Bacon Today » burger

Pinwheel Burger

Mr. B. — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 10:00:55 +0000

Here is yet another great recipe sent from a Bacon Today reader, enjoy…

Ingredients:

2 lbs lean sirloin, coarse ground
1 lb thick bacon
1-2 poblano peppers
1/4 lb smoked gouda (any cheese will do, depending on preference, or omit cheese)
whole garlic cloves (to taste, and I like LOTS of garlic)
small onion

Start by cutting the bacon into small pieces, 1/2″ long or so, and cook them just to get a little bit of the fat out. Sirloin is lean, so the fat in the bacon will help all of this hold together. Don’t cook out too much of it, unless you want the crunchies. In this case, the cheese might be more necessary. I prefer to roast my Poblano peppers over a fire, but oven roasting is ok. When the skin get bubbly and looks charred in spots, remove and peel the skin off. (tip: Put them in a sealed container for a few minutes and the skin is much easier to remove.) Remove the seeds, cut julienne style, and set aside. Mince the garlic and dice the onion. In the same pan you cooked the bacon in, assuming you didn’t dump the fat, saute your onion and garlic. Now that all of these have been prepped, roll out some foil or wax paper and spread your sirloin onto it about 1/2″ thick or less, in a rectangle. Layer the bacon, julienned peppers, sauteed garlic and onions on the sirloin. Top with shredded or finely diced cheese and roll. The foil makes the rolling much easier. Once that’s done, set it in the fridge for a few hours and let the fat do it’s thing. It will stay together better if allowed to sit for a while, but you can just cut it into slices and grill right away.

BAM! – Emeril Lagasse Brings His Gourmet Expertise To The Bacon Burger!

Boss Hog — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:00:13 +0000

There have been so many numerous incarnations and variations of the Bacon Burger over the past few months, that everybody’s favorite “Gourmet Guru” Emiril Lagasse; finally decided that enough is enough … and BAM … has now released this absolutely awesome recipe from his very own personal collection “tempting taste treat treasures,” specifically custom crafted for us genuine gourmands seeking a more elevated evolution of the burgers currently being bantered about by every single fast food chain on the planet.

Emeril’s Home-Ground Burgers with Bacon, Cheese, and Fresh Thyme

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes

6 ounces bacon, chopped

1 cup finely chopped onion

3 tablespoons thinly sliced garlic

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 slices cheddar cheese

4 sesame-seed hamburger rolls, lightly toasted

1 1/2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce

8 thin slices tomato

Mayonnaise, for serving

Ketchup, for serving

Mustard, for serving

Pickles, for serving

Ingredients for Orange-Habanero Ketchup

2 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 habanero chile, stemmed and seeded

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1/4 teaspoon ground mace

One 28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes (with the juice), broken into pieces

Cooking Directions

1. Place the diced chuck in a large bowl.

2. Set a 10-inch sauté pan over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is crisp and most of the fat has been rendered (for about 7 or 8 minutes.)

3. Add the onions to the pan and cook them until they are softened (about 4 to 5 minutes.)

4. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute, until it’s fragrant.

5. Add the thyme and toss to combine.

6. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the mixture over the diced chuck. Drizzle with the Worcestershire, and season with the salt and pepper. Toss gently but thoroughly to combine. Cover and set aside to marinate, refrigerated, for 1 hour.

7. Assemble a home grinder according to the manufacturer’s instructions, using a medium die for grinding. Grind the meat mixture and then gently form it into 4 patties, being careful not to overwork it. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

8. Pre-heat a grill to medium, and lightly oil the grate.

9. Remove the patties from the refrigerator and place them on the grill. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes. Then turn them over and place 2 slices of the cheddar on each burger. Cook for another 7 to 8 minutes for medium-rare to medium, or until the burgers are cooked to the desired degree of doneness.

10. Place a burger on the bottom of each of the 4 toasted buns. Dress with the lettuce

and tomatoes, and add mayo, ketchup, mustard, and pickles as desired. Serve immediately.

How to Prepare the Orange-Habanero Ketchup

1. Set a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onions, habanero, garlic, and ginger and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes, until softened.

2. Add the wine vinegar, cider vinegar, brown sugar, orange juice, orange zest, kosher salt, mustard, and mace. Stir to combine.

3. Bring the sauce to a boil, and add the tomatoes and tomato juices. Continue to cook for about 20 or 25 minutes until the liquid has been reduced by half.

2. Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside to cool briefly, then transfer the mixture to a food processor, and puree until very smooth. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

3. Store the ketchup in a clean non-reactive container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. This preparation yields about 3 cups.

Special thanks for this recipe go out to Chef Emeril Lagasse, from the book “Emeril at the Grill”, published by Harper Studio Publisher, New York, 2009, courtesy of Martha Stewart’s MSLO, Inc.

A $2.50 Burger and a Heaping Side of Bacon at the Anchor Bar

Corey James — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:01:45 +0000

This weekend I found myself once again at The Anchor Bar in Superior, Wisconsin. After a night of great music at Pizza Luce I was invited to lunch with the fine folks from the two bands that performed the night before: Cars & Trucks and The Evening Rig.

The Anchor Bar is famous in dive bar circles and has been featured on some popular foodie shows in the past couple years. You might think I’m jumping on the bandwagon but I was born in the city of Superior so I’ve got some street cred.

