Smoky BBQ Bacon Burger
A loaded burger featuring crispy bacon, tangy BBQ sauce, cheddar cheese, and crunchy onion rings.
- Prep
- 15min
- Cook
- 30min
- Total
- 45min
- Serves
- 4
- Calories
- 990per serving, est.
By Time for Burgers, updated
Most of the smoke comes from the bacon and the sauce, since the patty gets only salt and pepper and cooks in a skillet. That makes the BBQ sauce worth choosing carefully: it goes on both halves of the bun and again over the onion rings. The bacon cooks first in the skillet the patties will use, so a thin film of its fat goes into the crust.
The stack is built to hold: lettuce and tomato on the bottom bun, then the cheddar-topped patty, two strips of bacon and three onion rings. Frozen rings keep the work light.
Smoky BBQ Bacon Burger
Prep 15 min, cook 30 min, total 45 min. About 990 calories per serving.
timeforburgers.com/recipes/smoky-bbq-bacon-burger
Serves 4.
Ingredients
Instructions
Tap a step to keep your place.
Bake the frozen onion rings according to the package directions, usually 15-20 minutes in a hot oven. Start them first so they finish with the patties.
Meanwhile, lay 8 strips bacon in a large cold skillet, set it over medium heat and cook, turning occasionally, until crisp, 8-10 minutes; work in two batches if the strips don't fit in one layer. Drain on paper towels and pour off all but a thin film of fat.
Season ground beef with salt and pepper, then form into 4 equal patties.
Add 1 tbsp olive oil to the same skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Cook patties for 4-5 minutes per side, until an instant-read thermometer in the center of a patty reads 160°F (71°C). Add cheddar slices in the last minute.
Toast sesame seed buns until lightly golden.
Assemble burgers: spread BBQ sauce on both bun halves, place lettuce leaves and tomato slices on bottom buns, add beef patties with melted cheddar, top with 2 strips of bacon and 3 onion rings per burger, drizzle with extra BBQ sauce, then crown with top buns. Serve with extra BBQ sauce on the side.
Tips
- If the onion rings bake at 425°F (220°C), bake the bacon on a rack beside them for 12-18 minutes instead. It cooks flat, which stacks better than curled skillet strips.
- Cook the bacon until fully crisp. Chewy bacon drags out of the burger in one strip at the first bite.
- Time the onion rings to come out with the patties and add them last. Once sauced they soften within minutes, so drizzle lightly.
Substitutions
- Smoked cheddar or smoked gouda for plain cheddar: more smoke without changing the sauce.
- Ground turkey instead of beef: cook to 165°F (74°C); the bacon and sauce make up for the leaner meat.
- Gluten-free: a gluten-free bun, and check the BBQ sauce and onion ring labels, since many frozen rings use a wheat batter.
- Homemade beer-battered onion rings instead of frozen: crisper, but start them before the patties.
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 in a skillet to 165°F (74°C). Store leftover onion rings separately and reheat them in a hot oven, since they go soft once sauced.
