Blue Burgers

Burgers on the grill are always just fine and dandy, but there's a special place in my heart for a burger fried up on a skillet. And last week I had a craving for just that. So, I decided to come up with my own seasoning, based on a hodge podge of different recipes I've tried. Then, as I was gathering ingredients for the seasoning, I remembered that I had leftover blue cheese crumbles in the fridge from a dish I'd made a couple weeks ago. And I decided that this would be the perfect time to try to recreate the "Inside Out Burger" by Blanc Burgers & Bottles which is a local restaurant that has the most divine gourmet burgers.

So, the results of what I'm calling "Blue Burgers" are below, and I must say, they were just as fantastic as expected!

I also made a side of Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes that turned out delicious but not as crispy as I'd expected. Next time I might baste them lightly with some oil and double the seasoning before baking them. But overall I definitely recommend trying them!

Blue Burgers

Makes: Two 1/2 lb Burgers*
Calories per burger: 547
*Can also cut recipe in half and make four 1/4 lb burgers @ 273 calories each!

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (I used 90/10)
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles

Directions:

Mix up all of the seasoning ingredients (blue cheese NOT included) with a fork until combined.

In a medium bowl, using your hands, mix the seasoning mixture in with the ground beef until blended well, then make 4 equal size patties.

On one patty, sprinkle on 1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles.

Place another patty on top of the cheesed patty as shown in the picture. Repeat this step and the step before for the other burger.

Pinch together the top and bottom patties until it looks like one whole patty and there are no gaps inbetween. This part was easy but when I started cooking them, the patties began to separate, so be sure to pinch them tight. Mine still came apart a little but it didn't affect them much.

Set your skillet to medium-high heat and place the patty on the skillet. Unless you're using a higher fat beef, I recommend lightly greasing the skillet first. Sear the patty on each side until just browned.

After searing the sides of the patties for a few minutes, cover an oven-safe pan or cookie sheet with a layer of foil and transfer the patties onto the foiled pan. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bake burgers for 30 minutes or until cooked through and browned inside and out. I flipped my burgers about half way through to ensure both sides cooked evenly. As you can see, this is where the patties came apart a little and the blue cheese started peeking out, but no severe damage done!














Neither my husband or I used condiments because the flavor from the seasoning and the melted blue cheese was all the flavor we needed! Delicious. Really glad we made these and will definitely make again.

Next time I might try something my husband suggested. Instead of making 2 separate patties for each burger. Just make 1 patty (the bottom one), then top with blue cheese and then add the other half of the beef to the top by just mushing it over top of the cheese to make the top half. So instead of forming it into a patty separately and then putting it on top, just kind of form the top part around the cheese as you go. If that makes sense! I'll try that next time.

Mangia!