Stuffed Blue-cheese Burgers With Apple And Bacon

Total Time: 39 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 19 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• olive oil, to season your grill or skillet
• 8 slices apple-smoked bacon
• 2 lbs ground chuck
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon crumbled dried sage
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1 fuji apple
• 4 sesame seed rolls, split and toasted

Recipe

• 1 wipe the grate of your grill or your skillet with olive oil before heating over a medium-high flame.
• 2 cook the bacon in a dry skillet over medium heat; when done to your like, place on paper towels to drain and set aside.
• 3 in a medium bowl, combine the ground beef, salt, pepper, thyme and sage; mix well using your hands and form into 8 thin patties; form small craters in the center of half of the patties, leaving an edge of about a quarter inch all the way around and place a scant 2 tablespoons of blue cheese in the center; top each with another patty, pinching the seams together, making sure the stuffing is completely covered.
• 4 cook the burgers over medium-high heat until medium-rare; 4 minutes per side on the grill and 4 1/2 minutes per side in a skillet; be gentle when turning the patties so they don't split.
• 5 thinly slice the apple and top each burger with the slices just before removing from the heat.
• 6 serve the burgers topped with bacon on the toasted roll.