This bacon burger came to be because I’d been experimenting with adding ground bacon to the ground beef in my hamburger patties. It seemed though that I couldn’t get the flavour I was looking for by just adding ground, uncooked bacon to the burger meat, even when I added as much as 25% bacon to the mix.

Out of frustration I bought some double smoked, dry cured, thick cut bacon, cut it in small bacon-bit sized pieces and rendered most of the fat out of it before adding it to the ground beef. I then left the burger patties in the fridge overnight to let the flavour of the bacon permeate the meat. Eureka, it worked! The patties still had substantial beef flavour but with the smokiness of delicious bacon in every bite.



Ingredients
For the burger patties.
1¼ pounds medium to lean ground beef
8 slices thick cut smoked bacon
For the Roasted Garlic Mayo
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ small head of roasted garlic (about 6 cloves)
1 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (use any you like, I used a little rosemary, chives and oregano because that is what I had on hand.)
pinch salt and pepper
You will also need
Red Onion Jam
4-6 ounces marble cheddar cheese, sliced
crisp lettuce leaves
sliced tomatoes
4 toasted burger buns

Instructions
To prepare the burger patties
Cut the bacon slices into a fine dice and cook until most of the pfat has been rendered out and the bacon begins to crisp.
Drain off the fat and cool the cooked bacon bits to room temperature.
When cool, mix the bacon bits with the ground beef and form into 4 patties about 4½ inches wide.
You can leave the patties in the fridge overnight if you like but it's good to make them at least a couple of hours beforehand, to let the flavor of the bacon permeate the meat.
To prepare the Roasted Garlic and Herb Mayo
Simply pulse all of the ingredients together in a blender until the roasted garlic has been fully incorporated and the mayo is smooth.
To make the burgers
Grill the burger patties until fully cooked, about 3-4 minutes per side. Add the sliced cheese when you flip the burgers so that it has time to melt.
Add the red onion jam to the bottom half of the bun before adding the burger pattie. Top with lettuce and tomato. Spread the mayo on the top bun and serve.










Notes

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