This is one of my
favorite burgers, yum! You'll need some ground
meat... For beef, I like the texture of a nice ground
sirloin.
Chuck also works well due to a higher fat content. What you find at the
supermarket will be fine for this since the burger hides a lot of the meat flavor anyway. This also works very well with ground
Turkey, however make sure you get 100% ground turkey
breast (a lot of it is not) if you are concerned about fat here. Also, I think this would work well with
Tuna (ok, I might leave the cheese out), but I haven't tried it yet. The tuna can be
minced up and formed into a
burger (and don't you dare cook it more than medium!).
So now we've got some meat. The key to a good burger is to not handle it too much. For this burger, you want to form two thin patties per burger, don't pack them much at all as you'll do that later. Use as much meat as makes you happy, I find 1/3 lb works for me. Don't press too hard or you'll ruin the texture of the meat. Once you've got these formed, place as much crumbled blue cheese as you want on one, and put the two together pressing the edges together (don't pinch, try to push inward and not compress the meat too much). Now let's talk about blue cheese....
Blue Cheese is basically a cheese that has been allowed to mold in a very humid environment. This gives it a strong flavor and smell. The mold is actually a cousin of penecillin, and most people who are allergic to penecillin are not allergic to blue cheese. Now, we're not talking about salad dressing here, get yourself some good blue cheese from a cheese shop. There are a lot of types, some have stronger flavors than others, some are salty, anything goes. Maytag Blue is the standard in the US, made by the appliance company of the same name. It's very good. If you find it too strong, you may want to try and find some of the softer varieties made in Europe, they tend to have a milder flavor.
Okay, so now we've got a burger stuffed with blue cheese. Next you'll want to season the outside of the burger with some nice cajun seasoning (I'd recommend Emeril's Essense). After that, it's time for the peppercorns. You'll want to gently crush them if you buy them whole. Don't grind them, just put them in a baggie and break them up a bit by hitting it with a blunt object. They shoud still be very coarse. Coat the burger with peppercorns on all sides, gently pack them in a bit.
At this point, you're ready to cook. Now, normally I like burgers on the grill, however I think this one works better in a cast iron pan with a bit of olive oil. It will grill fine though, my preference is just for a pan. Cook to your desired wellness.
Now you're all set, top it with whatever you like. Keep in mind this burger has a lot of strong flavors already, so I would avoid any of the usual condiments. I like to serve it with just some friend onion slivers. What I do is use a psuedo tempura style batter. Mix equal parts of flour and club soda. Next add a dash of onion powder, and a dash of yummy cajun seasoning. Cut some slivers of onions (as big as you like) and coat them in the batter. I do all my frying in my Wok, it's handy and heats up fast. You can also use a skillet, it doesn't take much oil and doesn't need to be too deep. Heat up some vegetable oil over high heat. Toss the battered onions in the oil and fry until light golden (note that this batter won't be as dark as typical batters so don't overcook).
Serve up on toasted buns and enjoy!