Fontina-filled Burgers With Dried Tomato

Total Time: 24 hrs 14 mins Preparation Time: 24 hrs Cook Time: 14 mins

Ingredients

• 6 slices firm-textured bread
• 3/4 cup drained dried tomatoes packed in oil with herbs (reserve oil)
• 3 large eggs, beaten to blend
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 3 3/4 lbs 93% lean ground beef
• 1 1/2 cups shredded smoked fontina cheese
• 12 hamburger buns, split horizontally
• sliced tomato (optional)
• sliced onion (optional)
• sliced avocado (optional)
• butter lettuce leaf (optional)
• ketchup (optional)
• dijon mustard (optional)
• mayonnaise (optional)

Recipe

• 1 whirl bread in a food processor or blender until fine crumbs form. pour crumbs into a bowl and combine with minced tomatoes and 6 tablespoons of the reserved oil, eggs, salt and pepper. add ground beef and gently mix with a fork just until ingredients are evenly blended.
• 2 divide meat mixture into 24 equal portions, each a generous 1/2 cup. with your hands, shape each portion into a 4-inch wide patty. in the center of 12 of the patties, gently make a shallow depression about 2-inches wide; place about 2 tablespoons of the fontina cheese in each depression. gently top each cheese-topped patty with a plain patty; press edges together to seal well. lay patties side by side on 2 platters. cover airtight and chill at least 20 minutes or up to 24 hours.
• 3 prepare a gas or charcoal grill for direct, high heat (you can hold your hand 1 to 2 inches above the cooking grate only 2 to 3 seconds; visit www.safeway.com's grilling essential section for complete instructions). place patties on oiled grill; cover gas grill. cook 6 minutes, then turn burgers with a wide spatula. continue cooking until meat is no longer pink in center (make a small cut to test, but be careful not to let cheese drip out), about 7 minutes longer. transfer burgers to a platter and loosely drape with foil. place buns with cut sides down and grill and cook until toasted, about 1 minute. lift buns to a second platter.
• 4 tuck burgers inside buns and garnish to taste.