When things get tough, the tough go out to the grill for a breather in the warm sunshine and fresh air and concoct THIS speechless masterpiece! I’m the most humble person you could possibly, possibly meet – – but just this once – – I’m going to pat my little self, on my little back, with my little hands in my little grill mitts… and admit that – – DANG I really ROCKED IT!  The kind folks at Johnsonville sent us some coupons for free product, and the first to be used was for their new Grillers because they are just SMOKIN’ HOT gooood!!  They had sent us some to try back when they first came out and we LOVED them! But this time, I decided to go whole hog wild and just have us a little cheering up time – therapy in the kitchen and on the deck – go for broke – deck ’em out -party in your mouth – pamper on a dime time!! And these turned out “FABULOUS!!” I really don’t care for the word “fabulous”. I really don’t. I guess it’s because it became popular to say, and the people who used it usually sounded pretentious, but, I can tell you this, it does truly fit these burgers and without an OUNCE of pretension! They really are, by definition, absolutely wonderfully fabulous!!! They grill up so beautifully with professional-looking grill marks and summer sunset color, are nicely thick not wimpy, incredibly juicy, and have such an unexpected quality, flavor and texture that you never get from preformed patties. I love how convenient they are so that they give you extra time to play and spend time having fun and creating toppings to your heart’s desire instead of so much time on them! They are just the perfect party patty!!

I decided to call these “3-Part Harmony Burgers” because I made these in three parts. I started “part one” with an idea to make an onion “jam” as the main condiment with a touch of barbecue sauce, balsamic vinegar and a hint of cinnamon! Starting with the thickly sliced onions, just toss with butter, oil and a little of “this and that’s” and bring to a simmer in a small saucepan…

 

 

…and after 30 minutes, VERY sweet and lightly caramelized onions to start our jam!   

 

 

 

Then I just stirred in some barbecue sauce, sweet aged balsamic vinegar and a touch of cinnamon…

 

 

At this point, you can either just do as I preferred the texture to be, and use the side of your spoon and chop onions to a desired chunkiness state, or, you can add this mixture to a small food processor and pulse to a more blended consistency. I was all about doing this with a little bit of chunkiness this time. But either way, really, would’ve been equally as delicious. It’s simply a matter of preference of texture and consistency for what you’re using it for.

I suppose “part two” and “part three” are interchangeable, in that, you can either grill the patties and rewarm them adding the cheese later, (which is what I did), and fry the apple slices last. Or, you can fry the apple slices and keep them hot in a LOW, warm oven while you grill the patties and top with cheese. Which ever you prefer to do I’m sure would be perfectly fine but frying the apples does take longer and I prefer things like that to not sit around to get soft and weepy. Plus, I had to beat the clouds, possible rain, and the evening darkness coming fast to be able to grill and finish in time and get a few shots for you to be able to see. But in retrospect, I think I would still do it in the same order as it worked out so very well, so just a tip.

So next up are the Johnsonville Bacon Cheddar Grillers! Getting close to being done!

 

 

They plump up and get such gorgeous color, don’t they?!!!  And here’s a quick pic all done! Be thankful that there’s no such thing, yet, as “smell-o-vision”, because, drooling on the keyboard is not a good thing for your computer!!

 

 

I covered them and set them aside to be warmed later with cheese as these reheat extremely well without overcooking and drying.

Next up, and the last of our 3-part harmony, is the fried apple rings!! I did my simple beer batter with a little added cinnamon and they came out shockingly delicious!! Let’s face it, they were going to be good, I mean seriously. I just wasn’t expecting them to be THIS good, you know what I mean? Wowzers!!!! 

Because of the juices, when things sputtered a little much, I just used my screen guard to control the mess. Recommended, but certainly not necessary. 

 

 

But most of the time they didn’t need it, and the sweet, early-autumn aroma of tart apples and cinnamon wafted through the kitchen and spilled into the rest of the house like a warm, cozy, flannel blanket of heavenly goodness while they sizzled and bubbled away!!!

 

 

 

Resting peacefully and humming, warming up their voices getting ready to sing, while the grilled bacon cheddar patties get rewarmed with a few thick slices of white cheddar!

