A BLT Cheddar Burger in the middle of the week? How do I justify that? I usually save such indulgences for the weekend, serving healthier fare during the week.
Justification #1: Serve it with a beautiful Citrus Salad rather than fries.
Early on I was trained that a perfect plated meal included a chunk of meat, a green vegetable and a starch which was either baked or mashed potatoes. And growing up on a wheat farm in the middle of Kansas, there was never a meal without bread and butter. EVER.
These days, more often than not, I’ll plate nothing but a tossed salad next to that chunk of meat. There’s just nothing better than a healthy array of beautiful chopped greens and fruits topped with a flavorful vinaigrette for a side dish. And so many variations available year round with seasonal fruits and veggies. Yum. On the weekends? You bet I’ll take fries with that burger.
Justification #2: Maybe I should take the bacon off and feed it to the dogs, after all it would look better on them than me.
Justification #3, add a healthy chunk of iceberg lettuce and a couple of rings of onions AND, whole wheat hamburger buns. Ok, bacon, you’re back in. Afterall, there’s nothing worse than a fat “little dog”. Don’t you agree?
Justification #4: Leave off the ooey-gooey melted sharp cheddar, (ok, I have to admit, only because I didn’t have any on hand) and add a nice big slice of tomato. Oops that little Devil appeared on my shoulder and I slathered on some mayo based Russian Tarragon Sauce (recipe below).
A burger and a salad on a Wednesday night…I was in heaven, even without that ooey-gooey cheddar. If you’re looking for a delicious twist on a regular burger, you might want to give this a try. I found this over at Food and Wine Magazine, a recipe from BLT Burger in Las Vegas. I learned an interesting technique from this recipe; dip the burger patties in ice water and then brush them with unsalted melted butter while grilling. The natural sugars caramelize making the burger flavors even more delicious.
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon grated onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 12 ounces thickly sliced bacon
- 1 1/3 pounds ground beef chuck
- 1 1/3 pounds ground beef sirloin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 3 ounces sharp cheddar cheese cut into 6 slices
- 6 hamburger buns split and toasted
- 6 iceberg lettuce leaves
- 6 slices of tomato
- 6 slices of red onion
- Whisk the mayo, ketchup, red wine vinegar, onion, parsley, tarragon and Worcestershire sauce until blended. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Cook the bacon until crisp.
- Light a grill and fill a large bowl with ice water. Gently mix the ground chuck with the ground sirloin, salt and pepper. Form the meat into patties and submerge in the cold water and let soak for 30 seconds. Immediately transfer the burgers to the grill and brush with some of the melted butter. Grill over high heat for 9 minutes for medium-rare meat, turning once or twice and brushing occasionally with butter. Top the burgers with the cheese during the last-minute of grilling and let melt.
- Spread the Russian dressing on the buns. Set the lettuce leaves and tomato slices on the bottom halves and top with the burgers, red onion and bacon.
BLT Burger with Russian Tarragon Sauce … It’s What’s for Dinner
Barbara says
May 5, 2010 at 2:10 pmOh my. I was about to say, I’ll just have that salad, please, and then I scrolled down and saw that hamburger. WOW. I am trying to diet here! I need your justificatioins!
leaannbrown says
May 5, 2010 at 2:40 pmI agree Barbara, I really need a lot of those salads right now myself. Summer clothes are right around the corner.
Kristi Rimkus says
May 5, 2010 at 2:12 pmLove the salad and the burger! Great justification for having a burger in the middle of the week. 🙂
leaannbrown says
May 5, 2010 at 2:38 pmThanks Kristi and as always, thanks for stopping by
Phoo-d says
May 5, 2010 at 3:10 pmWhat a beautiful salad! And the burger is making me drool…
leaannbrown says
May 6, 2010 at 11:25 amThanks and as always thanks for stopping by.
Vickie says
May 5, 2010 at 3:29 pmIt’s easy to convince me to have one of your beautiful salads – and this one is no exception. But, holy-moly, that burger sounds so, so good! I love that you put the patty in that puddle of delicousness . . . Dana will be singing your praises this weekend when I try this. 😛
leaannbrown says
May 6, 2010 at 11:26 amI’ve made this burger twice now, love the flavor of that sauce, however, I was underwhelmed by the whole grain bun. Gotta find a different brand.
