Southern Bell Burger

I am a southern girl.I was raised in Alabama until I was 9 years old and I moved to Mississippi and have been there ever sense. People in the south are polite, friendly, welcoming and loving. I think that comes across in my burger. All the ingredients used are associated with the south. We have a fried grit cake, bacon, and sweet Vidaila onions. It just melts in you mouth, it is so good. It is wonderful, I have made it for my family (mom, dad, granny and my aunt) and they just loved it. I love cooking for my family it just brings us together and that is what food does in the south. We live, laugh, and love around the table. You can taste the Southern charm with every bite of my burger.

Ingredients:

Burger:

– 2 lbs. ground chuck
– ½ lb. sausage
– 2/3 c. finely sliced Vidalia onions
– salt and pepper

Grits:

– 1 cup water
– 5 tbsp. instant grits
– salt and pepper
– 1 tsp. Butter
– 4 tbsp. shredded mild cheddar cheese

Other:

– 12 Pillsbury Buttermilk Grands biscuits, flattened and
precooked and use 2 biscuits per burger
– 18 slices bacon cut in half (save bacon drippings)
– 6 slices of medium cheddar cheese
– 1 Vidalia onion thinly sliced
– 1 cup flour, will have leftover
– 3 tbsp. butter, will have leftover

Instructions:

Heat your electric grill to 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, depending on the grill. Start with a small pot on high heat, cook the first three ingredients listed under grits. While that cooks, place bacon in a pan on the grill; cook about 10 minutes until crisp. Save drippings for later use.

Bring grits to a boil, about 5 minutes, while bacon cooks. Cook grits until all liquid is removed, about 5 minutes, and remove from grill. Add remaining ingredients to the pot and place back on the grill to melt the cheese fully, about 5 minuets. Mixture will be very thick, put on a warming rack until bacon is finished cooking.

To make a grit cake use a plate sprinkled thickly with flour. Take 2 tbsp. of the grits and place on flour. With your hands or the back of a spoon slightly coated with flour, press grits into a round shape. This makes six cakes. This process takes about 8 minuets. Using a spatula, place shaped cakes into a hot (grill should be on high heat) pan containing the bacon drippings Cook until golden brown; for 6 cakes this takes about 15 minutes.

For the burgers, mix all ingredients and shape into six patties, this process takes about 6 minutes. Grill 10 to 15 minutes on a hot grill for medium rare burgers or 20-25 minutes for well-done meat. Remove burgers from the grill, immediately add a cheese slice to each and allow to the cheese melt, about 3 minutes.

Place 1 tsp. Bacon drippings in the pan you used to cook grits and cook the Vidalia onions until translucent, about 8 minutes.

Assembling the burger:

Take 1 biscuit and spread with butter.

Place the burger, cheese side up, on biscuit and top with a grit cakes. Add 3 slices of bacon and top those with about a tbsp. of cooked onions. This process takes about 10 minuets.

Top with buttered biscuit and serve with a smile and a generous helping of Southern charm.