Pesto Stuffed Burger

I can't take credit for this recipe, but I can take credit for my attempt to make it.  More than once I've done a Google search and ended up at a site called about.com.  I generally try to stay away from the site because I don't feel it's the most user friendly and sometimes doesn't have the best information on it.
As you may or may not be aware, I was house sitting all last week for my dad; he lives in Rice, MN which is about an hour from my house.  There was no quick trips home because I forgot something... I'm fortunate enough to have some amazing friends who came to stay with me a couple of the nights, turns out I'm kind of a scaredy cat when it comes to being alone in a strange house.  


One of the nights my friend Steve came up after work to stay the night; I couldn't let the guy go hungry, right?  My mouth was craving something new... something with pesto as a main focus.  Once upon a time I tried to make a Juicy Lucy (for those who don't know, a Juicy Lucy is a burger with cheese stuffed on the inside), they didn't turn out so well and I think I ended up eating a piece of bread or something instead.  I was ready to give a stuffed burger another try.

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1/4 cup pesto
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• pinch pepper
• 1/4 cup pesto
• 4 thin slices Havarti cheese
• 4 English muffins, split
• 2 tablespoons butter

In medium bowl combine ground beef, 1/4 cup pesto, salt, and pepper and mix gently just until combined. Form into 8 thin patties. Divide 1/4 cup pesto between 4 of the patties and top with slices of cheese. Top with remaining thin patties and gently press sides to seal. Cook, 4-6" from medium coals, for 10-12 minutes, turning once, until thoroughly cooked (internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F). Or cook on a dual sided indoor grill for 6-7 minutes until thoroughly cooked. Spread butter on cut sides of English muffins and either toast on grill or in toaster oven. Serve burgers on muffins.

Recipe Found Here 

Using the same ingredients from above I followed the first couple steps... when putting the cheese and pesto inside, I had rather large slices of cheese so I quartered them and stacked them putting the pesto in between.  For cooking, my dad had a panini grill at his place that he told me he cooks meat on all the time, so I set the grill on Medium Heat, let it warm up and tossed those bad boys on there.  Now, the recipe calls for 6-7 minutes on a dual sided grill... I cooked them for 6 minutes and really wished I had done them for about 5 to 5-1/2 minutes.  Not only did the burgers explode all over the panini grill, but they were just overcooked imo; not so much that you couldn't eat them, but not so much on the juicy side.  Steve and I teamed up to attempt to re-stuff the burgers before all the cheese solidified on the press.  
We placed them on toasted wheat English muffins and enjoyed with a light Cesar Salad on the side and washed it all down with a nice glass of Cabernet.


I was convinced that there would be no ooze and, when making a stuffed burger, you expect ooze... You can imagine how excited I was at the first sign of ooze - it had to be documented and drank to:

There is a little bit of ooze there.. take note!
We clanked our glasses and continued to eat... all in all I think the flavor of these burgers is great, and I'm anxious to make them again, only cooking them for a bit less time.  I made 4 burgers and froze the other two for my dad and his wife to enjoy (such a nice daughter, huh?)... assuming he lets me know his thoughts, I'll pass them along to you all :)