Inside-Out Cheeseburgers

We were getting ready to put our grill away last year for the season when we had a nice, warm weekend.  I still had some really good whole wheat buns, so we tried this recipe for cheeseburgers.  I pre-season our ground beef and freeze it in ½ pound portions in quart-sized freezer bags to waste less space in our little chest freezer, so I simply cut open the bag and cut the beef in half for 2 burgers, then folded them over the cheese and sealed them.  We didn’t care if our burgers were square or round.

The gruyere cheese is melty and I keep it on hand for käsespätzle; mozzarella would be good too.  We enjoyed ours with a nice macaroni salad and some fresh garden tomato, a fitting finale to our summer grilling season.  We are enjoying the same recipe this summer.             

Inside-Out Cheeseburgers

     ¼      cup  cheddar, shredded

     ¼      cup  gruyere cheese, shredded

  1         pound  ground beef

  1         tablespoon  worcestershire sauce

  1 ½     teaspoons  paprika

     ¼     teaspoon  pepper

Preheat grill to medium-high or preheat the broiler.

Combine cheddar and Gruyere in a small bowl.

Gently mix beef, Worcestershire, paprika and pepper in a large bowl, preferably with your hands, without overworking. Shape into 8 thin, 4-inch-wide patties. Mound 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture on each of 4 patties, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Cover each with one of the remaining patties. Crimp and seal the edges closed.

To grill: Lightly oil the grill rack. Grill the stuffed patties over medium-high heat, about 4 minutes per side for medium-well. (Be sure not to press the burgers as they cook or they'll split open and the cheese will ooze out). To broil: Cover a broiler pan with foil and coat with cooking spray. Broil the stuffed patties in the upper third of the oven, about 4 minutes per side for medium-well. In either case, let the burgers stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Eating Well Magazine 

Yield:  "4 servings"