Blue Cheese-Stuffed Smoked Cheeseburgers
1 tablespoon olive oil ½ cup yellow onion,
diced
2 cloves minced garlic 2 tablespoons blue
cheese crumbles 2 tablespoons cheddar
cheese, shredded 2 pounds 80/20
ground beef
1 egg
4 slices American
cheese
1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon black
pepper
4 sesame seed
hamburger buns Instructions: In a skillet over medium-low heat, add the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes, until the onion begins to brown. Remove the onions from heat, and place them in a container and refrigerate to cool. In a large bowl, combine the onions, blue cheese crumbles and shredded cheddar cheese. In a second bowl, combine your burger and egg. Add salt and pepper and combine with hands. The burger mixture should be wet. Line a cookie sheet with foil and make 8 equal-size balls using all the burger mixture. Flatten one of the balls until the patty is about 1⁄4-inch thick. Place 2 tablespoons of the onion and cheese mixture on top, keeping it away from the edges of the patty. Flatten another burger ball of equal size and cover the other patty and mixture. Carefully press down the edge of the top patty into the bottom, eliminating the seam. Repeat the process for the other three burgers. Once completed, refrigerate the burgers, covered, for at least 1 hour or overnight. Heat the smoker to 225 degrees. Place the burgers directly on the grill grate. Let it smoke until the internal temperature reaches desired doneness (135 degrees for mediumrare, about 1 hour; 160 degrees for well-done, about 90 minutes). Top each patty with a slice of cheese and continue to cook until melted. Pull burgers out and let them rest for 5 minutes before serving. (Optional: you can use this time to toss the buns in the smoker to crisp.) Makes Per serving: 4 burgers 400 calories, 20 g fat, (8 g saturated fat), 110 mg cholesterol, 983 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrates, 1 g dietary fiber, 5 g sugar, 24 g protein