Blue cheese and jalapeño stuffed bacon burgers

Homemade burgers. There is literally nothing better. Every single time I make these, I realize that I never really need to eat fast food again. These burgers are juicy and delicious with just the right amount of spice  They will make you forget about the over processed crap that you can quickly grab when you are needing something fast.

There are really no more excuses. You can make these ahead of time, freeze and re-heat for a meal thats on the table in 5 minutes for those busy weeknights, but really it is a fast recipe to whip up and will still be on the table in under an hour (including all prep and meal time).

AND- they are full of bacon. Enough said. Bacon is good in and on everything in my opinion and not only have I topped these burger with bacon but I have added some chopped bacon right into my meat mixture just to add more of that salty-bacony flavour to every bite.

This recipe is super versatile and you can basically use the base recipe with the spices to make a burger and then jazz it up with your favourite fillings and toppings to make it feel more like you are eating at an upscale burger joint, which is perfect for an at home date night which will save you mucho $$ because this recipe cost under $15 to make for 6 burgers and a batch of home made fries, which works out to only $2.50 per portion (for all of you other budget conscious shoppers).

I stuffed these burgers with jalapeños and blue cheese, but you can definitely get creative with the ingredients you use to stuff them with. Think literally any kind of cheese imaginable-brie, sharp cheddar, mozzarella, feta, smoked gouda etc and then you can add jalapeños for some extra spice.

The other awesome thing with this recipe is that you really don't need to stuff your burgers at all- you can keep it plain and simple and just grill the patties and top with your classic favourites.


Recipe:
2 lbs ground beef
1 egg
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (but any bread crumbs will do)
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp black pepper
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
4 strips bacon, chopped into small pieces
5 bacon strips, cut in half and cooked (you can fry or bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes until cripsy)
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
3 jalapeños, seeded and cut into rings or small pieces
1 small container or wedge of your favourite blue cheese (you can sub any cheese you want)
Buns of your choice- I found some yummy jalapeño cheddar buns

Instructions:

1. In a small pan, sautee one piece of chopped bacon with jalapeños together on medium heat until just cooked and jalapeños are soft (this ensures that the peppers are nice and spicy but not raw and crunchy in the middle of your burgers)


2. Mix together beef, egg, bread crumbs, bacon, onions and all seasonings in a mixing bowl- seriously guys, I know its hard but get over the meat touching phobia you may have and just mix with your hands at this point. It will mix everything so much better

3. Form patties with a small handful of meat mixture. Use half of the mixture of make your first patties and save the other half to make the top of the burger once it is stuffed.

4. Add some blue cheese and the jalapeños to the burger patties making sure to leave some room around the edges to get a nice seal.

*note- this is the part you can get creative with. You can stuff your burger with any ingredients/cheese you want. My ultra picky husband hates the thought of blue cheese so I stuffed his with old cheddar and jalapeños instead

5. Form patties for the top of your burger by flattening a small handful of ground beef mixture in your hand and then placing it on top of the first layer and pressing the edges together.

6. Pick up the burger and press together forming a nice burger shape. Make sure there are no gaps or the filling will come out of the burger while grilling. (bottom right burger is already stuffed and formed in the above picture)

7. Grill on medium heat until fully cooked. This will depend on how you lil your meat cooked and how hot your bbq gets. I cooked mine for about 25-30 minutes because they turned out to be so thick. After about 15 minutes of cook time I placed the burgers on the upper part of my grill so that they would not burn on the outside but they would continue to cook.

8. Top with cheese, more bacon and your other favourite burger toppings and serve with your favourite burger side- fries, caesar,  macaroni or potato salads are a few of my faves