Bacon Burgers and Fries

We do burgers fairly regularly, today inspired by Chef Symon. There are some out there that I would love to make, but my honey is a little picky, so I try not push the burger creativity over the top.  Tonight we had bacon burgers and fries.  The first thing I did when I got home was to take 2 large russet potatoes that had been scrubbed and cut them in half lengthwise and cut the halves in to 5 wedges each.  I placed them in a bowl of water and let them sit for about an hour, because I didn't want them browning on me while  me and my honey took little ride thru the country on the bike, since we haven't really been able to get it out with all of this rain, BTW which will back tomorrow evening. When I got home I preheated my Breville oven to 450, drained the water, dried the potatoes and coated them with EVOO and S&P and placed them on baking sheet and popped them into the oven for 35 minutes.  While those were baking I took 1 part 80/20 organic ground beef, 1 part organic ground pork and 1/4 part organic chorizo, mixed them all together, formed into burgers and sprinkled both sides with S&P and put aside.  I took the bacon outside to cook  on the side burner of the grill.  Don't get me wrong I love the smell of bacon, but it permeates the house, and sometimes its just a little much.  Anyway, when there was 15 minutes remaining on the tators I heated my grill- 1 side on med  and 1 side on high.  Once heated I placed the burgers on the med heat side of the grill and let them cook thru, flipping only one time.  I placed the bacon slices and slices of red onion and monterey jack cheese over top, closed the grill and let the cheese melt.  While the burgers were grilling I also took my burger buns and lightly seared them on the grill.  That was it.  No mess, little clean up, easy and yummy.  We served our burgers with a little mayo, and some pickles next to those perfect fries.  Mmm! Mmm!

Texas Toast Applewood Smoked Bacon & Boursin Cheese Burgers

The picture doesn't even come close to depicting the awesomeness of this burger.  It truly was just TOO much!  If you dare to try this  here's how I did it.  I took 1.5 lbs of 80/20 ground sirloin and seasoned it generously with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  I formed them into 2 large patties.  Be sure not to work your meat too much, because it makes the burgers really dense.  I set those aside then I baked my very thick smoked applewood bacon at 375 for 20 minutes, removed and placed on paper towels to absorb excess fat.  I heated my grill pan on medium heat and began cooking my burgers.  I cooked the burgers on the first side for 5 minutes, reduced the heat to medium low and cooked an additional 2 minutes, I flipped them and cooked them on the other side for 7 minutes.  Half way thru the process I layered jalapenos, red onions, bacon and a slice of havarti cheese on the burgers and tented them with aluminum foil to help melt the cheese.  While those were finishing up,  I went ahead and baked my store bought Texas toast.  When the toast was finished I spread a layer of the Boursin Cheese on each piece of toast.  I placed the burgers on the toast and Voila you have a gourmet burger.  These are really decadent, so you might want to try making them as sliders.  We could each only finish half, so it looks like lunch is made for tomorrow.  Yummy!