for us) also has some fun food and craft links!