America! Freedom! Charcoal Grilled Burgers! Celebrate Fourth of July with these patriotic Red, White & Blue cheese burgers.
The nice part about these burgers, as a meat cook, is that you can focus on grilling the perfect patty, since most of the assembly happens after the burger is cooked. That means you can hone your meat skills to perfection while still delivering a full flavor restaurant-worthy experience.
Now, *technically* speaking, you should be cooking your burgers (or any ground meat) to at least 165f. But since we have high food & meat safety standards in the United States, there’s a pretty great chance you can have your burger rare and still be just fine. Whether you want to check your burger is safe or rare, you’ll need a decent meat thermometer to be sure.
The trick to a juicy burger is to pick the right ground beef blend. You’re going to want AT LEAST 80% lean, 20% fat for tender burgers that don’t dry out. Unfortunately, a lower fat ratio will result in a drier burger, so save the leaner blends for other recipes. The other trick here is to use two zone grilling, and set your coals to one side. This means you can sear over the coals, then finish the burger over more gentle and indirect heat.
To complete this recipe, you’ll need to pick up a bottle of Hardcore Carnivore Red rub, which will serve both to season the meat, and to create the incredible Red honey drizzle. You can get it here or on Amazon.
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Red, White & Blue (cheese) Burgers
- Yield: 4 burgers 1x
Ingredients
Hardcore Carnivore Red seasoning
1 lb ground beef (min 80/20 fat percentage)
4 burger buns (preferably potato buns)
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp Hardcore Carnivore Amplify (optional but recommended)
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
1/3 cup honey
Instructions
- Start by preparing a grill for two zone cooking, with the coals to one side, creating both a hot and cool zone. Temperature should be medium, about 350-400f.
- Prepare the white sauce by combining mayo, cider vinegar and Amplify in a bowl. Prepare the spice honey by mixing it with 1-2 teaspoons of the Hardcore Carnivore Red rub, and set aside.
- Divide the beef into four portions. Working quickly, fashion the meat into a patty at least as wide as the burger bun. Do not overwork the meat. Coat the patty generously with Hardcore Carnivore Red on both sides.
- Place the patties over direct heat to sear about 2 minutes. Flip and repeat on the other side. Due to the fat content, there may be some flare ups. If this happens, flip more frequently until desired crust is achieved.
- Move the patties over to indirect heat to finish cooking, 125f for rare, 135f for medium rare, 140f for medium.
- Once the burgers are near finished, toast the buns cut side down over the coals. Keep a careful eye to ensure they do not burn – if your coals are hot the buns will only take a few seconds to color.
- Time to assemble the burgers – lay the patty on top of the toasted bottom bun. Drizzle over the cider mayo, and then layer with a portion of the blue cheese crumbles. Finally, drizzle the spiced honey, and put the top bun in place. Serve immediately.
Quite possibly the best burger I’ve ever cooked at home. This will be my go to burger recipe for entertaining guests.
OMG Sooooo good. This is a MUST TRY if you haven’t already.
You’ve hit another one out of the park Jess. Thank you so much for all your help and putting your recipes out there. You have literally changed how I bbq and what my family is now willing and wanting to eat.