It’s Labor Day weekend and to many, the last weekend of summer. When I think of summer, I think of being outside, fun in the sun, backyard barbeques, and grilling. When I think of grilling, I think of burgers. So in a culinary toast to the unofficial end of summer, I want to share this great burger recipe with you.
I love caramelized onions and Derek loves a good bacon cheeseburger so when Food Network Magazine’s June 2015 edition had an article about burger joints popular among Hollywood’s rich and famous one of those burgers had an onion-bacon compote called The Office Burger, I knew I had to try it. It would be the best of both worlds.
Derek put his own spin on the burger itself by adding some bacon fat and Worcestershire. Talk about adding an indulgent flavor to your burger – you have got to try lean meat with bacon fat. When I cook bacon in a skillet, I spoon the fat into a mason jar and keep it in the fridge and save it for very special things like this. If you don’t have bacon fat make sure to buy 80/20 beef.
Here’s what you need:
I had some pre-cooked bacon in the fridge, if you don’t, chop the bacon into lardons (strips) and cook. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the pan and continue to make the caramelized onions.
If you are starting with precooked bacon like me, then you’re going to want to add either a tablespoon of reserved bacon fat and a tablespoon of butter or just two tablespoons of butter into a skillet. Melt the fat over medium-low heat. Add thinly sliced onions. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes.
When the onions start to look a little golden, uncover, and add the garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are nice and dark. Add a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and cook until the onions are glazed, a minute or so.
Now it’s time to add back the reserved bacon as well as season with a pinch of salt and couple grinds of pepper. Just let this hang out while you make the burgers.
For the burgers combine ½ lb lean ground beef (we used 93/7), with a couple tablespoons solid bacon fat, a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, a pinch of salt and a little pepper. Mix just until combined – do not overmix the meat. Form the meat into two equal round patties and press your thumb in the center to indent. The indentation is important, you see burgers shrink as they cook and when the center is indented a little it will actually allow the patty to flatten out as it shrinks.
Heat a grill for medium-high heat. Toast the buns and set aside. Grill burgers about 4-5 minutes per side.
During the last minute of cooking time, sprinkle on the blue cheese and the gruyere. Cover the grill to allow the cheeses to melt.
Assemble the burgers on toasted buns, top with onion-bacon compote and arugula.
The spicy arugula pairs really nicely with the creamy and tangy blue cheese and the rich, flavor of the burgers and compote. I’m not the burger lover my husband is but I LOVED these burgers.
- 3 slices bacon, chopped into lardons
- 1 T bacon fat reserved from cooking bacon
- 1 T butter
- 1-1/2 onions, thinly slices
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 T balsamic vinegar
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- ½ lb lean ground beef (I used 93/7)
- 2 T bacon fat
- 3 dashes Worcestershire
- 2 Egg buns
- 2 oz gruyere cheese, shredded
- 2 oz blue cheese
- 1 c baby arugula
- Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until the lardons are crispy. Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. Drain all but one tablespoon of fat from the pan.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add a tablespoon of butter to melt. Add the onions and cover. Cook for about 15 minutes until beginning to turn golden brown, stirring occasionally. Uncover and stir in the garlic. Cook until deep golden, continuing to stir occasionally. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and cook a minute or so more until glazed. Stir in the bacon, a pinch of salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Set aside.
- Make the burgers. Combine the ground beef, bacon fat, Worcestershire, a pinch of salt, and pepper until just mixed. Divide evenly and shape into patties, pressing your thumb in the center of each patty.
- Preheat grill over medium-high heat. Toast the buns. Cook the burgers for about 4-5 minutes per side. During the last minute of cooking time sprinkle both cheeses evenly over the burgers and cover to allow the cheese to melt.
- Assemble the burgers on top of the toasted buns. Top with bacon-onion compote and baby arugula.
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