Bacon Stuffed BBQ Burger

This burger was designed especially for Eric, yet another victim of the food network (DARN YOU CABLE!). After watching "Burger Paradise" the other night, we were gearing up to make a simple every day weeknight salad for dinner. Unfortunately Paula Dean came on. With more burgers. Really good looking burgers. At that moment Eric decided he just had to have a burger "right this second..." and of course for Eric, it had to be topped with bacon. Now Charisse likes to stack her burgers with all kinds of veggies like lettuce and tomatoes and whatnot. She even prefers to skip the bacon (primarily because she doesn't like it when you bite into it and all the bacon comes out in the first bite). So Charisse engineered a compromise. Bacon stuffed the right into the middle of the burger. That's right, bacon with every bite. And she didn't stop there, she imagined a burger full of cheese, and bacon and sauce and every amazing flavor you can imagine. We finally settled on BBQ sauce basted burgers filled with bacon cheese spread and topped with red onions, lettuce and homemade ranch sauce. Now if you really want to bribe (or reward) that significant other in your life (or attract one maybe? "Hey baby, wanna try my burger?" No? Does Eric have the worst pick up lines ever? Yup) try this burger. After dinner, Eric was so overwhelmed with burger delight, he actually did all the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen!

Without being asked.

Pictures and Recipe after the break

Bacon Stuffed BBQ Burger 
What You Will Need
1 lb ground beef
1/2 medium onion (minced)
1 egg
1 1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup BBQ sauce
salt and pepper
1/2 cup cream cheese
1 cup bacon (chopped into bite sized pieces)
2 Tbs chives (diced)

Sliced red onions and lettuce to top with

In a small bowl mix the cream cheese and bacon.  Add chives and salt and pepper to taste, keeping in mind the bacon is pretty salty already. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, onions, egg, bread crumbs, Worcestershire sauce, BBQ sauce, and slat and pepper.  Mix well, you can use a wooden spoon, but I find the best way is to get your hands in it and smush it all together.  Make sure to be careful when handling raw ground beef.  You don't want to get it on the counter or cutting board and when your done make sure to wash your hands thoroughly and sanitize any surfaces that touched the beef. 

Shape the beef into 12 small patties.  To stuff burger, take one patty, top with about 2 Tbs bacon mixture, and lay another patty on top.  Pull the edges over the sides and make sure to seal up the sides so your bacon doesn't melt out during cooking.

You can grill your burgers outside, but since the weather was gross, we cooked our burgers in our 15 1/2 inch cast iron skillet on the stove top.  Baste your burgers with your favorite BBQ sauce while cooking. Chefs Note: Only turn your burgers once!  This really makes a difference in the cooking of your patties.  Also do not press your burgers with the spatula, all your doing is squishing the juices right out of the burger and losing the moisture.  Cook for about 7 minutes on one side flip and do the same on the other side, making sure to coat both sides with the sauce.

While your burger is cooking make the Ranch Dressing

Ranch Dressing  
What You Will Need

1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk (add more buttermilk if you want more of a salad dressing than a thick spread)
1/2 lemon juiced
a handful each chives, parsley (minced)
pinch of dill (can be dried)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together.  This will keep in the fridge for about 1 week.  Homemade ranch is so tasty and much better than bottles versions.  Great as a dip or mixed into salads too. 

Once your burgers are done.  Spread the Ranch on each side of your bun, top burger with red onions and lettuce and bite into one of the best burgers you will ever have!