Fried Green Tomato Burgers

Ok, YUM. These are great and aren't too much trouble at all. Don't let the lengthiness of this post scare you. I would recommend making an extra fried green tomato slice or two just to eat as a side because they are so good. FYI - this makes 4 BIG burgers. I halved the recipe and made 1 BIG burger for tommy and two smaller burgers for me (one of which I ate for breakfast the next morning - hey I was on vacation!)

What you need:
2 pounds ground chuck
3 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
3.5 teaspoons Paula Deen House Seasoning, Divided***
.5 cup self-rising cornmeal mix
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 large egg
1 large green tomato, cut into 1/2 inch slices
Vegetable Oil for Frying
4 slices Monterrey jack Cheese with Peppers
8 slices bacon, cooked
4 onion rolls, split and toasted
Thousand Island Dressing

***Paula Deen House Seasoning is just one part black pepper, one part garlic powder, and 4 parts kosher salt. You can use this on everything. If you want, combine 1 cup salt, 1/4 cup garlic powder, and 1/4 cup pepper and store for 6 months and use on more recipes.

What you need to do:
In a medium bowl, combine ground chuck, Worchestershire sauce, and 1.5 teaspoons House seasoning, stirring to mix well. Form mixture into 4 (4 inch) patties. Preheat grill to medium high heat (350 - 400). Spray grill rack with Pam. Send your husband down to the grill with the patties and some Budweiser and ask him to cook them for you while you work on the fried green tomato slices. Paula suggests 5-6 minutes per side, but ours took longer for some reason. We were using a charcoal grill.

For the tomatoes, get a medium nonstick skillet and pour oil to a depth of 1/4 inch and heat over medium heat. In a small bowl, combine cornmeal mix, flour, and remaining 2 teaspoons house seasoning mix. In another small bowl, lightly beat egg. Dip both sides of tomato slice in beaten egg, and coat with cornmeal mixture. Add tomatoes to hot oil; cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown.

Place 1 cheese slice over each patty (we did this while burgers were still on grill so it would melt.) Place bacon on bottom halves of onion rolls, top with hamburger, fried green tomato slice, and desired amount of Thousand Island. Top with other half of bun.