Gorgonzola and Bacon Burger

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The black and blue burger, a burger topped with blue cheese, is one of the classic burgers. You either love them or hate them. I'm a lover of these pungent flavored burgers, they make my mouth water like a car hitting a fire hydrant.  

I did a spin on this time-honored burger for happy hour tonight. Some folks are wary of blue cheese because of the intense flavor. Instead of the typical blue cheese crumbles, a thick, creamy gorgonzola sauce graced our burgers. The milder flavor works better on a burger for me.

This burger is bursting with flavor! The sharp taste of the cheese sauce, the smoky/salty bacon, and fresh ground chuck patty make this a spectacular burger.

I start off making the cheese sauce because I like to give it time to rest and thicken. That way it stays on top of the burger on the grill instead of dripping off into the flames below.

NMT Gorgonzola Burger Sauce

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/3 cup crumbled gorgonzola
• 1 teaspoon Big Green Egg Classic Steakhouse rub

Instructions

1. Make a roux. Preheat a small pan over medium heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour until combined. Let cook for 1 minute, continuing to stir, until the roux is blonde and has a nutty aroma.
2. Slowly add the half and half while continuously whisking.
3. Whisk in the cheese until melted.
4. Whisk in the seasoning. Taste for seasoning and add more rub or salt if desired.
5. Remove from heat.

I like to use my Tramontina induction cooker for making sauces. We used this on the trailer for BBQ competitions mainly because it didn't add any heat to our small kitchen on wheels. Then it became my go-to sauce cooker because I fell in love with how quickly it reacts when I change the temperature. 

Two other sauce essentials for me is this crazy little whisk (can't recall where we got it) and this Finex sauce pan that my sister got me for Christmas a few years ago. 

When the sauce stretches like this, I know it's ready. 

Thick as a bowl of oatmeal but tastes 10x as good!

As always, I start off with a Kick Ash Basket full of lump charcoal. I "shake that ash" and put the reserved coals in a steam pan. Then I put fresh lump (Rockwood on this particular occasion) in the basket and top it off with the reserved coal. I could just leave the used coal in the KAB and put the new coal on top, but the used coal sparks less when torching it.

I cook two strips of bacon per burger. I preheat a griddle plate at 350f for 5 minutes before adding the bacon. This is my favorite griddle plate, it actually goes to a Char-Broil Commercial grill that I no longer have but it works like a charm in my PK Grill and in my Big Green Eggs.

Mmmm....bacon. Today was using Smithfield Homestyle bacon.

For the burger patties, I bought fresh ground chuck from Food City and weighed out 8-ounce portions. Then I used a Ballistic Burger Smasher to press it out into a perfect patty.

I turned the heat of the Big Green Egg up to 450f and then cook the burgers in the rendered bacon fat on the griddle. I went 4 minutes on the first side. 

Immediately after flipping the burger, I season it with finely ground beef rub. Today I used the BGE Classic Steakhouse since I already had it out. Then I put a large spoonful of the Gorgonzola Sauce on top along with some fresh crumbles of the cheese. I let this go 2-3 minutes with the grill lid closed.

Toasted seasame bun, green leaf lettuce, sliced tomatoes (don't forget to season them), bacon, burger, and the glorious cheese sauce.

This also works well as two 4-ounce smash burgers but I was wanting a thick diner style burger this time.