ALL the yumminess of Florida Beach Bread piled onto a juicy, grilled burger with my homemade Rich and Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing! This burger is all decked out and ready sail! Make sure to make this showstopper for your next backyard or beachside barbecue!
Hey all! And welcome! May is National Burger Month! Which means you are in for EPIC burger creations from bloggers all around the world! And this super-amazing event has all been made possible by the creator and owner, Kita Roberts, of Girl Carnivore!
Firstly, what is “Florida Beach Bread” you ask? It’s a popular appetizer that’s enjoyed beachside in Fort Myers (as well as Tampa), Florida, that consists of french bread that’s toasted, spread with blue cheese dressing, then smothered with a blend of melted cheeses, and topped with chopped tomatoes and green onions!
It’s often served with a marinara sauce for dipping, and most likely, an ice cold drink with a pretty, paper umbrella and a bendy straw! (Just love those little umbrellas and bendy straws!)
I’ve decided to take this basic, and much adored appetizer, jazz it up a bit, and turn it into a fantastic burger for #BurgerMonth2021!
So, hurry! Let’s make this so that we can hit the beach, sink our toes into the warm sand, wade in cool waters, and catch a spectacular sunset! Okay, well, we can dream about it anyways. And this burger will take us right there!
Because this bread was a little wider and heartier than most regular hamburger buns, I decided to just go for it and make two, half-pound burgers! So, be sure to invite your best friends over to split them! So much more fun to enjoy with good friends anyways!
Or, you can make them slider-sized, or make one big long one and slice it into appetizer or lunch-sized servings. SO many possibilities!
Ok, so getting to it. It’s EASY and totally rocks. You’ve got this!! Just split the french bread hunks open ahead of time, spread the insides with soft butter, put them back together and back into the bag, and they’re ready to go when it’s time to grill!
*One little secret I use to give breads and buns extra flavor, is this awesome stuff! Just sprinkle it on, fairly heavily, just before you grill them.
Though there are a lot of condiments, toppings, cheeses and other elements, everything can be prepped ahead of time, even several DAYS, which makes for a super fast burger when you’re ready to eat! It’s also a good one to make for company! More time to spend with your guests!
So to start, I made a five-cheese blend that was INCREDIBLE.
And here’s the flavor train toppings I added! (*Chives also went on at the last minute!)
*You can add whatever ones you enjoy, and even add some of your own ideas! (Chopped and grilled broccoli and asparagus come to mind! Grilled corn kernels and black beans could add even more fun, too!) This is YOUR beach burger, so make it sail your own way!
Some kind of dressing, for traditional “beach bread” is a must. So I went with the classic, blue cheese, and made just a small amount of my homemade.
You can certainly purchase blue cheese dressing, but why would you want to when you can make my SIMPLE dressing that puts store-bought dressings to shame?!
My Thick, Rich and Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing
After all of the prepping and make-aheads are done, it’s time to ROCK this beach baby!
I made half-pound burgers grilled perfectly to our liking!
Once the burgers are done, set them on the top shelf of your grill or just remove them for a sec.
Twist open your buttered french bread “buns”, and season them the way you enjoy.
We enjoy a killer “garlic bread” style!
Grill the prepped inside over HIGH heat until toasted with the grill lid OPEN. (*Unless you prefer a very crunchy outside.)
We prefer the cut-sides browned but the top outsides just lightly toasted and the bread still nice and soft inside.
Look how gorgeous!! It was hard not to pick off a piece!!
Now, place your burger directly on top of the bottom half…..
…then add LOTS of cheese. *Shredded cheese melts down to nothing, so add a nice, BIGASS pile. Otherwise, it will be quite lame.
Then add whatever toppings float your sailboat.
(*Lightly press them into the cheese so that they don’t fall off while the cheese is melting.)
I assemble these on a small pieces of sprayed foil so that I can easily transfer them to the grill, and so that the cheese and toppings don’t fall through the grates. Loss of cheese should be a SIN!
*This also helps the bottom “bun” from becoming too done and hard. Cheese takes a bit to melt.
After placing his smiling face onto the grill, close the lid to help the cheeses melt. Do this over LOW or NO heat, and have the other side HOT.)
While your beach baby masterpiece is melting into a glorious, cheesy mess, spread the top “bun” with my homemade blue cheese dressing, or whatever dressing each person chooses.