Vickie says
May 6, 2010 at 12:34 pmYou might try the little flat ones at Costco – they are tasty and a less “carby”. They might not stand up to the sauce on this burger, though.
leaannbrown says
May 6, 2010 at 2:52 pmI’ve had those and really like them. Heading over there today for work, will grab a sack.
Larry says
May 5, 2010 at 4:29 pmGreat looking meal – burger is Bevs facorite go to meal. All of your logic makes perfect sense to me
leaannbrown says
May 6, 2010 at 11:27 amBev and I would get along just fine! 🙂 As always thanks for stopping by Larry.
Mary says
May 5, 2010 at 5:10 pmWhat a fabulous looking meal. Everything looks perfect and I’m sure it’s delicious. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings…Mary
leaannbrown says
May 6, 2010 at 11:29 amThanks Mary, appreciate the comment
sweetlife says
May 5, 2010 at 5:25 pmwhat a beautiful salad..what a beautiful burger…
sweetlife
Joanne says
May 5, 2010 at 4:59 pmEverything in moderation right? And with a salad that good, you definitely deserve a nice juicy burger on the side 😛
leaannbrown says
May 6, 2010 at 11:29 amI agree Joanne and I do follow that rule so I can eat pretty much what I want. As always, thanks for stopping by.
Reeni says
May 6, 2010 at 12:00 amI’d love to sink my teeth into that burger! Absolutely delicious. The salad on the side balances out the burger perfectly!
leaannbrown says
May 6, 2010 at 11:32 amThanks Reeni and as always thanks for stopping by and the comment.
Pam says
May 5, 2010 at 6:58 pmI want it all. Every last bit of it.
Velva says
May 6, 2010 at 1:04 amThat burger looks deliicous! I would be happy to take that burger with a side of your delicious salad anytime, anyday.
Roti n Rice says
May 7, 2010 at 4:26 amLovely salad! I’ve not had bruger for a while and that burger looks really good. The sauce sounds super! I am really tempted…..
Donna says
May 7, 2010 at 12:20 pmThat is THE most PERFECT dinner I have seen all week, hands down!
leaannbrown says
May 7, 2010 at 12:40 pmThanks Donna! And again, sure glad you’re back amongst us!
Catherine says
May 7, 2010 at 2:41 pmWhat a mouthwatering burger! You have a lovely site here!
Cheers~
buffalo dick says
May 7, 2010 at 8:19 pmI eat cheeseburgers, and apologize for nothing about it! The rabbits can have the salad- I’ll eat the rabbit!
leaannbrown says
May 7, 2010 at 8:33 pmWhen I was younger I ate two cheeseburgers and would apologize for nothing about it. Eat a cute wittle wabbit???? BD!
TommyGirl says
May 7, 2010 at 2:40 pmWow! Scrumptious!
Steph says
May 10, 2010 at 3:29 pmI love burgers on the grill – I go all out with cheese though. It’s calcium – good for your bones, right? Great photos!
leaannbrown says
May 11, 2010 at 1:22 pmI usually go all out the the cheese thing too. YUM!!!!!
Chris says
May 15, 2010 at 5:12 pmFantastic looking burger and I like the Russian tarragon sauce!
My Carolina Kitchen says
May 4, 2011 at 5:10 amThat gorgeous salad would justify eating practically anything. I like how you cut the kiwi. I really got a kick out of your comment about the bacon and looking better on the dog. So true.
I’m really liking how you’re linking these posts to your newest post Lea Ann. Great idea. With Blogger, we have the linky tool that does it automatically, but not sure how many people actually take a look at those posts. This way I’m getting two posts in one……yummy.
Sam
Lea Ann says
May 4, 2011 at 6:08 amThanks Sam. I appreciate you taking a peek into the past. It’s fun for me to see what I’ve talked about, how my photos have improved, etc.