Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun – McDonald’s

I have a few bloggers that I trust COMPLETELY.  One of them is Barry C. Parsons from Rock Recipes. He has NEVER steered me wrong. Plus, it is almost impossible to improve on his yummy food. I wasn’t sure about this recipe at first but I love bacon and I love garlic sooo I had to try it J
I try tons of burgers because:
1. We live in the Okanagan and it is sunshine and BBQ weather for the majority of the year.
2. We have Bessie. She is our cow, kinda. Every year we buy a pasture fed, no antibiotic cow from a local ranch. It is the BEST beef I have ever tasted. We don’t get any of the recall scares, we remain local AND I never have to buy meat. It is pretty awesome.
I have to say Rachel Ray makes pretty good burgers. Now I want to be clear, I don’t like Rachel Ray. Sorry Rachel but your cheery fake demeanor and your abbreviations just irk me.  With that being said she rarely ever disappoints with flavor… which really just irks me even more lol.
This burger though has catapulted to the top of our burger list! It is so good! I made some homemade buns and an apple feta salad to go with it and the only thing disappointing was that there were no leftovers. 
The jam was super good. Rock Recipes makes enough for 2 cups, I changed it to just make enough for our 5 burgers, just in case we weren’t fans. I really should have trusted the Rock though and made more for sandwiches the next day.

Roasted Garlic and Gouda Burgers with Beer and Bacon Jam
Adapted from RockRecipes

Combine:
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
8 ounces Gouda, cut in 1 cm cubes
pinch kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 head of roasted garlic, mashed
2 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme
5 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
All that cheese turns into melted stringy yumminess!

Roasting garlic… Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Slice about a 1/4 inch off the top of a head of garlic, place it in roaster drizzle with a little olive oil add a pinch of salt and pepper.  Roast for about 35 minutes or until the garlic is completely softened and turning golden brown and are easily able to be squeezed from the skins.

Without overworking the meat, form into good size patties for the BBQ. Grill!

I use a lid to form the patties


Beer and Bacon Jam
Adapted from RockRecipes

1/4 pound bacon ends
Fry bacon slowly over medium low to medium heat until all the fat has been rendered out and the bacon is crispy, resembling bacon bits. Drain off all the fat and add:
1 tablespoon butter
2 large finely diced red onions
3 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook over medium low heat for about 20 minutes until the onions have reduced considerably and caramelized. Add:

1/4 cup maple syrup
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
4 ounces maple stout beer
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme

Simmering Sweetness!

Simmer and reduce this mixture for several minutes until it reaches a jam-like consistency. Serve warm.

This picture does NOT do this burger justice
Thank you Rock Recipes!



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