Once the burgers are done, and the cheeses have melted into a drool-worthy, happy mess…
…just place the top “bun” on and…..OMG….sink your best impression of shark teeth into this incredibly delicious, beach bread-inspired burger!!
I quickly found out why this appetizer is SO POPULAR! WOW!! What a burger!!
THIS. Yes. THIS. Was just WAY too much fun!! My hubby ate the other half of mine, and actually LOVED it! (Shocker!) So, my suggestion is that you can just make a Florida Beach Bread Burger Bar, and let your guests choose whatever toppings they want on theirs!
Set out all kinds of fun toppings, and make sure to provide different spreads and dressings for those who don’t care for blue cheese. My Ranch is a safe choice to add. Even my Caesar or 1,000 Island might be nice! (*Just make them all homemade ahead of time! Store-bought dressings are kinda gross.)
Hope you all enjoy this incredible burger as much as we BOTH did!! Perfect for parties, backyard or beachside barbecues, holidays, and even easy and quick enough for a weeknight supper! Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
A huge thank you to Kita Roberts for putting on this event every year! There is nothing better than an AWESOME burger in the summertime! I look forward to this event every single year!
Take the time to check out her websites! She’s an amazing cook, griller, and smoker!
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This year’s participating Burger Month Rockstars!
Chiles and Smoke 
Grumpy’s Honeybunch Honeybunch Hunts Miss in the Kitchen Out Grilling Our Good Life Culinary Adventures with Camilla A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures The Redhead Baker Simple and Savory For the Love of Food Grillax The Beard and The Baker Or Whatever You Do The Kindred Plate Sumptuous Spoonfuls Sweet reciPEAs Real Life with Dad A Day in the Life on the Farm Wildflour’s Cottage Kitchen Grilling Montana Devour Dinner Making Miracles Plateful of Passion Pastry Chef Online An Affair from the Heart Sarah’s Cucina Bella Karen’s Kitchen Stories The Best Vegetarian Recipes Wok and Skillet BwellQue The Spiffy Cookie Bacon Fatte Cheese Curd in Paradise
Florida Beach Bread Burger #BurgerMonth2021
Makes 2 burgers (1/2 pound before cooking)
Ingredients:
french bread, sliced into squares; split, spread with garlic butter, grilled to toast insides
my Thick, Rich and Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing, or whatever kind you like
1 lb. ground beef, made into 2 (or more) patties, salted and peppered on the outside to taste
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella and provolone cheese blend, I used Sargento’s
1/2 cup shredded sharp (yellow) cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded sharp white horseradish cheese
1 coarsely chopped roma tomato
chopped red onion, as much or little as you want
2 crisp-cooked and peppered bacon strips, cut or torn into pieces
4 sliced or coarse-chopped pimiento-stuffed green olives
4 sliced or coarse-chopped black olives
green onions or chives, snipped, as much or little as you want
(Marinara Sauce for dipping, optional)
Directions:
Make Aheads: Slice the french bread into bun-sized hunks, split open, and spread the insides with soft garlic butter, or just butter and season later. Place them back together and put them back into the bag for grilling later. Make the salad dressing, cover, chill. Shred the cheeses into a large bowl, toss to mix, cover, chill or set aside. Chop the tomatoes, red onion, crisp-cooked bacon, both olives, and chives or green onions into separate finger bowls.
Heat one side of grill to HOT. The other side on LOW heat or none at all. Make burger patties and season both sides with salt and pepper to taste. When grill is ready, place burger patties onto oiled grates on HOT side of grill, and grill to preferred doneness turning once. Remove to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.
Twist apart buttered “buns”, season if desired, and place, buttered side down onto hot side of grill where burgers were. Leave lid open and grill until cut, buttered sides are toasted. Remove from grill. Place bottoms onto sprayed foil and top with burger patties. PILE on handfuls of cheese blend, top with desired toppings and lightly press them into the cheese so they don’t fall off. Place onto LOW heat side of grill, close lid, and “bake” until cheese has fully melted.
While cheeses are melting, spread tops with lots of my homemade blue cheese dressing, (or dressing of your own choosing).
When burgers are done, carefully remove to a serving platter or plates, and place on tops. (*Serve with warmed – or cool – marinara sauce for dipping if you want.)
Pour yourself an ice cold drink, dig in and enjoy!!
*If sharing, carefully cut in half, corner-to-corner, using a very sharp knife.
