Red-Neck Turtle Burgers

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef round
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh chives
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 4 slices sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion (such as Maui)
• 12 regular-sized hot dogs, halved crosswise
• 12 slices bacon, cut in half crosswise

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Mix ground beef, chives, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and ground mustard thoroughly in a bowl; divide in fourths and make 4 thick oval-shaped burgers. Top each burger with a slice of sharp Cheddar cheese and about 2 tablespoons of chopped sweet onion.

Poke 2 holes in the long ends of each burger with your fingers for the heads and tails. Insert half a hot dog into the head and tail holes, letting the rounded ends of the hot dogs poke out about 1 1/2 inches. Press to secure. Poke 2 more holes on each side of the burger and insert 2 more hot dog halves on each side for legs. Cut 2 small slits, about 3/4 inch long, into the ends of the legs to make toes. Repeat with remaining ground beef, hot dogs, cheese slices, and onion to make 4 turtle burgers topped with cheese and onion. If desired, cut tails to small sharp points for more realism.

Place 3 halved bacon slices onto a work surface, sides touching. Weave 3 more bacon slices into the first ones, facing 90 degrees to the first slices, to make a woven bacon piece; lay the woven bacon onto a burger, arranging bacon between heads, legs, and tails. Secure with toothpicks. Repeat with remaining bacon to make 3 more woven bacon pieces and cover remaining burgers with bacon.

Place a baking rack into a large roasting pan; lay the bacon-wrapped turtle burgers onto the rack and cover lightly with foil.

Bake in the preheated oven until the burgers are no longer pink in the middle and hot dog ends are browned, 20 to 30 minutes. An instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a burger should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).