Green Eggs and Hamburgers with Spicy Red Mustard, Yellow Tomatoes and Black and Bleu Butter

Ingredients

Green Egg Salad:
9 large eggs, preferably an organic brand-buy the oldest ones available at the grocery store
3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup prepared mayonnaise
1/4 cup Grey Poupon dijon mustard
3/4 tsp. fine sea salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup minced sweet onion
1/3 cup finely diced bread and butter pickles
For the Spicy Red Mustard:
6 Spanish piquillo peppers, drained and blotted dry with paper towels
3/4 cup Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
For the Black and Bleu Butter:
3 tsp. coarse freshly ground black pepper
8 oz. Bleu Cheese, at room temperature
6 Tbsp. Ultra Creamy Salted Butter
For the Burgers:
6 oz. bacon (raw), coarsely chopped
3/4 cup finely minced fresh basil
1 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt
1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 3/4 lb. ground chuck (80% lean, 20% fat)
For the Yellow Tomatoes:
2 large ripe yellow tomatoes, cut 1/3" thick
1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
To Finish the Burgers:
avocado or grapeseed oil for oiling the burgers, grill and buns
6 uncooked burgers (from step #5, below)
6 challa or brioche hamburger sized (about 4 1/2"-5" in diameter) rolls
Spicy Red Mustard, from step #3 below
Green Eggs, from step #2, below
Yellow Tomatoes, from step #6 below
Black and Bleu Butter, from step #4 below

Instructions

1) Prepare Your Grill: FOR A GAS GRILL: If you have a grill that has more than one section, heat one section to high and one to medium. If you only have one section, heat it to medium. 2) Make the Green Egg Salad: Place the eggs into a large heavy, deep saucepan (they should all fit in one layer) with a tight fitting lid. Cover the eggs with cool water and place onto the hottest part of the grill, uncovered. Bring to a boil. AS SOON AS THE WATER BOILS, cover the pan with the lid and remove it from the grill to a heat safe surface. Let the eggs cook in the hot water off of the heat for 9 minutes. While they cook, prepare the ice bath: fill a large bowl with ice and water (more ice than water). When the eggs have cooked for 9 minutes, immediately lift them out of the hot water (with a slotted spoon) and place into the ice bath. Let them cool off in the ice bath for at least 10 mintes before peeling them. If you have access to running water, crack the shells all over and then peel them under the running water. If you do not have running water, crack the shells all over and peel the eggs carefully, and use the ice water in the ice bath to rinse the eggs as you peel them (being careful to rinse away any tiny pieces of shell). When all of the eggs are peeled, carefully dry them, with paper towels. Coarsely chop the eggs into small pieces (about 1/3" x 1/3" or smaller) and place them into a medium sized mixing bowl. To make the green dressing for the Green Egg Salad; place the 3/4 cup chopped fresh basil, 1/3 cup prepared mayonnaise, 1/4 cup Dijon mustard, 3/4 tsp. fine sea salt and 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper into a food processor or blender and process or blend until basil is finely chopped and dressing is very green. Scrape the dressing out of the machine into the medium sized mixing bowl with the eggs and add the 3/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion and 1/3 cup bread and butter pickles. Use a rubber spatula to fold the eggs into the dressing. Cover and chill the egg salad until ready to serve. 3) For the Spicy Red Mustard: Place the 6 piqulillo peppers, 3/4 cup Dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt and 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper into a food processor or blender and process or blend until smooth. Scrape out of the machine into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature until ready to serve (if you will not be serving the burgers in the next 2 hours, refrigerate the mustard-remove it from the refrigerator 30 minutes before grilling). 4) For the Black and Bleu Butter: Place the 3 tsp. coarse black pepper, 8 oz. bleu cheese and 6 Tbsp. salted butter into the food processor and process until smooth and well blended. Scrape out of the processor into a small bowl and set aside at room temperature until ready to serve (you can prepare this up to 1 week in advance-refrigerate it until 30 mintes before you grill the burgers). 5) For the Burgers: Place the 6 oz. coarsely chopped bacon into the food processor and process until finely chopped/ground. Scrape the bacon out of the food processor into a wide mixing bowl. Add the 3/4 cup minced fresh basil, 1 1/2 tsp. fine sea salt, and 1 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper to the bacon. Use your hands to combine the mixture thoroughly. NOTE: You want it uniformly and thoroughly mixed so when you add the beef you will not have to handle it any more than necessary. When the bacon mixture is thoroughly combined, crumble the ground beef over the mixture in the bowl and use your hands to toss the beef with the mixture-toss like a salad-crumbling the beef chunks as you mix. You want to handle the meat as little as possible while still mixing it evenly and thoroughly. When mixed thoroughly, divide into 6 burgers/patties (a slightly rounded or "heaping" 3/4 cup meat mixture per burger-if you have a little meat mixture left over, make the chef a little spicy meat ball). Form each portion into a patty that is about 4 1/2" in diameter. Place burgers onto a clean platter and cover with plastic wrap. 6) For the Yellow Tomatoes: Line a tray or two plates with two layers of paper towel. Place the tomato slices on the paper towel in one layer. Season the tomato slices evenly with the 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt and 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper. Let the tomatoes sit for at least 10 minutes-the salt will draw out some of the "tomato water" leaving the tomato slice more flavorful and less wet. Gently blot the tomato slices with paper towel before using them in the burgers in step #_, below. 7) Cook the Burgers: NOTE: Have a spray bottle filled with water ready (grill-side) when you cook the burgers to put out any flare-ups (flames) that result from the melting/dripping fat form the burgers. Use the avocado or grapeseed oil to lighlty oil both sides of all of the burgers and the grill. Grill the burgers for about 4 minutes per side (you are aiming for about 130-140 degrees internal temperature-they will stay very juicy and moist because of the bacon and basil), turning them once. Whie the burgers cook, prepare the buns by creating a "divot" in each top bun: remove excess dough from the inside of each top bun-this will help the Green Egg Salad stay on the burger and help the burger stay together. Lightly oil the buns with avocado or grapeseed oil. When done, remove the burgers to a clean plate and until warm and lightly toasted. Remove buns from grill and place one top and bottom onto each of 6 plates. 8) Finish the Burgers: Spread about 1 1/2 Tbsp. of the Black and Bleu Cheese Butter onto the cut sides of each top and bottom bun (spread it into the "divot" in the top buns). Place a cooked burger on to each bottom bun and top with a generous 1 1/2-2 Tbsp. of the Spicy Red Mustard. Scoop about 1/4-1/3 cup of the Green Egg Salad into the "divot" in each top bun and quickly flip the tops onto the burgers. If you have Egg Salad or Mustard left over you can save them for sandwiches tomorrow. Serves 6.