Let's Sup: Lean Beef Burgers with Bacon and Spinach

I work for Georgia Cattlemen's Association, and as such, I eat a LOT of lean beef. There's a lot of great stuff going on now in the beef community about lean beef: The BOLD, or Beef in an Optimal Lean Diet, study released in 2011 by Penn State demonstrates that using 4 ounces of lean beef as the daily protein source can help lower cholesterol. There are 29 cuts of lean beef with the total fat in between that of a skinless chicken breast and skinless chicken thigh.

One of those is 95/5 ground beef (that's 95 percent lean muscle and only 5 percent fat), which is what this burger is made of. The thing you've got to be careful with is that because there is so little fat, these buggers will cook up pretty quickly to medium. Burger cooking tip — DON'T press your burgers down with a spatula! Especially ones this lean; what little juiciness there is will leak out when squished.

LEAN BEEF BURGERS WITH BACON AND SPINACH

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound 95/5 ground beef (preferably ground sirloin)
• 1 slice of bacon for each burger (super healthy people can substitute turkey bacon, but I like the good stuff)
• Two handfuls of baby spinach
• Olive oil
• Provolone cheese
• Wheat hamburger buns
• OPTIONAL: 1 tablespoon water
• OPTIONAL: 1 egg
• OPTIONAL: Wheat breadcrumbs
• OPTIONAL: Adobo

Get 'cha grill on:

1. Heat up your grill. If you don't have a grill, you can use a grill pan, pan broil or a George Foreman. Or if you're me, you can cheat by rescuing two leftover burgers from a Georgia Beef Board event the day before! :)
2. Form the burgers into small patties, about the size of the palm of your hand. When Justin and I make burgers, we will also put in some wheat breadcrumbs, a tablespoon of water and one egg to keep the patties bound together. We also sprinkle in some adobo, a Hispanic salty seasoning, for added flavor.
3. Toss the burgers on the grill. Keep an eye on them and only try to turn them once!
4. As the burgers are grilling, cook the bacon in a small amount of olive oil over the stove. As the bacon begins to get golden brown, toss in the spinach and wilt it in the bacon grease. If you chose to use turkey bacon, be aware: It will cook faster due to lower fat content and will have less grease, so you'll probably have to add some additional olive oil when you throw the spinach in.
5. When the burgers are done (they should be 160 degrees F inside!), lower the heat and place a slice of provolone cheese on top. If you're doing this on the stove, cover the burgers with a pot lid to help the cheese melt quicker.
6. Place burger on bun and top with the bacon and spinach.

Boom, done. That easy. You can put sauce on the burgers if you want, but I prefer the flavors of the meats and the spinach speak for themselves!