Allison Malec is a Marketing Manager at Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, and is an editor at The Recipe Club. She lives in New York City, and loves to cook, bake and eat. She loves anything sweet, especially Momofuku Milk Bar’s Compost Cookies, Ben and Jerry’s Oatmeal Cookie Crunch Ice Cream, and Vanilla Mr. Softee cones with rainbow sprinkles.

As summer comes to an end, I am already mourning the loss of grilling season. I wanted to sneak in a few more burger nights before I could no longer use our outdoor grill (although, I recently bought a grill pan that is a great substitute). As I poured through my dog-eared galley of The Epicurious Cookbook (Clarkson Potter, October 2012), I came across this recipe for Coffee-Rubbed Cheeseburgers with Texas Barbecue Sauce and I immediately knew what we were having for dinner.

I am a sucker for burgers of any sort, but I am a particular fan of burgers with a unique twist. This coffee spice rub adds a fantastic flavor to these burgers, and the addition of homemade barbecue sauce and smoked Provolone cheese makes them a real standout.

The burgers, pre-grilling:

Recipe for Coffee-Rubbed Cheeseburgers with Texas Barbecue Sauce
From The Epicurious Cookbook by Tanya Steel and the Editors of Epicurious
Makes 8 servings

For Coffee Rub
1 tablespoon freshly ground coffee powder
2 teaspoons (packed) light brown sugar
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

For Burgers
8 slices applewood-smoked bacon
1 pound ground chuck, preferably grass-fed
1 pound ground sirloin, preferably grass-fed
8 slices smoked provolone, smoked caciocavallo, or smoked Gouda cheese (about 8 ounces)
8 potato-bread hamburger buns
8 slices red onion
8 slices ripe tomato
Texas Barbecue Sauce (recipe follows)
Special equipment: Gas or charcoal grill

Make Coffee Rub
Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl.

Make Burgers
1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Break in half. Gently mix the chuck and sirloin in a large bowl. Form the meat into 8 patties, each 3 ½ to 4 inches in diameter and 1⁄3 to ½ inch thick. Using your thumb, make a slight indentation in the center of each burger.

2. Prepare the grill to medium-high heat. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon coffee rub on the top side of each burger. Place the burgers rub side down on the grill rack. Grill until slightly charred, about 4 minutes; turn.

3. Place 2 bacon halves atop each burger. Cook 3 minutes.

4. Top each burger with 1 cheese slice. Cover grill and cook until the cheese melts, about 1 minute longer.

5. Place the burgers atop the bottom halves of the buns. Top with the onion and tomato slices. Spoon a dollop of barbecue sauce over and cover with bun tops. Serve, passing additional sauce alongside.

Texas Barbecue Sauce
Yield: Makes about 1 1⁄3 cups

1 tablespoon butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup ketchup
1⁄3 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1⁄3 cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 chipotle chile from canned chipotle chiles in adobo, minced with seeds
¼ teaspoon cayenne

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic; stir 30 seconds. Stir in ketchup and all remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low; simmer until reduced to 11⁄3 cups, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

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