By Mike Thayer 

In a celebration of summer, yours truly is celebrating with what is THE iconic food of summer, the burger.  For a week, lunch and dinner will feature some sort of burger, starting off with a classic cheeseburger and then going on an adventure from there.  The adventure will travel through flavors from around the globe, Mexican, Mediterranean, Asian and more!  There will be a variety in spices, toppings and meats!

I started things off with a classic cheeseburger for lunch.  What makes my classic different from any other?  It's all in the meat......

So for dinner, I took the Classic burger and kicked things up a notch, adding pork to the meat mixture and including bacon and BBQ sauce in the toppings/condiments.   Here's the recipe:

The Idaho burger
This recipe was ‘developed’ by my three young sons on a summer vacation trip to Idaho. It’s pretty much a classic bacon cheeseburger and BBQ sauce with a spin of mine (adding pork sausage), but my boys really thought they had come up with something new. I wasn’t about to spoil their creativity in their grilling moment of discovery.  

Ingredients: (TIP:  Using two meats in a burger makes for another layer of flavor)

• One pound ground beef
• One pound pork sausage
• One Tablespoon Cookies Flavor Enhancer or if you want to keep it simple, salt and pepper
• 16 slices of pre-cooked bacon
• American cheese slices
• Your favorite BBQ sauce
• ½ stick of butter
• Garlic powder to taste
• Hamburger buns

Directions:
In a large bowl, season the ground beef with the Cookies Flavor Enhancer or the salt & pepper and hand mix until the seasoning is incorporated. Add the pork sausage, hand mix again until incorporated into the beef. Form into 8 patties. When your grill is ready to receive, place the patties over the hot spot to get those great grill marks and a good sear. Keep the lid off and watch for any flare ups. When you see red juices flowing to the top of the patties, flip those burgers over to the lower heat side of the grill and get ready to put the lid on. Before ‘lidding‘, place the butter and garlic in a grill safe dish to melt down on the low heat side of the grill next to those great smelling burgers. Check after about five minutes. The garlic butter should be melted and the burgers should be about ready. For well done burgers, wait to see the juices run clear. Apply the cheese, top with two slices of pre-cooked bacon and put the lid on for another minute or until the cheese is melted to your liking. Pull the burgers and let them rest. Apply the melted garlic butter to the hamburger buns and toast. Serve with your favorite BBQ sauce. You can either pour it on the burger straight from the bottle, or warm some up in a grill safe dish and spoon some of that mouth-watering deliciousness onto the top bun.

Tip: If you don’t like forming patties by hand, a quick way to get those made is by using a round Tupperware/plastic container type lid and plastic wrap. Invert the lid, line with plastic wrap, then press the ground beef into the lined lid to form a perfectly round patty.

Download Mike's Idaho Burger Recipe

This burger cost only about $1.90 to prepare.  Try spending just that at a fast food restaurant for all that deliciousness!

Stay tuned for more great burger recipes, classic, "Idaho" and more, it's the Bachelor on the Cheap Burger Challenge!