Enjoy a barbecue classic stuffed with bacon and blue cheese!

These great big burgers have all the good stuff on the inside. They’re stuffed with blue cheese and bacon and cooked in the smoker for an extra layer of flavour. Be sure to get them sealed up tight so the good stuff stays inside. They’re so big you might want to serve some of them whole and some cut in half. This will keep the lighter eaters happy and make for a nice presentation.

Ingredients

Hamburgers

• 2 pounds ground chuck
• 1 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• Barbecue Rub #67
• 4 onion rolls, split
• 4 slices tomato

Directions

1 Prepare your cooker to cook indirectly at 235°F using medium pecan wood for smoke flavor.

2 Divide the ground beef into eight equal portions. Flatten each portion into a thin patty about 4 inches across. On top of four of the patties, put 1 ⁄4 cup of the blue cheese. Top with one quarter of the bacon and then another ground beef patty. Crimp the edges together and shape the burgers, making sure the edges are sealed.

3 Season the burgers liberally on both sides with the rub. Place them in the cooker for 1 hour. Flip and cook for about another 1 hour, until the beef reaches an internal temperature of 155°F.

4 Transfer the burgers to a plate and tent them loosely with foil. Let rest for 5 minutes. Place the burgers on the roll bottoms. Top each with a slice of tomato and the top of the bun. Serve whole or cut the sandwiches in half for smaller servings.

Makes 4 to 8 servings.
 

After a lot of years of making barbecue rubs, I've used up all the good names, so sometimes I just use numbers now. Number 67 is a little tip of the hat to the band named after my hometown, Chicago. This one is a great all-around rub for the new barbecue cook because it's good on just about everything.

Ingredients

Barbecue Rub

• 1⁄2 cup Sugar in the Raw
• 1⁄2 cup kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1⁄2 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground coffee
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

1 Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well.

Note: The rub may be stored in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 6 months.

Makes about 1-1/2 cups.

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Excerpted from Slow Fire by Ray Lampe Copyright © 2012 by Ray Lampe. Photography by Leigh Beisch. Excerpted by permission of Chronicle Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.