Bacon and Havarti Stuffed Barbecue Burgers

Bacon and Havarti Stuffed Barbecue Burgers ~ Succulent lean ground beef stuffed with bacon and havarti then smothered with tangy barbecue sauce.
Sometimes, it feels like winter can last for 9 months where I live in Northern Utah.  It sounds like an exaggeration, and it probably is, but it’s how it feels to me.  The sun can go away as early as September and not reappear until maybe May, even June. Other years we’re more traditional in our seasons–with winter only taking an extra month or two to pass on by. And maybe I still slightly exaggerate.

Despite my 15 years in Utah, my body has yet to fully acclimate to the weather here, it wishes for the sunniness of Southern California way too often. Sure, I am more durable in Winter now, particularly when I find myself in SoCal in their winter (I use that term VERY lightly) but the cold is still not my favorite.

I don’t ski, snowboard, or do much in the snow save making snowmen, angels, and sledding down the small hill across the street from my house. But the two things I still do in the winter are wear flip-flops in the snow (I know, I know and just briefly when I am running out and back in) and grill. And grilling means barbecue sauce!

My love of balsamic vinegar has been duly noted on my blog, but I’m not quite sure that my love of barbecue sauce has been equally noted.  It is my condiment of choice. I still love ketchup and mustard like the rest, but you’d be utterly surprised (and probably equally appalled too) at some of the things I add barbecue sauce to.  The hardest part for me with barbecue sauces has been finding those without high fructose corn syrup. Turns out I wasn’t alone.

Thank you Kraft for sponsoring this post. Grilling enthusiasts like me know that grilling is a year-round experience, and Kraft Barbecue Sauce helps me take my grilling to a new level of amazing.

Kraft Barbecue Sauce is celebrating the launch of a newly revamped line of sauces using high-quality ingredients like tomatoes, sweet molasses, cider vinegar, and cane sugar because consumers like me wanted quality ingredients without high fructose corn syrup.

I was set to host a large group of friends and there was no better time to try out this new line of Kraft Barbecue Sauces.  When my guests were asking what they could bring, they weren’t too shocked to learn I planned to fire put the grill and make burgers.

The spread on the table looked like any typical summer outdoor barbecuing feast and even the sun cooperated.  The morning started gray and dreary, honestly looking like it was going snow, but then the wind came through, blew the clouds away, and the sun shined high in the sky, although it forgot to bring its warming powers.

My best friend and I fired up the grill, dropped the burgers on and instead of retreating from the heat like we would in summer, we just kind of huddled near the grill to keep warm.  The sun shine was a deception, the air was below freezing point.

Luckily, I had the Evergriller Grill ‘N’ Flip Mitt, which is a specially designed, fire-resistant grilling glove that protects the griller’s hands from both the heat of the grill and the chill of the outdoors during winter grilling season. The unique design of the top insert can hold many grill tools, making it easy to flip, stab, and baste with ease and precision. You can enter to win your own Evergriller Grill ‘N’ Flip Mitt by visiting GrillinFools.com between January 19 and January 30. The winner will be randomly selected at the close of the giveaway.

Instead of just grilling a standard burger, I decided to up my game by seasoning my lean ground beef with Kraft Original Barbecue sauce and some salt and pepper.  The lean mean would be utterly moist due to the sauce.  But since I can never leave well enough alone, I decided to stuff each burger with bacon crumbles and havarti cheese. Talk about crowd-pleasing!

Bacon and Havarti Stuffed Barbecue Burgers

Course: Burgers, Dinner, Grilling, Lunch, Sandwiches & Such

Cuisine: American

Author: Michelle

Bacon and Havarti Stuffed Barbecue Burgers ~ Succulent lean ground beef stuffed with bacon and havarti then smothered with tangy barbecue sauce.

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Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef (I used 93%)
• 1/4 cup Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce
• 1/8 tsp . salt and pepper; to taste
• 4 slices bacon; cooked and crumbled
• 4 tbsp havarti cheese; grated

Instructions

1. Cook and crumble the bacon.
2. Grate the cheese.
3. In a large bowl, mix the Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce, salt, and pepper into the ground beef by hand.
4. Once mixed, divide into four patties, about 4 oz. each.
5. Flatten each patty and place one crumbled piece of bacon (it's about a tablespoon) and a tablespoon of havarti cheese in the center of the patty.
6. Fold close and reshape into a sealed patty. (Step by step photographs provided below)
7. On a heated grill, grill each patty for 8-10 or until cooked through, flipping once.
8. Serve with more Kraft Original Barbecue sauce on top and your favorite burger accessories.

<p>I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and provided product samples by Kraft Foods, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Thank you for sharing!