SMOKEY TEXAS BACON BURGER WITH JICAMA COLESLAW, MERLOT BBQ SAUCE and GRUYERE CHEESE

I have been making homemade BBQ sauce for years for all of my friends.I decided to create a burger that would showcase my BBQ sauce and capture Southern style cooking.

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

1 cup Sutter Home Merlot (reduced to 1/4 cup)

Merlot BBQ Sauce:
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Chipotle chile powder
1/2 teaspoon Ancho chile powder
3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/4 cup Merlot reduction (from above)

Jicama Coleslaw:
1 small head of cabbage, cored and finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely shredded
1 cup jicama, peeled and cut into match stick size
3 scallions (green part only), slice 1/4 inch thick
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Patties:
2 pounds ground chuck (80/20)
1/2 pound hickory smoked bacon, ground
1/4 cup Sutter Home Merlot
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Colavita Extra Virgin Olive oil, for brushing the grill rack and buns.

6 slices of Gruyere Cheese, each 1/4 inch thick. (If you can’t find Gruyere, use Swiss cheese in its place.)

6 Kaiser buns, split

Instructions:

Directions:

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium-high. Place a large fireproof skillet on the rack.

Add 1 cup of the Merlot to the large skillet on the rack. Stirring frequently, for 15 to 30 minutes reduce the Merlot to 1/4 cup reduction. Remove from grill.

To make the Merlot BBQ sauce, in a large bowl add the ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire, and brown sugar, whisk together. Next add the chipotle, ancho, paprika, garlic salt, kosher salt, cumin, and cayenne, whisk together. Add the honey, liquid smoke, and Merlot reduction. Whisk all together until incorporated. Set aside.

To make the Jicama Coleslaw, in a large bowl add the cabbage, carrot, jicama, and scallions, toss together. In a small bowl combine and whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, celery seed, salt and ground pepper. Add the small bowl sauce to the large bowl. Gently stir together. Cover and set aside in a refrigerator.

To prepare the patties, In a large bowl, gently combine the ground chuck, ground bacon, Merlot, cumin, paprika, garlic, Worcestershire, salt, and ground pepper. Handling the meat as little as possible to avoid compacting it. Gently mix together using a large spoon. Form into 6 patties and refrigerate until ready to grill.

Brush the grill rack with olive oil. Place the patties on the grill, cover and cook for 5
minutes. Turn the patties and brush with the Merlot BBQ sauce, cover and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. During the last 2 to 3 minutes of grilling the patties, brush again the patties with the Merlot BBQ sauce and add a slice of Gruyere cheeses on top of each patty. During the same time, brush the buns with olive oil and place the buns, cut side down, on the outer edges of the rack and toast lightly to golden brown.
To assemble the burger, slather the top toasted side of the buns with some of the Merlot BBQ sauce. Place the patties on the bottom bun and add a large dollop of the Jicama Coleslaw on top of each patty. Add the toasted bun top with wooden skewers and serve immediately.

Makes 6 burgers.