For those of you who haven’t heard of this delicious gluttonous meal; you’ve obviously been hiding behind an extremely slow bandwidth. No, this burger is not made out of turtle meat. We did say that it’s a gluttonous meal, not an exotic one. The Bacon Turtle Burger is an amazing burger that combines hotdogs, beef, and bacon all in one. A combination of multiple meats for the over zealous carnivore. And this particular version even brings melted cheese into the mix. Have you heard of the Juicy Lucy? Yep, it’s just like that. But different. And by different, we mean wrapped-in-bacon and steal-your-heart different. Don’t know what we’re talking about? Look at the pictures, follow the recipe below, and be your own Gluttonous Meal Master. C’mon, it’s covered in bacon. ‘Nuff said.

Ingredients:
4 oz. lean beef
1 pack of Hot Dogs
1 package of Bacon (at least ten strips)
Cheddar cheese (or any cheese of your choice)
1 egg white
Spices (salt, pepper, garlic salt, Worchestire sauce)

Directions:
1. Start by weaving the bacon just like a basket. Cut some of the fat off the outside of the bacon if you need to in order to make it straight. Make it into a square. (5X5 strips of bacon usually work.)
2. Mix the ground meat, spices and egg white together in a bowl. (The egg whites are used to help hold things together.)
3. Make a thin, flat meat patty with part of the meat.
4. Place the meat on the center of the bacon weave.
5. Place some cheese slices on the center of the patty. Make sure there is a “crust” of burger meat around the cheese.
6. Place another thinly formed meat patty on top of the cheese and form it into one meat patty. (Form the edges of the meat together- causing the meat patty to be “filled” with the cheese.)
7. Fold the bacon weave over it.
8. Take out three hotdogs. Make 2 cuts on both ends of two of the hot dogs (acting as the “feet”.) Cut the two hot dogs directly in half. Now you have the feet.
9. With the other hot dog, cut it in half, and on one end, cut the hot dog into a point to act as the tail. The other end will be the head.
10. Make holes in the bacon weave, (one each for the head, tail, and four legs), poke hot dogs into the body- embedding them into the meat by about 1/2 and inch to 1 inch.
11. Use extra bacon to cover the gap and bring stray ends of bacon into the weave.
12. Use a spatula to get it onto the pan.
13. Put toothpicks (that have been soaking in water) into the body to secure the hot dogs and keep the bacon ends secure.
14. Cook the Bacon Turtle at 400 to 450 degrees (depending upon oven)
*Cooking time will vary so check the turtle to see how well done you want your burger to be. For less cooked, make sure it’s still juicy. If juices aren’t flowing, your turtle will be well done.

And what’s beautiful about this Turtle, (aside from the sexy bacon), is that you can make a regular burger as opposed to the cheeseburger. Skip the egg whites and just make a meat patty for the center of the Bacon Turtle Burger. After it’s cooked, throw cheese on top, or an egg, or peanut butter… We don’t care what you put on it, just do it. You only live once and this baby just might bring you closer to that final date, but who cares? Go ahead and walk on the wild side.

Bacon Jam Spinach Dip

Ingredients:
-Kosher salt
-1 10-ounce bags spinach, stems removed
-1 10-ounce bag of arugula
-1 tablespoon unsalted butter
-2 tablespoons minced onion
-1 clove garlic, minced
-2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
-1 1/4 cups whole milk
-1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
-1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese
-1/4 cup sour cream, plus more for serving
-1/4 cup Skillet Bacon Spread
-1/2 cup shredded white sharp cheddar cheese
-1/2 cup frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, squeezed dry and finely chopped
-Tortilla chips and salsa, for serving

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Stir in the spinach and arugula and cook until bright green, about 30 seconds. Drain and rinse under cold water; squeeze out the excess moisture, then finely chop.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until the onion is soft, about 2 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 2 minute. Remove from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice, bacon jam, Parmesan and sour cream. Return the pot to low heat. Add the spinach, cheddar and artichokes and stir until the cheese melts and the dip is heated through, maybe 1 minute. Serve warm with tortilla chips, or a sliced baguette.

