TMN Turtle Burgers

Assembling the turtles!

Today's recipe is from our guest blogger, James.  As a child, he really, really liked Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  He even dressed as Donatello (his favorite turtle) for one Halloween.  He has long since outgrown his devotion to the turtles, but recently created this fun recipe for all of those adult (secret) TMNT lovers!

Delicious Turtle Burgers

1.5 lbs.    lean ground beef
12              hot dogs
1                 small block of sharp cheddar
32              bacon slices medium thickness, not thin sliced, not thick sliced
1 cup         Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp.       Montreal-type seasoning

1. Mix ground beef in a bowl with Montreal seasoning and Worcestershire sauce.   Salt and pepper to taste; I used 1 tsp. and 1 tsp., respectively.

2. Mix thoroughly and let sit.  You don't want a dry, tasteless burger.

3. Lay out 4 pieces of bacon side by side on a piece of parchment. Trim any excess fat, you want the slices to be fairly straight. Push together any holes.  Be as compulsive as you like, you have to open holes for the "turtle appendages, anyway.

A finished turtle!

4. Weave in 4 more trimmed pieces perpendicular to the first 4. You should have a fairly solid square with fringe on all sides.  This will be the crunchy and delicious shell.

5. Repeat this 3 more times to make 4 bacon lattices.  <Lattices, not just for gardening or microscopic steel composition anymore.>

6. Heat the oven to 450F.  Do it now, it will be ready just about the time your turtles are complete.

7. Take the ground beef and make 8 patties. 3" in diameter and 3/8" thick.  They need to be thin enough to cook through, but thick enough to hold the heavenly center.

8. Put a slice of cheddar between 4 patties and top the cheddar with the other 4 patties.  Now this is a bunless burger!

9. Make sure the ground beef encapsulates the cheese fully. Set aside.  You can't let all that ambrosia go to waste burning on the pan.

Which one is Donatello?

10. Cut all the hot dogs in half making 24 pieces. Take 16 of the pieces and cut toes in the rounded end. Take 4 pieces and make a pointy tail.  I made 2 slices in the rounded end. If you want to get technical, it is 3 fingers and 2 toes, Cowabunga!

11. Put one burger on one lattice and wrap it up.  The bacon will curl, so you can flip them over if you want a flat shell.  I left them belly up!
Our guest blogger!

12. Push the hot dogs through holes in the lattice. All turtles have only 4 legs, 1 head, and 1 tail.  Be sure to not break the cheddar seal. Toothpick them in place if you like.

13. Repeat steps 11 and 12  to make the other 3 turtles.

14. Transfer the turtles to a cookie sheet and place them in the oven for 30 minutes.  Watch an old episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on VHS or run around the house like Shredder.

15. Check to make sure the bacon is not burned. If it is NOT, then give them 5 
more minutes to think about what they have done, or run around the house like shredder some more. It helps if you have a sweet cape and helmet. Limber up before you try any kicks.

16.Pull them out and make sure the ground beef is done. If it is, enjoy!

Bacon is the half shell, TURTLE POWER!

Cowabunga!  I hope you've enjoyed our little turtle celebration.   

What's cooking in your Savory kitchen?

Nancy