It's National Hamburger Day! Yup - all day and these Spicy and Smokey Candied Bacon Cheeseburgers are the absolute best way to celebrate!. They take a few extra minutes but the peppery sweetness of the bacon with the salty onion straws perfectly compliments the meaty burgers. It’s all a match made in heaven!
The burgers start with thick cut bacon. I laid them out on an aluminum foil and cracked some black pepper over the slices. I then sprinkled dark brown sugar all over the top and popped them into a hot oven for about 20-25 minutes. They cooked and the sugar melted and before long, they were ready to come out. They looked and smelled like magic.
The aluminum foil proved to be a stellar move. The bacon lifted easily from the pan. I made the mistake of trying to degrease them on paper towels. It was good until the bacon began to cool and the melty sugar began to harden. I caught them in time and only lost a little bit to paper towels being stuck all over them. If you decide to degrease on paper towels, my suggestion is to do it quickly and then move the bacon to either more foil or parchment to continue cooling and hardening.
While the bacon baked, I cooked the onion straws. The onions need to be cut very fine and so they cook up pretty quick. I dunked them in egg, shook them in a flour mixture and then into the deep fryer for just a few minutes. They were easy and delicious and I will make them again, no doubt.
The burger patties were next. They mixed up fast with a few seasonings, and like my other burger recipes, they formed into patties and I stuck a thumb in them. It's the only way to go.
The weather was a bit on the yucky side on the evening I made these, so I ended up giving them a fast fry in a pan and added sharp cheddar cheese slices to each patty. Everyone assembled their own - brioche bun - patty with cheese - candied bacon - onion straws - sauce. Some went for barbecue, some ketchup. When I was researching candied bacon, I also saw folks mixing it with "special sauce" like the chain restaurants or sriracha mayo. I opted for barbecue sauce and wasn't sorry.
The burger was delicious! Interesting in all of the flavors and totally impressive. We threw some ships alongside it but they would have been great with homemade steak fries or potato salad. The meal was a winner and so you have to give Spicy and Smokey Candied Bacon Cheeseburgers a try. There's no better way, in my opinion, to celebrate National Hamburger Day than with these!
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