I opted for the plain old $2.50 burger, some greasy bar fries, and a side of bacon. The burgers are what make the Anchor famous, but I go there for the bacon. They prepare their meat candy with all the love and affection you’d expect from northern Wisconsin dive bar — they drop the stips in the deep fryer then toss them on the flat giddle to finish them off. Mmmmmmm…deep fried bacon.

I grabbed one of the perfectly cooked strips of thick bacon and gave it the official taste test. In a word — perfect. For me, there is not a better way to prepare bacon then they do at the Anchor. I then piled the bacon high on my burger and topped it off with dill pickles and a splash of mustard.

The meal was absolute heaven for a bacon lover. If you can wiggle your way up to the south shore of Lake Superior, make the Anchor Bar a lunchtime stop. Make sure to order the Pancake Breakfast Shot as an added bonus.

Smaste™ rating: 42.959

Guacamole Six Dollar Bacon Cheeseburger from Carls Jr.

Corey James — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:01:50 +0000

We first saw the burger on the LCD monitor while filling up at a Shell gas station. Those classic Carls Jr. ads that give mouth-watering a whole new meaning. The burger looked good and we knew we had to try one.

Then, the bacon ideas started flooding in email by email. Our amazing readers continously send in their great bacon finds to bacontoday@gmail.com and the Six Dollar Bacon Burger got buried in a long publication schedule.

Well, Carls Jr. decided to sweeten the deal and send us a couple free coupons to try the Guacamole 6 Dollar Bacon Cheeseburger so we had no more excuses. Mike was busy that night so I called up my good buddy Kevin to help me with the taste test.

Once we ordered our burgers and took our seats we immediately tore off pieces of bacon to give them the Bacon Today standard, unadulterated bacon taste test. Surprisingly, the bacon was quite tasty for fast food fare.

Then it was time to get to business.

We opened the boxes.

Removed the burgers.

And chowed down. Admittedly, I’m not a huge guacamole fan but these burgers were pretty darn good. There was a good deal of spiciness to the burgers which I really loved. Kevin thought it was a bit too spice for his taste.

The Smaste™ rating for these burgers is a decent 29.578. I think there’s room for improvement but definitely a good meal for a fast food bacon fix.

Fatburger Triple King Challenge Times Two

Corey James — Sun, 03 May 2009 08:01:56 +0000

Six all-beef patties and plenty of bacon. That’s the way to start an amazing meal.

Scott was at it again this week, taking on another daunting food challenge. This time his target was the Fatburger Triple King Challenge — the largest burger offered at the Fatburger chain with triple the burger patties stuffed inside.

Since he had already polished off the Fatburger Triple King before, Scott decided he needed to take it a step further. Being a bacon fan, adding meat candy is a must. Not only did he add the bacon however, he also multiplied the Fatburger Triple King by 2 — making it a six-pattie burger that stood nearly half a foot tall!

You may remember Scott from his recent food challenge at The Counter burger joint. Well, his reputation as a standout competitive eater is growing and he’s up for just about anything. He took this double triple king burger and cleaned up every last bite. In fact, he even saved a piece of bacon to use as a scoop to make sure he got every last morsel of tastey goodness.

Take a look at the image gallery and see for yourself what a $20 hamburger meal is made of. Scott, once again we salute you.

Howard’s Famous Bacon & Avocado Burgers

Corey James — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:01:42 +0000

This week Bacon Today wandered around Los Angeles in search of great places to eat bacon. We wound up at a little gem of a restaurant that every bacon lover should seek out if they’re in the L.A. area — Howard’s Famous Bacon & Avocado Burgers.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6zQE6peXs

The restaurant is tiny, the decor is bland, and the location is less than ideal. None of that mattered since we were there for was the food. We ordered up a few burgers and settled ourselves into one of the 5 booths in the small place.

The burgers arrived looking spectacular. Fresh lettuce, tomatoes, & buns. A dab of mayo. Perfectly ripened avocado, a big juicy beef patty, and crispy bacon.

The bacon itself was thick, well-prepared, and extremely tasty. After tasting the bacon, the burger was reassembled and the first bite was taken. This meal earns a Smaste™ rating of 37.999. Highly recommended.

Howard’s is a must-stop spot for any bacon lover heading through the Los Angeles area. Its one of those places that you just have to say “yeah, I’ve eaten there”. Make sure you bring your cash though, as Howard’s doesn’t take credit cards.

Howard’s Famous Bacon & Avocado Burgers
11127 Venice Blvd Ste 7
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 838-9111

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Consumers Find Solace in Bacon Burgers

Mr. B. — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 20:01:05 +0000

With tough economic times come tough decisions about where to spend your hard-earned money. This is just as true in Smalltown, USA as it is across Europe. Turns out that folks around the world are choosing McDonald’s as a cost-saving alternative to more expensive restaurants.

Sales for McDonald’s are up 8.5% globally, and revenues are up 11% in established European franchises. And, according to a recent article in The Independent (a UK business journal), “Burgers with bacon, in particular, are enjoying a renewed bout of popularity in Britain and France.”

So eat up Europe and America. We’ll all get through these tough times…with a little help from our love of bacon.

–Mr. B.