Ultimate Sriracha Burger

I'm still on my spicy kick...I've said it once before and I'll say it again, Sriracha hot sauce is the shizz!  It's like the Frank's Red Hot of the Asian world...but...a million times more delicious.  Spicy, tangy, and sweet....it's perfect on pretty much everything.

I can't say I'm surprised that a burger features this delicious sauce.  It made it onto my list of dinner real fast and as suspected, it was...well, the shizz!  Go make it immediately...especially considering I *know * you don't want to turn on the oven in this record breaking mid-summer heat.  But heat in your mouth is a different story...that's an any-time delight!

Fair warning, it's not for the faint of heart....and it's so delicious I neglected to take a picture.

One Year Ago: Homemade Refrigerator Pickles

Ultimate Sriracha Burger
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Yields: 4 burgers plus extra sauce...would be great on fries!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs. ground grass-fed chuck
• 2 TBS. soy sauce
• 5 TBS. Sriracha, divided
• 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 4 slices thick cut bacon
• 1 large sweet onion
• 3/4 cup blue cheese dressing
• 4 brioche buns
• 4 thick slices Swiss cheese
• 1 tomato, sliced
• several handfuls of arugula (omitted...didn't have any on hand)

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, soy sauce, 2 1/2 TBS. of the Sriracha, and the pepper. Be careful not to overmix. Form the mixture into 4 patties, and set aside, covered, in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat grill to medium high heat. In a medium frying pan over medium-low heat, cook the bacon. While the bacon is cooking, peel and quarter the onions. Cut each section into 1/4-inch slices. Once the bacon is cooked through and slightly crispy, remove the slices from the pan, cut each in half crosswise, and drain onto paper towels, reserving the remaining bacon fat in the pan. Cook the sliced onions in the bacon fat over medium-low heat until they caramelize, 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Grill the burgers, turning once, 4 to 4 1/2 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer registers 130° to 135°F for medium-rare.
4. While the burgers are cooking, combine the blue cheese dressing with the remaining 2 1/2 TBS. Sriracha in a small bowl. Lightly toast the buns on the grill during the last minute of cooking time.
5. Assemble the ultimate burger! Spread the blue cheese mixture on both halves of each hamburger bun. Stack a burger patty, slice of swiss cheese, bacon, caramelized onions, slice of tomato, and a small handful of arugula between each hamburger bun. Open jaw W.I.D.E. and devour!

Source: The Sriracha Cookbook as modified by and seen on Oiishi Food