Pulled pork, bacon, jalapeno, cheese burger

This blissfully meaty, juicy, perfectly grilled beef burger is studded with barbecue pulled pork and crispy bits of bacon, topped with melted pepperjack cheese, tangy barbecue sauce, and tender lettuce on a toasted bun. It's sure to make you a grilling superstar this summer!

Author: Rebecca Lindamood Serves: Between 6 and 8 burgers, depending on size

INGREDIENTS ½ pound of bacon, cooked until crisp through, drained and crumbled 2 cups fully cooked barbecue pulled pork roughly chopped with a knife 1½ pounds ground chuck kosher salt For serving: Toasted burger buns tender lettuce (like mixed spring greens or butter lettuce) slices of pepperjack or Monterey jack cheese or deli American barbecue sauce

INSTRUCTIONS Using clean hands, mix together the ground chuck, pulled pork, and bacon until everything is evenly distributed. For the most uniform burgers, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add 5 ounces of the meat mixture to a ring mold and gently press it into the edges of the mold forming a uniformly thick burger patty. Gently pull the ring mold straight up and tap down any edges that come up with it. Replace the ring mold on the parchment next to the burger and form another until all the meat mixture has been pressed into patties. Don't despair if you have a little meat that doesn't make a full burger. That can be your test patty and cook's tax. Eat that bad boy! Place the tray with the burgers in the refrigerator while you preheat the grill to MEDIUM HIGH heat. After cleaning the hot grill, gently place the burgers over direct heat and sprinkle with kosher salt. Keep a spray bottle of water handy for flare-ups. Do not move the burgers once you've placed them on the grill until the brown (cooked) area goes at least halfway up the burger and you can easily slide your spatula under them, about 4 minutes. If there are flames flaring up because of fat from the burger, give them a little spritz with water. That should help long enough to cook the burger to the point where it will turn more easily. Flip the burgers carefully and continue grilling over MEDIUM HIGH heat until there are grill marks on the underside of the burger. Transfer the burgers over to one side of the grill and shut off the burners immediately under the burgers, turning the remaining burners onto MEDIUM LOW heat. This means your burgers will finish over indirect heat. When the interior temperature of the beef is 5°F below the point you like it (RARE: 125-130°F. MEDIUM: 140-150. WELL: 160-212°F.), lay the slices of pepperjack cheese or deli American on the burgers and use a spatula to immediately transfer them to a sided tray. Let them rest, lightly tented with foil, until the cheese is melted. Serve on top of tender greens on a toasted bun with as much barbecue sauce as you fancy!

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