It’s that time of year when we break out the grills and head to our local farmers market for all the good things spring has to offer. Whether you enjoy veggie burgers or some kind of meat burger, they all taste better with fresh mushrooms…and pinot noir. For this recipe, we are using good ol’ fashioned ground beef, grilled bacon, sauteed Baby Bella mushrooms, and sharp, white cheddar. Oh, and some tasty shishito peppers on the side are the perfect addition. Grilled shishito’s are easy to make, lightly seasoned, and slightly smoky, you’ll find that most are mild…one out of every ten might surprise you.

Get out there and enjoy the weekend, and as always, drink responsibly and with your #pinkiesdown.

Recipe:

2 pounds (32 ounces) 80/20 ground beef, cold

grilled bacon

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons minced onion

20oz Baby Bella Mushrooms

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 3/4 teaspoons freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

6 slices Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese

6 hamburger buns

Butter for buns

Blistered Shishito Peppers

8 ounces shishito peppers—washed and thoroughly dried

1 tablespoon neutral oil (such as vegetable or grapeseed)

Jacobsen Salt (flake)

Grill or fry your bacon so it is done the way you typically like it.

Prepare the burger patties by mixing ground beef with Worcestershire. Add a little salt and pepper and then press into 6 patties.

Wash and slice mushrooms and sauté with garlic and onion, or grill in a grill basket alongside the burgers until onion is opaque and mushrooms begin to turn golden brown. Once cooked, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Grill the burgers to your done-likeness. Add cheese when the burgers are close to being cooked and toast buttered buns on grill. Arrange buns with cooked burgers and spoon mushrooms onto the melted cheese, top with bacon.

For the peppers, heat griddle or grill basket to medium-high heat. Arrange peppers in a single layer with oil and cook until they are lightly charred. Season with flake salt.

Enjoy.