Beer Can Stuffed Burgers

Avoid the mess with Beer Can Stuffed Burgers - your condiments are on the inside!

Oh.. and the beer can part - no your are not going to perch your patty on top of a beer can like you do for beer can chicken. You are going to use the beer can to indent your patty to hold all those luscious, juicy additions to your burger.

Full disclosure... as you will see... my 'beer can' was a bottle of Corona!

If you are looking for a juicy, flavourful burger this has your name written all over it!

I love juicy burgers with melty cheese, mushrooms, bacon and all kinds of other additions. But they can be messy...

So stuffed burgers finely chop up bacon, caramelized onions, maybe some mushrooms and grated cheese and cram them into the cavity of the burger. When you bite in you get the flavour and the juiciness and I didn't have any of it sliding out of my burger down my hand and chin.

I call that a win!! (So does my laundry!)

You can use the flavours that you like best. Swiss cheese and mushrooms are a classic combination. Caramelized onions and cheddar go well.

I used a Monterey Jack cheese since soft cheeses tend to melt better than say cheddar.

Chef's Tips for Beer Can Stuffed Burgers

• Plan on about 7 oz of raw meat per burger. You need enough meat to close up around your fillings and 4 oz just isn't going to cut it. In the end you will have a substantial burger.
• Plan on a good size bun as well since your burger will be generous.
• The meat mixture can be your favourite burger mix... as simple as beef alone or a beef/pork mixture. Spices like you would normally use. I don't suggest bread crumbs in the mix since you are going for juicy and the crumbs tend to make a drier burger. I used a beef/sausage combo with my dry rub seasoning. You can see the exact amounts in the recipe card.
• Use the filling flavours you like best. Caramalized onions, bacon, jalapeno etc Blue cheese could be fun in a lamb burger....
• You won't have a lot of room to fill the center of the burger so don't get carried away with quantities. Make sure they are chopped finely and cheese is grated. I used ½ Tablespoon each of mushrooms and caramelized onions and grated cheese in one style burger. In the other I used ½ tablespoon each of chopped bacon, caramelized onion and cheese.
• If using bacon cook it a bit first - at least half cooked- to ensure it is fully cooked in the center of the burger when the burger is done. And chop it finely. It helps to pre cook ingredients like mushrooms as well and cut them finely. And caramelized onions are of course, already cooked.
• If you are going with a 'busy' burger you could consider working the bacon bits in to the meat mixture and that will give you more room for cheese, onion etc in the filling.
• With all the flavour in the stuffing you don't need as many condiments. I was happy with a bit of ketchup, mayo and salt and pepper but again... go with your tastes.

Wine Pairing

I gravitate to Medium-bodied red like a Rhone blend, a Grenache, a Barbera or a Rioja Crianza when it comes to burgers.

On the white spectrum you could go for a full-bodied Chardonnay or a Soave.