Blue Cheese And Avocado Burger

This grilling season go gourmet with a delicious blue cheese and avocado burger. This blue cheese and avocado burger is destined to be a hit at the next cook out! There are two things you need for super juicy, flavorful grilled burgers: Fat and seasonings. For the best tasting burgers, choose ground meat with a higher fat content. For example, pick regular ground beef instead of ground chuck, ground round, or ground sirloin. If the package labeling doesn’t clearly indicate what you are buying, don’t be afraid to ask the person behind the meat counter to point you in the right direction. 

Ground beef doesn’t have much flavor, so it is important to add additional seasoning to it. For this recipe, a combination of sweet Italian pork sausage, salt, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, onion, garlic, and fresh rosemary are used to pack a lot of flavor into each bite. As an added bonus, the Worcestershire sauce and onion increase the juiciness of the burger without adding extra fat.

History/Origin

The cheeseburger as we know it today was first created in the 1920s, though there are many conflicting stories about who did it and where. The most likely story is that it was invented by a man named Lionel Sternberger, who ran a sandwich shop in Pasadena, California called “The Rite Spot.” According to legend, one day in 1926 Sternberger experimented with putting cheese on a hamburger and found that it was pretty darn delicious. He put it on the menu and called it a “cheeseburger,” and the rest is history.

While the cheeseburger may have been born in America, its popularity has now spread all over the world. In countries like Australia and New Zealand, burgers topped with cheese are often referred to as “gourmet burgers,” and they can be found in all sorts of upscale restaurants. In the United Kingdom, meanwhile, the cheeseburger is a staple of fast food culture, with chains like McDonald’s and Burger King serving up millions of them every year.

Here in the States, the cheeseburger is just as popular as ever. In fact, according to some estimates Americans consume around 50 billion burgers every year! And while there are endless ways to top a burger (bacon, avocado, fried egg, the list goes on and on), there’s something about that classic combination of beef, cheese, and bun that just can’t be beat.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. regular ground beef
• 1 lb. ground sweet Italian pork sausage (no casings)
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ cup white onion, very finely minced
• 4 cloves garlic, very finely minced 
• 3 tablespoon fresh rosemary, stems removed and leaves finely minced
• Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
• Blue cheese, crumbled
• 8 hamburger buns, lightly toasted*
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• *To toast buns, brush the inside surface of each bun with the melted butter and place over indirect heat while the burgers are cooking.

Burger Toppings:

• Leaf lettuce
• Tomato, sliced
• Avocado, sliced
• Sliced red onion

Any of your favorite condiments – mine is Dijon mustard!

Extras

The best thing about burgers is how easy it is to improvise. Not everyone is a garlic fan, but I add garlic powder as an additional seasoning to get a lot of flavor into the ground meat.

Alternate suggested toppings:

• crispy bacon
• sweet balsamic onion relish
• hot sauce
• caramelized onions

Equipment

• Grill or griddle pan
• Large bowl
• Spatula

Instructions

1. Clean grill grates and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Pre-heat grill to high.
2. Add ground beef, sausage, Worcestershire sauce, onion, garlic, and rosemary to a large glass bowl. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste, and combine thoroughly. Make sure both types of meat and all seasonings are completely incorporated throughout the mixture.
3. Divide meat mixture into 8 equal parts and shape each part into ¾-inch thick patties. Place patties on a lined tray and use your thumb to create an indent in the middle to keep them from puffing up while cooking.
4. Place patties over direct, high heat on your grill and cook for 8-10 minutes.
5. To toast buns, brush the inside surface of each bun with the melted butter and place over indirect heat while the burgers are cooking.
6. Flip and move burgers to indirect heat 2-3 minutes before they are done. Top with blue cheese and close grill lid to allow cheese to melt completely.
7. Transfer burgers to a platter and serve immediately on toasted hamburger buns and topped with lettuce, tomato, onion and slices of avocado. Enjoy!

Cooking Tips

• Actual cooking time will depend on desired level of doneness, so check after 4-5 minutes and adjust final cook time accordingly. (According to the USDA, the safe internal temperature for ground beef and pork is 160°F. Use an instant read thermometer to confirm).
• The combination of sweet Italian pork sausage and ground meat makes for a juicy burger because of the higher fat content of the sausage.

Storage Instructions

Store leftover burgers separately from the fresh vegetables. Both should go into airtight containers. The burgers are good in the refrigerator up to 3 days.

You May Also Like 

• Grilled Balsamic Marinated Steak Salad
• Keto Cashew Pork Stir Fry

Bragging Rights

We would love to see what you did with this recipe!

Comment below or share your photo @flavorportal / #flavorportal