Burger Balls

Before you do anything, make sure your cheese is cut into 1/2-inch cubes, then place them in the freezer, while you work on the rest of the ingredients. You aren't necessarily looking to FREEZE the cheese, so much as give it a nice chill.

Pre-heat oven to 450 F.

Place a sauté pan over medium heat on the stove. When it is warm, add 2 tbsp of your cooking oil. When the oil begins to ripple in the pan, add your onions and garlic. Season with a little salt and pepper. Cook for about 7 to 10 minutes, or until nice, soft and caramelized. Turn off the heat and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, add your beef, egg and warm onion mixture. Combine mixture well.

Form into small 1-1/2 to 2 inch balls. Press the balls with your palms to make them very slightly flat. Push a small amount of bacon bits and a single cheddar cube from the freezer into the center of the beef disc. Form the rest of the beef around the cheese and bacon and press together the ground beef, to form a tight seal. Roll the balls to form a more perfect and well sealed beef sphere.

Pre-heat a large oven-proof sauté pan over high heat on the stove.

While the pan is heating, season the outside of your burger balls with a little bit of salt and pepper.

Add your remaining 2 tbsp of cooking oil to the pan. When the oil ripples, add your burger balls to the pan, so that they are not touching. If they are too crowded, the pan will cool down and you won't get a nice sear. You may need two pans for this.

Sear the outside of your burger balls, moving them around the pan to try and gain a nice brown sear on the outside. After about 2 minutes of searing, place the whole pan in the hot oven for about 5 to 7 minutes.

Remove from the oven and serve!