Blue Cheese Burgers with Grilled Veg

Canadian long weekends were meant for burgers! Every long weekend in the summer was spent enjoying a barbecue with family and friends. My father lost many an eyebrow while cooking over a small red barbecue, but the visual was priceless. Everyone loved 'uncle Jims' barbecue because he used good quality ingredients and simple marinates. The secret to these blue cheese burgers is to incorporate the cheese within the patty as opposed to using it as a topping. This will add tremendous flavour to any burger! 

Grill Master Approved. Happy grilling! 

Blue Cheese Burgers with Grilled Veg

(Yields 6 patties)

Alcohol Pairing: Warsteiner (German Pilsener)

What you Need:

Meat Patties

1 pkg medium-lean ground beef

1 large egg

2 tsp. ground black pepper

3 cloves finely chopped garlic

1/3 cup finely chopped purple or white onion

2/3 cup panko bread crumbs

1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese

Grilled Veggies

2 Zucchini

2 Red Peppers

2 Yellow Peppers

2 Portobello Mushrooms

1 tsp. coarse sea salt

2 tsp. ground black pepper

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. fresh lime juice

How to Make it Happen:

Meat Patties

1. Combine ground beef with garlic, pepper, chopped onion, egg and bread crumbs. Incorporate all  ingredients together with your hands to ensure the ground beef is well seasoned.  

2. Next, crumble the blue cheese into small pieces and add into the ground beef until the cheese is well incorporated.

3. Form the seasoned ground beef into six equal patties and place on the grill. Cook for 8-12 minutes on each side or until the patty is cooked to desired temperature. Alternatively, bake the burgers in the oven at 350 degrees for 22-24 minutes. (Note: If you are using an oven, try placing each individual patty on a thickly sliced onion and bake on a baking sheet. This will add intense flavour to your patty!) 

Grilled Veggies

1. Wash red and yellow peppers, zucchini and portobello mushrooms.

2. Slice the peppers into quarters and remove the white membrane and seeds. Slice zucchini into long, horizontal strips and mushrooms  horizontally or vertically.

3. Place vegetables on a plate and season both sides with salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil.

4. Grill vegetables for 4-7 minutes on both sides or until grill marks appear and vegetables become tender. As the vegetables cook, ensure to season both sides with fresh lime juice.