The Bleu Cabernet

Pairs well with:

Cabernet Sauvignon

This rich red easily complements your homemade chicken dishes, red meats, game, and mildly seasoned pastas.

What better way to compliment a gourmet burger than a glass of your favorite wine? The answer is,,, wine directly on the burger itself! Simple yet sophisticated, this burger is bursting with flavor!

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter – divided: 2 & 4

3 cloves garlic – freshly minced

3 cups Cabernet Sauvignon wine *

2 pounds ground ground sirloin

4 tablespoons (12 teaspoons) freshly crushed (not ground or milled) black pepper

1 teaspoon freshly ground salt

6 kaiser rolls from grocer’s bakery – split

6 romaine lettuce leaves – cut to fit burgers

6 ounces blue cheese – crumbled

6 teaspoons capers

2 vine ripe tomatoes – sliced

1 red onion – sliced

*Note: For those who prefer to not use alcohol, cooking wine/sherry can be used in place of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Instructions:

Preheat grill. As grill is heating, place medium skillet directly on grate. Once skillet is hot, add butter and saute garlic for 30-60 seconds – just until fragrant – NOT BROWN! Add wine and bring to a steady simmer. At this point either lower the heat or find a cooler spot on the grill and let the wine reduce to a thin, glossy syrup. This process could take 10 – 30 minutes depending on the heat and variance of each individual grill. Once wine reduction sauce is prepared, remove skillet from grill WITH A HOT PAD. Cover and set aside – close grill hood and let it reheat.

Handling meat as little as possible, divide meat into 6 – 1/3 pound patties approximately 4 1/2 inches in diameter. Press 1 teaspoon (per side) freshly crushed pepper onto each patty following with 1/6 teaspoon (per patty) freshly ground salt.

Once grill has reached about 400 degrees, it’s time to cook! Place patties on hottest part of grill and cook approximately 3 minutes each side. *No grill cooks the same or has the same “hot spots”, so cooking times may vary from grill to grill.

While patties are cooking, butter each of the split buns. Once patties are cooked, remove from grill, cover, and set aside. Place buns buttered side down on grill for 30-45 seconds until slightly toasted.

Build burgers by placing each patty on bottom bun and then topping in the following order with: 2 teaspoons wine reduction sauce – 1 romaine lettuce leaf – 1 ounce crumbled blue cheese – 1 teaspoon capers – sliced tomatoes – sliced red onion. Top it with the bun and serve!