This post is sponsored by ALDI; all opinions are my own.
There is nothing like the smell of the grill in the summer. Summer is when school is out, and even though you are an adult, there is still a sense of freedom. My daughter asked this morning when Daddy got his summer break, and Nathan and I both chuckled that it’s called vacation, but that adults don’t get summer break usually. Oh, to be a kid again. I guess we feel freer because the days get longer, and even though we slave away at work, there is still plenty of daylight to be had when we get home and we feel a little less house bound.
My favorite part about summer is all the fresh fruits and veggies that come into season. I grow what I can, and I know that I can shop at ALDI for fresh seasonal produce and those berries are going to be sweeter, and tomatoes are just a little more plump.
But my absolute favorite part is moving the inside cooking to outside. There is just something about grilled food. When you put heat and fire to food and cook it outside, the tastes change and enhance somehow. Food just tastes better on the grill. As we begin this beautiful season of summer filled with family trips and hopefully lots of pool time, I am looking forward to National Hamburger Day. Sunday, May 28th, 2017 is the day! It’s a time to pull out that favorite burger recipe to wow your friends because there is nothing like biting into a juicy burger!
As I prepare for National Hamburger Day, I head to ALDI to get all my supplies. I want to create a burger that will be phenomenal for National Hamburger Day but that I could re create any day of the week. I have really come to love shopping at ALDI, and I know I can fire up the grill with some beautiful ALDI ingredients and make a delish meal! I have talked a lot about why I love shopping at ALDI: I love the size of the stores, the great quality of products I get there, they seem to hire very friendly staff, but most of all I love that they care enough about their customers to cultivate a business model that passes on the savings to me and you. ALDI truly believes and abides by the belief that good food shouldn’t cost a fortune. They live out this motto in providing access for people of any socio-economic status to great food.
As I walk down the produce aisle, I am immediately excited because I come to one of our favorite berries, blackberries. We love blackberries here! They have such depth of flavor, and they just really speak summer to me. I knew immediately I would have to incorporate these into my National Hamburger Day meal. The wheels began to turn, and I decided on a Blackberry Molasses BBQ Bacon Burger. It’s so simple to make BBQ sauce from scratch, and it tastes amazing! I love burgers! I also love shopping the variety of ground meat options at ALDI. They have ground beef, organic grass fed ground beef and ground turkey, so no matter how you like your burgers and what fat content you want them to have, ALDI has an option that will work. This BBQ sauce recipe will be amazing on any burger option you choose. I chose the organic grass fed ground beef. It has a good fat ratio of 85/15, so the burger will not dry out on the grill. I also picked up some Havarti sliced cheese and got some Appleton Farms Thick Cut Bacon. Mmmmmm, dinner is gonna be tasty!
I don’t fuss with my burgers too much. I try to handle the meat the least amount possible, just forming them into a patty. I simply salt and pepper both sides and then let them rest. Letting them rest and not handling the meat too much will allow for a more tender burger. While the burger is resting, I begin working on my homemade Blackberry Molasses BBQ Sauce. I put all my ingredients into a pan and then let it simmer over low, so those ingredients can marry together into a homogenous sauce.
I grill the burgers and bacon together and when the burgers are almost done, I spoon some sauce over them and top them with cheese and allow the cheese to melt. Dress the burger with your fave toppings and you will be in burger heaven. All of the ingredients for this meal were purchased at ALDI! Head on over to ALDI and get the makings of a great National Hamburger Day!
Blackberry Molasses BBQ Sauce
Prep time: 10 min Cook Time 20 min servings 6-8
1 ½ cups Burman’s Ketchup
1/2 cup of Baker’s Corner Molasses
1/3 cup of Baker’s Corner Light Brown Sugar
1 tbsp of Burman’s Spicy Brown Mustard
1/2 tbsp of Stonemill Ground Cumin
1/2 tbsp of Stonemill Chili Powder
2 tsp of Stonemill Garlic Powder
2 tsp of Stonemill Onion Powder
1 tsp of Stonemill Red Pepper Flakes
4 tbsp of Countryside Creamery Butter
1 6oz container of blackberries
Directions
Place all ingredients into a pan over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer and reduce to low. Allow mixture to cook for 20 minutes.
Burgers
L’oven Fresh Kaiser Buns
1 lb of SimplyNature Organic Grass Fed Ground Beef
Stonemill Salt
Stonemill Pepper
8 slices of Appleton Farms Thick Cut Bacon
4 slices of Happy Farms Preferred Sliced Havarti Cheese
Directions:
Gently pat out four patties. Salt and pepper both sides. Place on grill over medium heat. Allow to cook on both sides and then top with BBQ sauce. As the burgers cook place bacon directly on the grill and cook until desired crispiness, turning once. Let the burger finish cooking and top with cheese. Put on your favorite bun and toppings!
[…] Blackberry Molasses BBQ Bacon Burger […]