I am more of a lemming that I thought I was.
Either that, or I am unable to resist a challenge.
A friend of mine texted me one of the articles about Philadelphia’s PYT Burger’s new D’oh Nut Burger. This cheeseburger stuffed donut is an homage to Homer Simpson’s love for donuts. Their donut is stuffed with a beef patty and American cheese. It also has bacon bits on top, glued down by donut glaze. I took one look at the photo that came with and immediately had to fight against my watering mouth. A cheeseburger donut seems like one of those things that will either roughly seduce you or roughly repulse you. Let’s just say, the Teddy Pendergrass was cued the moment I set eyes on it.
I wish that burger had existed when I was briefly in Philadelphia this summer. I would have traveled out of my way to try it. My son may have scoured the menu for something more sensible, like a salad. That’s what he ordered when I ordered a cheesesteak.
But, alas, here I am in Michigan. If I wanted to experience something like that cheeseburger-stuffed donut, I was going to have to make it myself.
Now, I have a bit of a history with turning cheeseburgers into other foods like cheeseburger fries and pizza. Doing this donut thing would be another step in this direction.
The game plan was to take a basic donut recipe and start there. I started with one from Epicurious. Then, I needed to develop a filling. I decided to make a cheese sauce like I would if I were making macaroni and cheese and to mix hamburger elements into it like ground beef, pickles, ketchup and mustard. A glaze would be no problem to add. Finally, I wanted to top the donut with bacon crumbles.
So, I cut up a half onion and sauteed it in olive oil, then I cooked about a pound of ground beef. Once that was done , I drained the mixture and I added ketchup, mustard and relish. I mixed that together and set it aside.
Next, I made the sauce. Here I cooked some flour in oil. Then I added milk, making a smooth sauce. Then I melted a generous amount of cheddar cheese into it making a cheese sauce. Finally, I added the meat mixture.
By this time, it was time to deal with the donuts. By the way, I substituted bacon fat for some of the butter the recipe called for. After the donuts proofed, I fried them and let them cool a bit. After that, I pierced them with a butter knife then twisted the knife in order to make a hole for the mixture to be added into.
Next, I added the cheese mixture to a pastry bag. I used the bag to pipe the cheese mixture into the donuts. Finally, it was time to apply a glaze, crumbled bacon and miniature chocolate chips.
So, the question is how was it? It was very good. In fact, when I had my son taste it, he made a noise that I don’t ever want to hear come from him again.
Here’s the vine that shows the donut coming together.