BEER BOTTLE STUFFED BURGER
PG tested
We concede a stuffed burger isn’t for everyone. They’re messy and a bit harder to cook than traditional burgers. But they’re also much more interesting, and the stuffing can be easily changed up to suit different tastes. This burger is stuffed with sauteed veggies and two different types of cheese, American and cheddar.
Light olive or vegetable oil, for frying
3 mushrooms, chopped ½ onion, chopped
½ green bell pepper, sliced
½ red bell pepper, sliced Salt and pepper
10 ounces ground beef 1 bottle of beer
4 slices streaky bacon, stretched
4 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
2 slices American cheese 2 large burger buns Ketchup and mustard, for serving
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Set a large frying pan over medium heat and add a glug of oil. When oil is hot, throw in mushrooms, onion and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes until they are softened, season them with salt and peppers, then set aside while you prepare beef.
Divide the beef into two equal piles on work surface. Place bottle of beer into one of the balls and push down, creating a meat bowl. Don’t push the bottle through the meat; keep ½ inch of beef under bottle. Ease meat up the sides of bottle. Keep shaping the beef around the bottle until it’s uniform and sits about 2 to 3 inches high. Carefully wrap 2 slices of bacon around the beef, making sure that none of the meat is exposed.
Gently twist the bottle and slowly pull it out. Using tongs fill meat bowl with ¼ of the grilled vegetables. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top, then another ¼ of veggies. Top with more grated cheese, then cover with a slice of American cheese on top.
Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Place burgers on baking sheet and bake in oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 154 degrees.
Toast buns, squirt ketchup and mustard over them and then bookend the burgers with your buns.
Makes 2 burgers. — Adapted from “The Burger Book” by Christian Stevenson (Quadrille, May 2019, $20)