Whiskey Cheddar Burgers

This recipe and photos were provided by Sally Roeckell of Table and Dish and were originally published at 365Barrington.com as a part of the Heinen’s 4 P.M. Panic Series.

Time to fire up that grill! For this week’s 4PM Panic post, I’m sharing my Whiskey burger recipe. Once you try these burgers you may never go back to a boring, old, plain burger again. Usually I like to share several pretty photos of the food and the process. You’ll see here that I only had one prepared hamburger to photograph. I was lucky to escape with that. The smells in the kitchen had my gang all waiting anxiously.

Whiskey Burgers are hamburger patties that are soaked in whiskey and garlic. Seriously! Soaked in Whiskey and garlic! This recipe got my husband home early for dinner. It’s a game changer for burger night.

The taste of your burger can depend on the quality of the meat you use. Heinen’s butcher shop offers the highest quality meats so you can count on the very best flavor. Be generous. Each one of these burgers is about 6 1/2 oz.

Start by making the toppings for the Whiskey Burgers.

Bacon and caramelized onions, I told you I’m not kidding around with this burger.

Ingredients:

• (4) 6-6½ oz. hamburger patties
• ¼ c. whiskey
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 8 strips of bacon
• 8 thick-sliced pieces of cheddar cheese
• 2 large vidalia onions, peeled and chopped
• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 T. reserved bacon fat
• 1 t. salt
• 4 hamburger buns
• Lettuce, tomatoes, or your favorite hamburger fixings.

Method:

• Place the bacon in a large skillet and cook until crisp. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to cool. Reserve 2 T. of the bacon fat.
• Discard the remaining bacon fat and wipe out the skillet.
• Add the olive oil and the 2 T. of bacon fat to the same skillet, then add the onions, cooking over low heat. Add the salt and cook, turning the onions often for 30-40 minutes until they are brown and caramelized. Set aside to cool. The onions take a while to cook down and get sweet, about 30-40 minutes over low heat.
  Don’t rush them. Burning or scorching the onions will make them bitter. Take your time and you’ll reap the sweet rewards.
• While the onions are cooking, add the whiskey and chopped garlic to a shallow dish. ( I use a microplane grater to chop my garlic.) Put in the hamburger patties and let marinate for 15 minutes. Then flip and marinate another 15 on the other side.
• Grill the burgers over medium-high heat for 5 minutes per side for a medium/medium rare burger. If you aren’t using 6 or 6½ oz. hamburgers you might want to cook the hamburgers less if you’re looking for a medium rare burger.
• The last minute of grilling, add two slices of cheese to each burger and close the lid to melt the cheese.
• Remove the hamburgers to a platter.
• Place each hamburger on a bottom bun, then top with a large spoonful of caramelized onions and then one or two strips of bacon broken in half.
• Top each burger with the top bun and serve.

ENJOY!

If you love what you see please share it with your friends on Facebook or Pinterest.  If you give it a try, post a pic of yours on instagram or twitter with the hashtag #heinens4pmpanic and tag me @tableanddish.  I can’t wait to see yours!!