Maple Bacon Breakfast Burger
Breakfast burger with a beef patty, crispy bacon, a fried egg, sharp cheddar, and maple syrup on a toasted English muffin.
- Prep
- 10min
- Cook
- 20min
- Total
- 30min
- Serves
- 4
- Calories
- 950per serving, est.
By Time for Burgers, updated
Cook the bacon first and keep its fat in the pan: the patties sear in it and pick up smoke and salt before any bacon goes on top. The eggs fry separately in butter, and a toasted English muffin replaces the bun, because its firm, craggy crumb holds up under egg and syrup better than soft bread.
Maple syrup on a cheeseburger works for the same reason it works next to bacon and pancakes: the sweetness sharpens everything salty. Sharp cheddar keeps it from tipping into dessert. About 15 ml (1 tablespoon) per burger is plenty.
Maple Bacon Breakfast Burger
Prep 10 min, cook 20 min, total 30 min. About 950 calories per serving.
timeforburgers.com/recipes/maple-bacon-breakfast-burger
Serves 4.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Cook 8 slices bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels and set aside.
Season ground beef with salt and pepper, then form into 4 equal patties with a slight indentation in the center.
In the same skillet with bacon fat, cook patties over medium-high heat for 4-5 minutes per side, until an instant-read thermometer in the center of a patty reads 160°F (71°C).
Top each patty with cheddar slices during the last minute of cooking, covering the pan so the cheese melts.
In a separate pan, melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat and fry eggs sunny-side up or over-easy until whites are set but yolks remain runny, about 3-4 minutes.
Toast English muffins until golden, then assemble burgers: place beef patties with melted cheese on bottom muffins, top with bacon, add a fried egg, drizzle with ¼ cup maple syrup, and crown with top muffins.
Tips
- Pour off all but a thin film of bacon fat before the patties go in. Too much fat fries the beef instead of searing it, and it spatters hard.
- Start the eggs when the cheese goes on the patties so everything is ready at once. Medium heat keeps the whites tender rather than crisp and rubbery.
- For young children, older adults, pregnant people or anyone with a weakened immune system, fry the eggs until the yolks are fully set. A firm yolk is the safer choice.
- Toast the muffins until the cut sides are crisp; that crust keeps egg and syrup from soaking straight through.
Substitutions
- Ground pork breakfast sausage instead of beef: skip most of the salt, since sausage is already seasoned, and cook it to 160°F (71°C).
- A split biscuit or brioche bun for the English muffin: softer and richer, but it soaks up more syrup, so toast it well.
- Pepper jack for cheddar: its heat plays off the maple syrup.
Make ahead & storage
Cook the bacon up to 3 days ahead and recrisp it in a skillet. Cooked patties keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge; reheat them to 165°F (74°C). Fry the eggs fresh each time, since reheated fried eggs turn rubbery.
