Inside Out Grilled, Bacon Cheeseburgers

Although we do over twenty BBQ contests during the spring, summer, and fall, it seems that we never get much time at home to grill.  For lunch today, I crafted a couple of Inside Out Bacon Cheeseburgers.  Inside Out means that the bacon and cheese, along with some BBQ sauce, are inside of the burger.

To made an Inside Out burger, take a half pound of 80/20 or 70/30 ground beef.  Anything more lean and you are going to have a dry burger.  Split and form into two quarter pound meat balls.  Between two pieces of wax paper, take a heavy pan and smash the meat balls until they are paper thin.  Don’t worry about getting them too thin.  You are going to want them thin.

For our burgers, I added some bacon, BBQ sauce, and colby jack cheese to the top of one smashed patty.

Add the second smashed patty to the first.  Pinch the sides all the way around to seal the burger shut.  To prevent your burger from opening up while on the grill, place in the freezer or refrigerator for 10-20 minutes.  Overnight in the fridge is even better.  This allows the fat in the burger to cool an set up, keeping your burger together while it cooks.

A few sweet yellow onions sauteed in the reserved bacon drippings is a great way to top these burgers.  If you just can’t help yourself, add another slice of cheese to the top with the onions.  Go ahead and live a little!

Other great Inside Out combinations could be queso fresco/chopped jalapeno, blue cheese/fried onion, or brie/shitake mushroom.