Recipe for grilled Texas style Ortega bacon and cheeseburger...

I want you to show me one citizen of the United States, who is not a practicing vegetarian, who doesn't love a cheeseburger, topped with juicy bacon, barbecue sauce, and cooked on an outdoor grill? But how many people actually know how to properly cook a Texas-style bacon/cheeseburger on their outdoor grill? How many of you know how to properly cook a Texas-style bacon/orgega cheeseburger? I lived for nearly 25 years before my former father-in-law taught me how to properly grill a cheeseburger, and I've only learned how to grill an Texas-style bacon/ortega cheeseburger for the last dozen, or so years of my life.

I'll not only give you the recipe of how to grill the best bacon/cheeseburger that you've ever eaten, I'll give you the ingredients for the recipe, how the knowledge of how to prepare your grill and step-by-step preparation and cooking instructions. So take the cover off the grill, get some wood chips soaking and let's grill cheeseburgers. Specifically, let's grill Texas-style bacon/ortega cheeseburgers!

Special Tools: Outdoor grill; I own a Weber "Genesis" gas grill, grill gloves
Preparation Time: About 15 minutes
Cooking Time: About 30 minutes, read article
Yield: Four giant Texas-style, bacon/ortega cheeseburgers

2-lbs 20% ground beef
4 Rainbo, or other brand, large "cookout" buns; weight of package 12 oz
Large lettuce leaves; whole head of lettuce
Onion slices, preferably red onion, thinly sliced, but any variety of onion will work
Tomato slices, preferably beefsteak tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 Large poblano chili peppers, stemmed, seeded and veins removed; cut in half
4 slices bacon, cut in half, any variety of bacon is fine; I prefer thick slices for best flavor
8 slices Sargento brand deli style Pepper Jack cheese, or whatever cheese you prefer
Barbecue sauce; for Texas-style bacon/cheeseburgers, I use Stubb's brand Bar-B-Q Sauce
Dry rub, as needed: I use Stubb's brand Bar-B-Q Spice Rub, to achieve authentic Texas-style taste|
Mayonnaise: I prefer Hellmann's Mayonesa con jugo de limon, purchased in Mexico, but any mayo will work
Mustard and ketchup: Any brand will work, as I have no preference

Other items:
Aluminum foil, non-stick cooking spray, wood chips soaked in water
Half onion: Any variety, optional, used to season the grill, Mexican barbecue style, did I say optional?

The night before you plan to grill your cheeseburgers, grab a handful of wood chips and put them a bucket of water to soak overnight. For Texas-style cheeseburgers, I use mesquite wood chips, as that's the variety of chips
favored in Texas, although oak or hickory chips can be substituted. Soak the chips in water for at least 12 hours, as they will produce more smoke when they are waterlogged. Form ground beef patties into four round patties somewhat larger than then buns, each patty about 1/2" thick, and generously sprinkle Stubb's Bar-B-Q Spice rub on patties, and work rub into meat. The ground beef patties should be somewhat larger than the bun, but this is normal. For even cooking, ensure all patties are nearly identical in size. Seal meat patties in plastic bag, and refrigerate until ready to place on the grill.

With a grill brush, thoroughly clean the surface of your outdoor grill. Add soaked wood chips to the smoker box in your grill. Bring grill up to high heat. Carefully spray non-stick cooking spray on grill surface, taking care to avoid flare-ups. Light all burners and bring grill up to "high" heat setting. When grill is hot, before placing meat on grill, rub grill thoroughly with reserved half onion to further clean the grill surface, and also to implant a delicate taste to the beef patties. I learned this trick during a visit to some friends of mine who live in Mexico, at a Rincon family barbecue.

Meanwhile, have helper peel off lettuce leaves off the head to form leaves slightly larger than the buns. Thinly slice the onion and tomato into slices about 1/8" thick so they can be layered on the burger. Cut each poblano pepper in half, lengthwise, and remove seeds, veins and stems. Cut the four pieces of bacon in half, reserve. Prepare four pieces of aluminum foil, each about 8" by 8" inches to the side; now you're ready to grill!

When grill reaches high temperature, about 450 carefully place patties on grill. Cook the hamburger patties, for about three minutes and turn over with a large spatula and allow to cook about two minutes. The idea is to sear the burgers to seal in the juices and produce attractive grill marks. Remove meat from grill.

Wrap ground beef patties in aluminum foil. When the soaked wood in grill starts to smoke, reduce heat to medium; about 350 degrees. Using the "indirect" cooking method, place wrapped meat above and away from the grill. Bake ground beef patties for about 15 minutes.

Place flattened halves of poblano chilie peppers on grill and sear over high heat. When grill marks appear, the peppers are done; typically about 3 minutes of grilling on high heat.

Place ground beef patties on your indirectly-heated grill. Using a brush, apply barbecue sauce of your choice liberally on each patty. Place bacon slices on each beef patty. Cook beef patties over indirect, medium heat for about 5 minutes. Top each patty with cheese and allow to cook for an extra 2 minutes, until the cheese starts to bubble. Remove from patties from grill.

Separate top and bottom halves of "cookout" buns. Place bun sections on grill, face down, and allow to toast for about a minute. Remove from grill.

Apply garnishes of choice, mustard, mayonnaise and whatever else you desire on your burger and serve immediately, while still hot from the grill. This will be the best Texas-style cheeseburger that you've ever eaten!

As with any hamburger or cheeseburger, the variations are endless. We prefer provolone cheese, but whatever type of cheese you use is up to your individual taste, and we vary our burgers by using cheddar, Monterey jack, American, and just about any type of cheese you can slice, depending on our mood. The truth is that I vary the garnishes every time I grill these burgers. I vary my garnishes by sometimes including jalapeno peppers, avocado slices, cabbage, or whatever I have on hand. You can elevate your burger to the next level by adding a couple of slices of cooked bacon and some guacamole. The possibilities are, literally, endless.

Sometimes I'll add ketchup, or even Mexican picante sauce that I've purchased during one of my many trips to Mexico. What you put on your cheeseburger is up to you, but there are a couple of things that you need to know about grilling cheeseburgers that will make a HUGE difference, the cardinal rule being, DO NOT apply barbecue sauce until the last five minutes.

Why? Barbecue sauce contains sugar, and sugar burns and burned barbecue sauce makes for a nasty burger. Adding the cheese at the last minute and allowing it to start to bubble not only looks nice, but it makes for a great-tasting burger. The toasting of the buns will separate your burger from an excellent burger to a burger to-die-for.

I have written this article for those who posess a gas-fired grill, but the recipe can easily be adapted for those who prefer charcoal. You can even cook delicious cheeseburgers on an indoor grill by eliminating the soaked wood chips, and you'll get everything but the smoky taste. Or you could mix a few drops of liquid smoke into the ground beef in the forming-the-patty stage and you'd have a smoked burger. The possibilities are endless...

Now you know how to make the perfect Texas-style bacon/ortega cheeseburger on your outdoor grill.

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