Say that 10 times fast ...no wait, don't! On second thought, go out and start making Caramelized Onion and Whiskey Glazed Bacon Cheeseburgers. They're really very delicious.
They took a little bit of time, not because they were difficult, but because I had to juggle a few things to get them to come together about the same time. Unfortunately, there's not a lot to make ahead, so it's a bit of a circus to get it all to the table, but I did ok.
I started out with mixing the ground beef with a little bit of salt, pepper and a store bought burger seasoning blend I had in the pantry. I hit it with a light hand as I knew the whiskey sauce had a lot of pepper in it, so it wasn't going to need a lot of flavor in the meat. I used 80/20 ground beef; I always do for burgers because you need the fat to keep the burger moist while coming to temperature and battling the flames of the grill. The grease drips off into the grill anyhow, so a fattier ground beef works well here.
I typically roll the patties into meatballs about the same size, then press each with a patty press. Once evenly pressed, I place them back onto the wax paper and then get going on the rest of the meal. A trick I use is to press my thumb into the center of each patty after they're formed. It helps keep the patty from shrinking up and bulging as it cooks. I've seen some folks say to place an ice cube on the patty, but the thumb things works for me, so I don't bother with anything else.
After the patties are made, I moved onto the bacon. It gets fried over medium heat until it reaches desired doneness then moved to a paper towel lined plate to degrease. Leave the bacon drippings in the pan though, because the sliced onions go in and cook until soft.
I had a lot of grease - like a lot, for some reason, so after the onions cooked for about 5 minutes, I spooned some of the grease out of the pan. The next step was to add light brown sugar and I could tell there was not enough sugar to properly balance all that grease, so out it went. You want the sugar to blend well; it has to melt and make the sauce smooth and syrupy. You don't want a separated, oily mess. If you are unsure how much you need, spoon the extra grease into another bowl; you can always add some back in but you can't take it out after the sugar is added.
I added in the sugar ad cooked it down for about 3 minutes, then added a blend of whiskey, Worcestershire sauce and pepper. That too cooked for about 3 minutes and then I brought the burner to low and headed out to the grill with my burgers in hand.
The grill needs to be hot, about 450 degrees, and once the burgers hit the grill, they only needed about 4 to 5 minutes a side for us. We like our burgers medium, and these may have been a touch on the medium well side, but between the fattier ground beef and the sauce that was going on them, it all worked out.
I cooked the burgers, flipped them, cooked them a few more minutes and then added the cheese. I was completely on the fence with the cheese for this sandwich, I honestly could picture several types of cheese working very well with it. I always have American and Swiss on hand but I picked up sharp yellow cheddar and aged white cheddar slices as well. I gave everyone a choice and it ended up the kids wanted American, Dave wanted Swiss, and I opted for the white cheddar. No one complained, so I guess the burger wins for versatility.
With everyone inside, it was time to pile it high. We used sesame seed buns and we piled on the bacon slices and the caramelized onions drenched in sweet peppery whiskey sauce. I added some lettuce and was glad I did as it countered the peppery sauce well. Everyone carried an empty plate back into the kitchen, so that's a win right there!
We served up some French fries to go along with it and I would say it was a pretty successful meal. The recipe is definitely a keeper. So, if you are looking for a burger that is off the beaten track, something different and tasty, give these Caramelized Onion and Whiskey Glazed Bacon Cheeseburgers a try and then come back here and tell me what you think.
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