Ground bacon is excellent, especially in burgers. I am lucky to have Ventura County Meat Co. nearby because they specialize in local, grass-fed, sustainable meats and they always have great stuff including ground bacon. Last year I got and cooked a kick-ass, thick-cut bison ribeye from them for my birthday and it was amazing… the best bison I have had to date. If you want ground bacon and don’t have a meat grinder, ask your butcher to grind it for you. The guy at my local grocery store is very accommodating and always slices my london broil for jerky for me.
Back to the bacon. I know some burger joints out there do burgers that are half ground bacon and half ground beef. I am a huge bacon fan but I prefer to make a bacon burger that is not so rich but still quite bacony (trust me) and consists of 1/3 ground bacon and 2/3 ground beef. A few tips… If you are grilling your burger, do so on a low heat. You don’t want lots of fire and burnt burgers as some of the fat cooks off. Also, I like using a sharp cheddar on bacon burgers because it stands up to the bacon better. Finally, do not mess with your burger too much while its cooking. I think this rule goes with any burger but it especially applies to bacon burgers. These burgers kind of want to fall apart a little so you should wait until one side is cooked well and nice and firm until you flip them. I always try to only flip my burgers once. I ate this burger simply with ketchup and mustard on a freshly baked ciabatta roll. It was simple, sweet, salty, smoky, cheesy goodness.
3 replies on “Bacon Burgers”
Wow, I even learn things here, cool! I never knew you can ground bacon, and I absolutely never knew places do 1/2 or any ground bacon with the ground beef to make a burger. I’m in NY, maybe places don’t do it here or maybe I just never knew. Another great recipe. Thanks :o)
You’re welcome! I’ve heard of Slater’s 50/50, a chain out here making bacon burgers but have never been. It’s super fun trying different combos of bacon and beef at home though.
I saw an interesting tip on TV last week. If you make a dimple with your thumb on the top of the raw burger (like a shallow well) (don’t let the dimple go through to the bottom side) it will keep the burger from shrinking while it’s cooking. Seemed like a good idea to me.