Beefy Bacon Blue Cheese Burger with Whiskey Caramelized Onions tops a cheese-stuffed patty made from a blend of ground beef and smoky bacon with caramelized sweet whiskey onions, habanero jelly, crisp greens and fresh thyme.
Created during a “Build Your Own Burger-Bar” dinner night this winning burger flavor is a combination of smoky, salty bacon, juicy ground beef, and umami-rich blue cheese balanced with fresh herbs and sweet, spicy jam.
Build your own burger bar
Putting together a Build-Your-Own Burger spread is an easy way to satisfy everyone – those with sophisticated palettes AND those with simpler tastes enjoy burgers just. the. way. they. like. them.
Whether they pile ‘em high or leave ‘em plain, customizing dinner is easy when you set out a variety of spreads and topping and let everyone choose for themselves.
“DIY dinners” like this are a simple way to feed your entire crowd at once without feeling like a short order cook. Great for build-your-own burritos, pizzas, rice bowls, soups and more!
To prepare an at home burger bar simply set out all sorts of toppings, seasonings and spreads and serve the burgers separately. Then let everyone get down with their own creations. Much like a typical burger night but with even more options.
Take it up a notch and turn it into a creativity competition with judging for creativity and taste. Then choose one person as the reigning winner until the next ‘burger night’. Also a great idea for DIY pizza night!
Gourmet bacon burger
The reigning ‘burger champ’ in our house is currently muah (hi! it’s me!!) thanks to the Whiskey Onion Blue Cheese Bacon Burger. This gourmet burger combination is smoky, salty, sweet and spicy with a cheese stuffed bacon beef patty grilled to perfection and balanced with a pretzel bun, fresh thyme, crisp greens and habanero jam.
Ingredients
- Ground beef
- Sliced bacon – divided into ¼ pound chopped bacon for the burger patties and ¼ pound sliced bacon for serving.
- Blue cheese crumbles – or any other flavorful, creamy cheese like goat cheese, feta or brie.
- Pretzel buns – add a nice chewy texture and extra flavor but any bun (or even lettuce!) can be substituted.
- Habanero pepper jelly – jalapeño jelly or chili onion jam
- Salt and pepper
- Arugula – Mixed greens or lettuce
- Sliced onion – half a large sweet onion or one smaller white or yellow onion
- Butter
- Thyme – fresh or dried
- Whiskey – or substitute with apple juice, cider, beer or stock.
Instructions
- Cook bacon slices and set aside.
- Make whiskey onions by slowly cooking sliced onion with butter, salt and thyme in a large heavy bottomed pan until soft and browned, about 15 minutes.
- Carefully pour whiskey over onions stirring to deglaze, releasing the flavorful onion bits off the bottom. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Form bacon beef burger patties by stirring 1 part chopped bacon together with 4 parts ground beef. Mix until combined and form into burger patties, using a light hand to stuffing with a few blue cheese crumbles.
- When ready to grill, season with salt and pepper and grill until cooked through. Placing on a hot grill, cook 4 minutes covered on the first side. Then flip and continue cooking to desired doneness, 5-7 minutes more.
- During the last 1-2 minutes of grilling, toast pretzel buns on a cool side of the grill then smear with habanero jelly.
- Place each patty on a grilled pretzel bun and top with blue cheese, whiskey sautéed onions, lettuce (or a pickle!), fresh thyme and crumbled bacon.
- Enjoy!
How to make burgers on the stove
Don’t feel like firing up the grill? No problem! Instead of grilling make burgers on the stove top for an even easier weeknight dinner. To cook burgers on the stove season patties and place in large preheated cast iron or heavy bottomed skillet and cook 4 minutes before turning. Continue cooking on the second side to taste, 5-7 minutes longer.
Make it your own
- Up the bacon flavor and make the whiskey onions in the same pan that you crisped the bacon slices in. After the bacon is removed use bacon grease in place of butter when caramelizing the Whiskey Onions.
- Or substitute apple juice or any other liquid in place of the whiskey.
- Add even more hearty flavor by blending chopped mushrooms into the patties along with the bacon and ground beef.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ pound sliced bacon divided, 8 ounces
- ½ large sweet onion or 1 small yellow onion
- 1 ½ tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon fresh thyme or ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ cup whiskey
- 2 ounces blue cheese crumbles
- 4 pretzel buns
- ¼ cup habanero pepper jelly or jalapeño jelly or chili onion jam
- salt and pepper
- arugula any other crisp green or lettuce
Instructions
- Divide bacon into two ¼ pound portions. Chop one portion and reserve to be used in the burger patties. Cook the other portion until crisp and save for later serving on the burger.
- Meanwhile, make whiskey onions. Combine onion, butter, salt, and thyme in a skillet over medium heat. Stirring frequently cook until soft and browned, about 15 minutes. Carefully pour in whiskey to deglaze the bits off the bottom of the pan and stir with a wooden spoon. Simmer for about a minute to remove remaining moisture and set aside until ready to use.
- In a large bowl make bacon beef burger patties. Stir uncooked, chopped bacon into ground beef. Using a light hand form into burger patties, stuffing a few blue cheese crumbles in the center.
- When ready to grill, season with salt and pepper and grill until cooked through. Placing on a hot grill, cook 4 minutes covered on the first side. Then flip and continue cooking to desired doneness, 5-7 minutes more.
- During the last 1-2 minutes of grilling, toast pretzel buns on a cool side of the grill then smear with habanero jelly.
- Place each patty on a grilled pretzel bun and top with blue cheese, whiskey sautéed onions, lettuce (or a pickle!), fresh thyme and cooked bacon.
Video
Nutrition
Enjoy!
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