Directions for: Smoked Cheddar-Stuffed Burger and Onion Rings
Ingredients
Marinated Onions3 cups buttermilk
2 Tbsp hot sauce
2 large onions, sliced into rings of desired thickness
pinch salt
Patties1 Tbsp garlic powder
cup beef spice rub
3 eggs
1 lb(s) medium ground beef
1 lb(s) medium ground chuck
16 oz yellow Cheddar, grated
Onion Rings1 egg white
2 pinches salt
1 cup flour
1 cup club soda
cup butter, melted
pinch paprika
canola oil, for frying
Assembly24 strips bacon
8 Challah buns
1 tomato, sliced
6 leaves lettuce
8 sweet pickles, sliced
barbeque sauce
garlic mayonnaise
Directions
Marinated Onions1. In a re-sealable container, mix together buttermilk, hot sauce and salt.
2. Submerge onions in buttermilk mixture, seal, and refrigerate for at least 2 to 12 hours.
Patties1. Preheat smoker to 250F (121C).
2. In a small bowl, combine garlic powder and spice rub; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together three eggs.
4. In a large bowl, mix together ground beef and ground chuck until evenly distributed; add spice rub and eggs to the meat mixture and stir well, until combined.
5. On a baking sheet, press a small handful of the beef mixture into a cookie cutter to 1/4-inch thickness, allowing the edges to curve upwards to create a bowl shape.
6. Fill the indent with grated Cheddar and top with another 1/4inch of the ground beef mixture.
7. Slide cookie cutter off the burger and repeat with remaining beef and Cheddar to form 8 patties.
8. Smoke patties for 40 minutes, or until cheese starts to melt out of the burger.
Onion Rings1. In the last 10 minutes of smoking, preheat deep fryer or 4 inches of oil in a large heavy bottomed pot to 350F (177C).
2. To make the tempura batter for the onion rings, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, adding salt mid-way through.
3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, paprika, club soda, and melted butter. Stir until consistent; gently fold in egg whites.
4. Working in batches, drop onions into tempura batter and turn to coat. Remove onions from batter and drop into the deep fryer or hot oil.
5. Fry for 3 minutes, or until onion rings are brown and crisp. Set onion rings on a paper towel to remove excess oil and season lightly with salt. Repeat with remaining onions.
6. While onions fry, heat a small pan over medium heat to cook bacon. Add strips to the pan to cook to desired doneness.
7. Remove patties from smoker and let sit at room temperature for 3 minutes before serving.
Assembly1. To serve burgers, slice Challah buns in half. Spread garlic mayonnaise on the bottom half of the bun and top with a smoked burger patty.
2. Drizzle barbecue sauce over the burger, to taste, and top with a slice of tomato, lettuce, a pickle, and the top half of the bun.
3. Serve with a side of onion rings.
See more: Beef, Cheese, Comfort Food, Dinner, Eggs/Dairy, Fry, Main, Pork