Lightened-Up Inside-Out Bacon Cheddar Burger
Ah, the juicy burgers of summer cookouts! They taste so good — but are so often huge fat and calorie bombs. The sad truth is that most homemade burgers have well over 800 calories. But it is possible to pack all that savory meaty flavor, oozing melting cheese, and yes, even bacon into a big, satisfying burger without blowing your dietary allotment for the entire day. A typical homemade 6-ounce burger alone can easily pack 450 calories — and the bun, cheese and bacon will add another 400. And that’s without any sauce or mayo. So we reconstructed the burger to pack in all that great decadent flavor with about half the calories and saturated fat. Lightened-up burger tips: Use 93% lean ground beef. This is the optimal point, at which the meat won’t dry out but is reasonably lean. Swap regular mayo for a canola-based version to save 50 calories and 6 grams of fat per tablespoon. Toss reduced-fat cheese with chopped bacon to get more smoky bacon flavor in every bite. Think small whe