Blue Cheese Pepper Jam Burger

Pairs well with:

Zinfandel

Bright and full-bodied, this Zinfandel wine is a curious contradiction in tastes.

Ingredients

2 pounds 85% lean ground chuck
1 teaspoon salt (I prefer sea salt)
1 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons hot jalapeno pepper jam
3 ounces Maytag (if available) blue cheese, crumbled
one half cup real mayo
6 bakery hamburger buns
24 dill pickle slices

 

Instructions

Put the first four ingredients together (meat, salt, pepper and jam) in a bowl. Fold together until just combined. Do not over mix. Form into six equal sized balls. Press balls to ¾ inch thickness. (Should be larger than your bun to compensate for shrinkage during cooking.) Chill until you are ready to cook.
Use a fork to mash the blue cheese in a bowl and mix with the mayo. Chill until ready to use..
Place the burger patties on a hot gas grill over medium heat, cover. Let them cook for four minutes on each side. Do not press down with a spatula while cooking.
While burgers are cooking, slice buns in half. Place cut side down on a sheet of tin foil and wrap. Place on grill for the last minute of the burger cook time.
Remove burgers and buns from the grill. Let burgers sit while you prepare the buns.
To assemble the burgers, put four pickle slices on each of the bottom buns and divide the blue cheese/mayo mixture on the top buns. Place burger patties on the pickles and put on the top bun. Serve and enjoy!