The Iowa Burger

The weather is still not cooperating with us Midwesterners, but I said to heck with it today and fired up the indoor grill to make The Iowa Burger!

I created The Iowa Burger recipe to showcase the 2 quintessential flavors of Iowa, in one yummy cheeseburger:

1. Bacon – Tickets to this year’s Baconfest sold out faster than a Taylor Swift concert at Madison Square Garden. No seriously, like in under 4 minutes. I’d say us Iowans definitely like our bacon!

2. Sweet corn – It’s so abundant in the summertime, they give it away for free!

My recipe starts by combining ground beef and chopped bacon. Yes, there’s bacon in the burger. There’s bacon in the burger!!!

After the patties are cooked up and topped with ooooozy cheese,

they’re nestled onto a sesame seed bun that’s been slathered with avocado spread, then dressed with fresh sweet corn relish.

The Iowa Burger

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Description

The Iowa Burger incorporates all the ingredients that make this state great into one juicy burger!

Ingredients

Serves 4

• For the Burgers:
  • 1lb 85/15 ground beef
  • 6 strips bacon, finely chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 slices American cheese
  • 4 sesame seed buns
• For the Sweet Corn Relish:
  • 2 strips bacon, chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • 3 ears of corn, kernels cut off the cob
  • 2 Tablespoons minced jalapeño
  • 1 green onion, chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• For the Avocado Spread:
  • 1 avocado
  • salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Combine beef, finely chopped bacon, salt and pepper, and then form into four patties. Cook on a hot grill to preferred doneness, about 3-4 minutes a side for medium-rare. Turn the heat off, place cheese slices on top of burgers and close the grill lid to allow cheese to melt.
2. Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chopped bacon and cook until crispy. Melt in butter then add corn, jalapeno, green onion, salt and pepper to the skillet. Cook until corn is just tender, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in maple syrup and remove the skillet from the heat.
3. Mash avocado flesh with salt and pepper, then spread equally on the bottom of each bun. Top with cheeseburger patty and sweet corn relish. Enjoy!

This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.