Creamy Blue Cheese-Stuffed Bacon Buffalo Burgers with White Cheddar, Pepper Jack & Fiery Ranch Sauce

 

 

I wish I could personally thank that lady in Buffalo, New York, who first came up with the idea of “Buffalo Wings”! I admit, I was skeptical to try them the first time after hearing what was in them! Hot Sauce. And butter. And so blazin’ hot that you needed gulps of milk and large bites of raw celery on the side to put out the FIRE???!!  Really??!!  Ohhh!, this can’t be good. Noooo way. Huh-uh. This did NOT sound like a “fun” new Sunday football game “experience”! It sounded more like pure torture!!

Well, boy was I way wrong! To say I was shocked and pleasantly surprised… would not, uhm, – – quite – – describe my reaction…it was more like…my head spinning around in fast-motion cartoon-style, smoke blasting out of my li’l ears sounding like Fred Flintstone’s quitting-time whistle, my eyes spiking two feet outward — sounding  “aaaaaOOOOOgaaaa!!!”—clamoring cartoon noises in the background, my hands on the sides of my head and a big frozen silly-scary smile on my face resembling a cross between Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett!! Closely followed by Granny Clampett, sped up to a ridiculously fast speed, jumping up and down half lit on moonshine!! …..I LOVED them!!!!! With my little fist on the bar and my newly painted french-tip nails (now totally wrecked and stained with sauce), waiting for the Bears game to start sporting my over-sized #34 jersey that came almost down to my knees because I’m so short, I “yelled” with my little voice,

“Bartender, hold the “milk chaser” and “green stuff”, and give ’em to me straight-up this time!!!”  

I was going to run with the “big dogs” today!!  😉

Well, sort of, but after having them once, I knew exactly what my next kitchen experiment was going to involve! And from then there on, they have morphed into all kinds of crazy Buffalo-style, mad-scientist creations from soups and salads; subs, hoagies and “joe’s”; grilled steaks, pizzas, tacos and dips; my soon-to-be-famous (hopefully!) Walkin’ Wings, and my latest — blue cheese-stuffed bacon Buffalo burgers!

If you’re a wing junkie too, this may just become your new favorite way to enjoy a burger! I love wings. I love burgers. So it was the perfect match for me! 2 grilled and lightly charred, juicy, beefy patties stuffed with a smooth and creamy blue cheese filling, draped with melted sharp white cheddar and spicy hot pepper jack cheese, a little crisp lean bacon- – are you with me so far?  Cool, crisp lettuce, juicy red-ripe tomatoes, and drizzled with a nice “ranch meets hot sauce” dressing! What’s not to fall in love with? I started to add all pepper jack, but the “head-spinning thing” makes me dizzy and I quit smoking 3 years ago, so I kept the heat to a manageable level and used part white cheddar. But, by all means necessary, go all out if you like it extra-hot! If you really like the “head spinning experience”, add some minced hot peppers to the meat. But just watch out for those habaneros, though. You don’t want your head to go flying off like a top. Kind of hard to eat that way. 😉   

 

 

Just be sure to seal the burgers all the way around well so the filling doesn’t leak out. *I left one small quarter a little bit unsealed, knowing from experience, that though these can be cut in half to show the inside so you can see it, it just ends up a bit of a mess trying to cut through everything and I knew I’d surely wreck it. So I let it leak out, just a little , so you could still see how nice the filling is and how wonderfully creamy it gets! It didn’t make a bad mess on the grill, either, surprisingly. (I had the oven on and a cookie sheet ready for quick removal and transfer, though, just in case!!) So if yours do leak out a little, good to know that you’ll be ok so long as it’s towards the end of grilling time. But by that time, they’re done anyways.

*Also, be SURE, cannot stress this enough!, be sure to use good hamburger for stuffed burgers. The cheaper blends have a lot of water and “unwanteds” added and the meat will shrink to a dime and fall apart. A griller’s nightmare. There is nothing more frustrating and angering than watching your burgers turn into shrinky-dinks, break apart, and fall to their deaths into the pit of flames. So this is for all the wing and burger star-crossed lovers out there! A really fun, I promise!, football game and tailgating experience! Enjoy and let the games begin!!! GO BEARS! 🙂 (Ok, and the Seahawks for the hubs!) Have a great day all! 😉  

 

 

CREAMY BLUE CHEESE-STUFFED BACON BUFFALO BURGERS with WHITE CHEDDAR, PEPPER JACK & FIERY RANCH SAUCE 

Serves 2

 

For Blue Cheese Filling:

4 Tbl. very soft cream cheese

3 Tbl. finely crumbled blue cheese, or to taste

1/4 tsp. dried minced onion

1/4 tsp. prepared hot horseradish 

1/4 tsp. spicy brown mustard

dash coarse ground black pepper

 

For Fiery Ranch Sauce:

4 Tbl. Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, or to taste

2 Tbl. prepared Ranch salad dressing

1 Tbl. heavy mayo, more if you like it thicker

1/8 tsp. chili powder

 

Rest of Ingredients:

1 lb. good quality ground beef

salt & pepper

2 Tbl. butter, melted

1/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

2 slices sharp white cheddar cheese, Sargento’s is good

2 slices hot pepper jack cheese

3-6 slices crisp-cooked lean bacon, or as desired

4-6 slices garden fresh tomatoes

crisp lettuce leaves to cover bottom buns

2 sturdy Kaiser or pretzel rolls, split and toasted

 

DIRECTIONS:

For Blue Cheese Filling: In small bowl, place cream cheese. Microwave on LOW for 10-15 seconds until soft enough to stir, but watch so it doesn’t scorch. Stir in rest of ingredients until well mixed. Cover and chill.

For Fiery Ranch Sauce: Mix all ingredients in small bowl. Adjust to personal taste and consistency. Cover and chill. 

Preheat grill to high. In small bowl, melt 2 Tbl. butter, stir in 1/4 cup hot sauce. Set out by grill. Divide hamburger into fourths and form 4 medium-thin patties making 2 slightly bigger. Make as nicely as possible, especially making sure edges are smooth and not cracked. Divide blue cheese filling evenly onto each of the 2 larger patties and carefully spread to within 3/4″ from edge. Place smaller patties on top, fold larger edges over a little and press and seal well, cupping and smoothing edges. Season tops with salt & pepper to taste.  

Place stuffed patties onto oiled hot grates, turn heat down to medium, close lid and grill about 7-8 minutes until bottoms are nicely browned. Carefully turn with sharp spatula. Baste browned tops heavily with butter/hot sauce mixture (about half), close lid and grill 5-7 minutes longer. Turn and baste new tops with rest of butter/hot sauce mixture, top burgers with a slice each of the white cheddar and pepper jack, close lid and grill 1-2 more minutes until cheese has melted. Remove to platter to rest.

Toast insides of rolls. Remove to serving plates, and top bottoms with lettuce leaves. Place burgers on top. Microwave the bacon on paper towels, covered with one sheet, on high for 7-10 seconds until reheated and sizzling. Place on top of burgers. (*Use tongs or a fork, it will be hot!)  Top with slices of tomato and drizzle with as much Fiery Ranch sauce as desired.  (*If you have excess basting sauce, you can stir that into the Fiery Ranch Sauce if desired since it was only used on the cooked sides of the meat.)  Enjoy with friends, cold beverages and lots of napkins! 

*Extra Fiery Ranch Sauce is great for dipping fresh or grilled veggies, to use as a dressing for a side salad, or to dip French fries, onion rings or chips in, too.