Don't skimp on the cheese!
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter
- salt
- 1 pound ground beef thawed
- 5 slices bacon 3 for topping, 2 diced into small pieces
- 1/2 medium vidalia onion sliced (2 tabespoons grated)
- 3 slices smoked cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup barbecue sauce (kc masterpiece original)
- 3 buns good quality
- Carbohydrate 49.4589468502452 g
- Cholesterol 300.610908441937 mg
- Fat 113.953414577132 g
- Fiber 2.089090881104 g
- Protein 67.4654739445256 g
- Saturated Fat 44.8715381767158 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (532g)
- Sodium 1175.46506096565 mg
- Sugar 47.3698559691412 g
- Trans Fat 22.8324122533479 g
- Calories 1508 calories
Step-by-step
- Begin by combining the ground beef, garlic, diced bacon, 1/2 of the barbecue sauce, the grated onion, salt and pepper.
- Form into 3 equal size patties and flatten out to 1/2 inch thick.
- It may seem thin, but they will plump up.
- I like to use 85% lean ground beef for burgers.
- It keeps them nice and juicy.
- For the onions, begin by melting the butter over low low heat.
- Once it is melted, add the onions and "sweat" them down until they are carmalized and really sweet.
- If your onions are frying, your heat is on too high.
- This process should take around 30 minutes if you do it correctly.
- Remove from heat and cover with foil.
- Fry your bacon however you like.
- Begin frying the burgers, but take care no never press them down with your spatula.
- This will dry out the burgers.
- Cook them to the desired doneness.
- In the last minute or two of cooking, place a slice of cheese on them and cover.
- Remove from heat and let set for 5 minutes.
- This will allow the burger to retain it's juices and not get the bun soggy.
- To construct the burger, simply place a patty ont he bun, top with bacon, then carmalized onions, and finally a touch of remaining barbecue sauce.
Ingredient lists rarely reveal the physical transformations occurring in the pan. Ground chuck featuring an 85 percent lean ratio provides the necessary fat percentage to keep patties from drying out during cooking. Incorporating finely diced raw bacon directly into the beef mixture adds localized pockets of rendered fat, though swapping this beef for a 93 percent lean alternative requires adding two tablespoons of neutral oil to prevent crumbling. Slicing Vidalia onions thinly and sweating them over low heat demands a full thirty minutes; if the pan sizzles audibly, the temperature is too high and sugars will burn rather than sweeten. Pressing down on patties with a spatula squeezes out moisture, destroying the internal juices that create a tender texture. Allowing cooked patties to rest for five minutes redistributes remaining moisture so the juices do not soak through the toasted bun. Melting smoked cheddar over the beef during the final two minutes of cooking creates a barrier that traps internal steam.
