Bloody Mary Meatloaf Burger | A TV Dinner-Inspired Burger

Instructions

For the Bloody Mary Glaze

1. Pour the Bloody Mary mix into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil until reduced to 1 cup. 
2. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate until ready to use. (May be made 2 days ahead)

For the Meatloaf Burgers

1. Break up the white bread a bit and put it in a bowl.
2. Pour the milk on top and let soak until soft.
3. Crack the egg into the bowl and whisk to combine the egg and soggy bread. You can leave the crusts on the bread, but just make sure everything is whisked together into sort of a paste. You don't want any big bread chunks.
4. Place the beef/pork mixture in a large bowl. Pour over the bread/egg mixture, the 1/2 cup of Bloody Mary glaze, salt, seasoned salt, and pepper.
5. Mix fairly gently but thoroughly until all ingredients are evenly combined.
6. Cook about 1 Tablespoon of the mix in a hot skillet. Taste and adjust seasonings in the rest of the mix as necessary.
7. Shape the remaining mix into 8 patties of equal size. Make a deep indentation in the center of each burger, about the size of a quarter. This will help keep the burgers fairly flat as they cook.
8. Cook in a hot cast iron skillet, on the grill or in a grill pan for about 4 minutes a side. Spread 1 Tablespoon of glaze evenly on each patty once you've flipped it. Once the burgers have had an additional 3 minutes or so on the second side, put them under the broiler for 2 minutes to set the glaze.

For the Green Pea Aoili

1. Barely cover the peas with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 4 minutes or so until peas are just tender but still bright green.
2. Drain the peas and run cold water over them to keep them from continuing to cook.
3. Place the peas, salt, butter, lemon pepper, garlic powder and lemon juice in your blender jar and blend on medium speed to puree.
4. Drizzle the olive oil into the peas in a steady stream, and then turn the blender up to high and blend until completely smooth. Taste, and adjust seasonings to your liking. (May be made 2 days ahead. You'll have more than you need for the burgers--this stuff makes a great sandwich spread, or you could even eat it as a hummus-like dip with vegetables or chips)

For the Frizzled Shallots

1. Peel and slice the shallots, cross-wise, as thinly as you can. Separate them into individual rings. 
2. Soak in ice water for 5 minutes, drain and pat dry.
3. In a large ziptop bag, combine the flour and seasoned salt. Shake to combine evenly.
4. Toss the dried shallot rings with the seasoned flour. 
5. Heat the vegetable in the pan until a bit of flour will sizzle almost immediately. When the oil is hot, add the shallots, shaking off excess flour.
6. Fry, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown.
7. Immediately remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Shallots will continue to cook once they're on the paper towel, so take them out of the oil when they are a bit shy of golden brown. Cool. They can sit, covered, at room temperature for a day.

For the Tater Tots Tostones

1. Place the Tots on a lined baking sheet and bake at 425F for 25 minutes. Remove them from the oven and put them on a large cutting board or other smooth, clean work surface
2. Using the bottom of a glass or a measuring cup, press each tot so it's flat and about as big around as a silver dollar.
3. Place the smashed tots back on the baking tray and bake 10 additional minutes, 15 if you want them super crisp.
4. Flip the tots over and bake for 5-10 more minutes, until fairly crispy.

To Assemble and Serve

1. Spread both halves of each bun with about 1-1 1/2 Tablespoons of green pea aoili.
2. Top the bottom aoili-ed bun with two pieces of bacon, broken to fit. I don't like it when pieces hang out of a burger. If you don't mind, leave them whole.
3. Top the bacon with a slice of American cheese. Put in the toaster oven or under the broiler for 2-3 minutes to get the cheese a bit melty-but-not-drippy.
4. Top the cheese with a Bloody Mary meatloaf burger patty. Add 4 Tater Tots Tostones on top of the burger followed by a tablespoon or so of the frizzled shallots. Top with the top bun and press down lightly.