If you’re tired of making the same old burgers for every BBQ, dripping with boring condiments and processed cheese, then please allow me to share with you a personal creation of mine.

I call it the Easy Brie-zy Burger, and I’ve served it to many a guest with rave reviews. I’m going to post the full recipe below (I swore I would never share it, but I’ve been worn down), but here is a breakdown of what you can expect on this burger:

- A flavorful brie and pesto mayonnaise
- Crispy fried onion strings
- Juicy heirloom tomatoes (sure, you can use regular ones if you want, but why not go for the gold?)
- And an optional upgrade to slices of crispy maple bacon

If none of that sounds good to you, please, stop reading now. For the rest of you, here is the full recipe good for about 8 burgers:

BRIE AND PESTO MAYONNAISE:

- 1.5 cups mayonnaise
- 2-3 tablespoons pre-made or fresh pesto
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 of a cup small cubed brie (put in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to make it easier to cut)
- few dashes of Tabasco sauce
- 1/2 tsp brown sugar
- salt and fresh cracked pepper

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly, place in refrigerator until ready to use.

CRISPY ONION STRINGS

- 3 medium onions, sliced thinly
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup corn starch
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon pepper
- 4-6 cups vegetable oil or other suitable frying oil

Slice onions as thinly as possible, preferably using a mandolin, although a very sharp knife will do the trick also. Heat oil in a medium sized heavy – bottomed sauce pan over high heat. Using a thermometer, heat the oil until at 350F. Mix the flour, corn starch and salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and toss the sliced onions until evenly coated. Very carefully place the onion strings into the hot oil, and fry until crispy and golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Place on a paper towel to drain excess oil.

PUTTING THE BURGER TOGETHER

Alright, I’m not going to post a burger from scratch recipe, because everyone makes it their own way and there’s nothing wrong with that. But here is how we want to assemble our burger now that we’ve gotten the individual parts done.

Step 1. Liberally apply the brie and pesto mayonnaise to both sides of a fresh toasted burger bun.
Step 2. Place a grilled burger patty on the bottom half, and top with a thick slice or two of tomato, followed by lettuce.
Step 3. Top with your crispy onion strings, and if you feel like indulging, top with a couple slices of crispy bacon as well.
Step 4. Finish with the top half of the burger, and eat! The heat from the bun and burger will slowly melt the chunks of brie in the mayonnaise, giving you flavor, texture from the crispy onions and just plain good stuff in each bite.

Optional beverage choice: A crisp Strongbow cider