And enjoy! Who knew bacon and spinach could be so delicious together? Wait… we did.

Bacon Today: So, being a bacon enthusiast, when did your love for bacon begin?
Adam Poch: As far back as I can remember! My father used to always cook bacon on the weekends. My bedroom was right near the kitchen, so I would wake up to the delicious smell of bacon. So of course I would always wake up happy when there was bacon cooking!
BT: Waking up to the smell of bacon would make any kid happy.
AP: Bacon just makes everything better.

BT: True. What would you say your favorite bacon recipe is?
Adam Poch:I do not have one favorite recipe myself, but by far the best use of bacon I have ever eaten, was Dynamo Donuts in San Fran[cisco]. They have a bacon-apple maple donut that is out of this world. Look at this thing!

BT: That sounds delicious! And… different. Bacon, apple, and maple. Wow. What a mix of flavors. What would you say is the craziest bacon recipe that you’ve ever heard of?
AP: If I could mention another website? Epic Meal Time’s Bacon Explosion. I have yet to try it, but one of these days I WILL!!!

BT: Well, the BBQ Addicts are the ones who came up with the Bacon Explosion, but we’ll let that one slide. The Epic Meal Time guys sure are an innovative and entertaining bunch. Moving on… Have you tried the Bacontini?
AP: To be honest – I love Appletini’s and I love bacon – but, I have never had a Bacontini.

BT: You should! Have you tried any other bacon and booze drinks though? There are a few others out there.
AP: I’m a huge bourbon fan, and have had Bacon flavored bourbon in a Manhattan. It was so good. I learned how to make it at a Bacon Bourbon event at Astor Wines.

BT: Mmm, sounds good. Bacon bourbon sure is a good treat. Speaking of treats, when you were on the show, “Big Brother”, you received a bunch of bacon products. Did you end up sharing them with the others?
AP: Of course I did – the only thing better than eating bacon is sharing bacon. The Gummy Bacon is not made from real bacon, but it is still delicious. I also got some hot pockets and potato skins with bacon – so I shared them with the other HGs [House Guests]. On the first morning, I made my mark on the house by cooking up two pounds of bacon, and left the plate on the counter. Everyone was laughing at me, but before you know it, it was all gone.

BT: Two pounds of bacon is quite a bit. And not eating any of it yourself is tough. But really, how many slices of bacon could you eat in one sitting?
AP: I never counted, but let’s just say there have been some breakfast buffets that asked me to leave since there wasn’t any bacon left for anyone else!

BT: Being asked to leave a buffet? Wow. That shows some serious love… or gluttony. We’re not really sure which though. Depends on who you’re asking, I suppose.
AP: Haha!

BT: Speaking of love, if you could be with Tori Spelling but you had to give up bacon completely, would you do it?
AP: I can always watch Tori on TV and eat bacon. She’s happily married, and I have a wonderful girlfriend. We both have bacon. Let’s leave things as it is!

BT: That works. With that being said, we know it’s an odd question but we just think they’re super cool. Tell me, would you ever wear a bacon suit?
AP: Yes, but only if it was made of real bacon!

BT: Really? That’s impressive. Where would you wear it to? A bar? The movies?
AP: I would wear it everywhere!

BT: Everywhere?
AP: Except the zoo. The animals may attack me!

BT: Ha, well that is most likely true. Although, you may get the same reaction from pork-loving men… and women. But lastly, if you had to describe bacon in only three words, what would they be?
AP: Crispy Salty AWESOMENESS!

Well, there you have it! Adam Poch is a man who gets kicked out of buffets for devouring all the bacon and wouldn’t give up bacon for any woman. He is also a man who is completely willing to wear a bacon suit out on the town. Definitely sounds like a good candidate for a Bacon Spokesman, to us. Anyone who is willing to wear crispy, greasy slabs of bacon on themselves while sipping a Bacontini at a bar gets our vote. Adam Poch, you can be our bacon hero any day. Just for that, we give you a T-shirt and thank you for wearing it out with pride. And if you would like to hear more of what Adam has to say, follow him on twitter @HeavyMetalTeddy or through his blog.
Bacon lovers unite!