 

 

Can’t you just smell them??!!! All I can say this, I’m not big on cooked apples, and don’t really care for apple pie myself, but these…. OH!! – – – MYYYYYY!!!! (I will definitely double the apples next time to enjoy topped with scoops of ice cream with my homemade caramel sauce and a little sea salt for dessert later!! Whipped cream may just sneak it’s way into the dream boat sundae, too! 😉 )  

 

 

Now, combine the Bacon Cheddar Grillers, with the fried apple slices, extra added bacon and white cheddar, and top with the sweet caramelized bbqed onion jam….and….uhm, yeah. It’s 3-part harmony as angelic as Crosby, Stills and Nash!!! So, “Teach You Children” well, too, so they learn to cook for themselves and not cave to fast food drive-thru’s! And even starting with a little help, like these non-greasy, low-fat, lean and flavorful, healthy “other white meat” patties, is a VERY tasty start and a busy cook’s best friend! These memorable burgers are even easier made with the onion jam made ahead of time. *And I always pre-bake a whole pound package of bacon the day I buy it and store it wrapped in a bit of paper towel and a freezer ziploc for use whenever I need it. Always handy and ready to just toss in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to re-crisp and sizzle!  

 

So enjoy the last sweet days of summer, and plan a final barbecue with good friends, kind neighbors, great conversation, and fabulous food!! Snowflakes are just around the corner and now is the perfect time to crank up the grill one last time for an end of season barbecue bash celebrating Labor Day weekend just right around the bend!  So hope you enjoy this as much as we did!! Frying more apples is definitely on my agenda and hope it tops your list soon, too!! 

 

 

 3-PART HARMONY BACON DOUBLE-CHEDDAR BURGERS with FRIED APPLE RINGS & SWEET ‘N SASSY BARBECUED ONION JAM

 Serves 4

 

For the Barbecued Onion Jam:

2 Tbl. real butter

1/2 Tbl. canola or vegetable oil

2 medium onions, peeled, halved, and thickly sliced

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp. sugar

1/8 tsp. coarse ground black pepper

2 Tbl. Sweet Baby Ray’s Original Barbecue Sauce

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. balsamic vinegar

 

For the Batter:

1 cup flour

1 cup beer

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. coarse ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. sugar

 

Rest of Ingredients:

2 large Granny Smith apples, thickly sliced into 12 slices total minus ends and unpeeled, centers cut out with a small sharp 1″ biscuit or cookie cutter

4 Johnsonville Bacon Cheddar Grillers, room temp.

4 thick slices sharp white cheddar cheese, I used Sargento’s

8 slices crisp-cooked lean thick bacon, broken in half if desired

4-8 large crisp lettuce leaves, or as desired

4 large Kaiser rolls or any sturdy bakery-style rolls, toasted

(oil for frying the apple slices)

 

DIRECTIONS:

In small to medium saucepan, melt butter with oil, add onions, salt, sugar and pepper for onion jam. Heat to a LOW simmer, and sauté  stirring and folding now and then, for 30 minutes until very soft. Stir in bbq sauce, cinnamon and balsamic vinegar and sauté 1 more minute. Remove from heat and leave uncovered or lid well vented.

Heat grill to HIGH heat. Once grill is hot, place patties onto oiled grates, close lid and turn heat down to medium. Grill for 5-6 minutes. Turn, and grill until done, with lid closed, another 5-6 minutes. *All grills vary, so these times are approximate. Remove burgers to plate and loosely cover to keep warm and let rest.

In small bowl, whisk batter ingredients. Turn apples on their sides and slice off tops and bottoms. Then slice into thick slices getting 6 slices per apple.  Cut out centers with a 1″ sharp round biscuit or cookie cutter. Heat oil in large skillet to med-high heat. (About 1 – 1/2 ” deep with oil and to 375 degrees.) With tongs, dip apple slices into batter, coating both sides well, and fry each side about 3-5 minutes depending on how hot your oil is. You want it to really sizzle when you add them so that the batter doesn’t get icky greasy. If it starts to spatter too much, just cover with a mesh wire screen guard. Turn when deep dark golden and fry until both sides are done removing to a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet. *Only do a few at a time not crowding in the pan nor touching each other.

When all apple  slices have been battered and fried, rewarm burgers in microwave or 375 degree oven topped with slices of sharp white cheddar until melted. Remove. Brush insides of split rolls with a little oil and grill or broil until toasted.

Top bottoms with lettuce leaves, top each with a melted white cheddar-topped burger, several strips of bacon slices (whole or halved), 3 fried apple rings, and a few tablespoons of barbecued onion jam. Top with toasted top half of rolls and enjoy!!  INCREDIBLY awesome!!