sweet and salty blue cheese fig burgers

Pairs well with:

Zinfandel

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

Ingredients:

Patties
2 lbs ground chuck (80/20)
one half cup Sutter Home Zinfandel
one half cup Panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fresh flat leafed parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon Thai sweet chili sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 large garlic cloves, chopped

toppings
12 slices prosciutto
12 fresh figs (fig preserves if fresh figs are not available)
6 oz good blue cheese (I use Gorgonzola)

4 tablespoons softened butter
6 good quality hamburger buns
Vegetable oil for brushing grill racks

Instructions:

Combine chuck, wine, bread crumbs, parsley, sweet chili sauce, black and red pepper, salt and garlic just enough to mix but not compact meat. Form 6 patties.
Make 6 stacks of prosciutto with 2 slices each. Stem and slice the figs. Crumble or slice the blue cheese. Spread the softened butter on the cut sides of the bun tops
When the grill is ready, brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Grill hamburger patties over medium high heat (350-400) for 4 minutes on the first side and 3 on the second.
During the last minute of cooking, add the cheese to the patties, place the prosciutto stacks on the grill to crisp and the buns on the grill to toast.

To assemble the burgers, place one patty on each of the bun bottoms, cover the blue cheese topped patty with a stack of crisp prosciutto and fig slices. Top with toasted bun.
If fresh figs are not available, spread fig preserves on cut side of bun top and place on burgers.