These flavorful, juicy, and simple to prepare bacon burgers with caramelized onions made with maple and bourbon are a hit. Perfectly seasoned and flavored ground beef with a hint of bacon, paired with sharp cheddar cheese and caramelized onions made with maple and whiskey. The finest burgers you’ve ever had are smokey, sweet, and flavorful!
Here are these bacon burgers with maple-bourbon caramelized onions, which are my all-time favorite burger! Ahh, the time of year for barbecues, sunscreen, beach bonfires, and mouthwatering cuisine. Hear me out: since their creation, these burgers have been prepared continuously. You guys, I adore a good burger recipe, and this one is it. Burgers from fast food are good, but handmade burgers are much better!
Bacon-Infused Burgers with Maple Bourbon Caramelized Onions 🤤
What could be better than a perfectly cooked, bacon-infused all-beef burger? Nothing at all, hehe! Even on their own, these bacon burgers have a lot of flavor and are well-seasoned. Succulent, caramelized onions with a hint of maple and whiskey up the taste ante. This burger experience is unbelievably delicious, with a savory, smokey flavor that is somewhat sweet. This is a huge taste explosion!
Ingredient Lineup For These Bacon Burgers
- Bacon: To achieve that beloved smoky taste, the bacon is cooked until crispy and then combined with the burger mixture. I adore the little chunks of bacon that are mixed throughout these burgers. I like my bacon thick-cut for added crunch.
- Yellow Onion: delicious, perfectly sautéed onions on top of meat burgers.
- Delicious tastes of bourbon and maple syrup accompany the caramelized onions.
- Ground beef: Without the meat, this burger cannot be made. For the greatest tastes, I suggest using ground beef that has been grass-fed, kobe, or wagyu!
- Worcestershire is a powerful umami-based ingredient that can improve the burger mixture.
- Mustard: I adore how this recipe calls for stone-ground mustard! Although I like coarse mustard, yellow mustard works just as well in this recipe.
- Garlic powder, old bay seasoning, and salt and pepper, to taste, are the seasonings.
- To cook these bacon burgers on the stovetop, use olive oil.
- The ingredients for assembling the burgers include sliced cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, hamburger buns, and condiments like mayonnaise and mustard, if preferred.
How To Caramelize Onions
It’s true that I adore onions on a beef burger. Yes, yes, yes—I do-ooooo. Aha. A slow cooking method yields caramelized onions. To bring forth the essence of the onions’ rich, deep, and sweet flavor, they are cooked gently. What’s left behind are dreamy caramelized onions that are well browned! They are made much more delicious with maple syrup and bourbon!
- chopping up the onions. Let’s prepare that onion first. After slicing off the onion’s stem and roots, chop it in half. Peel off the outer papery layers of the onion by placing it cut side down on a chopping board. Next, cut the onion into neatly sliced half-moons, or half-rings.
- Heat up the onions. We are going to sauté the onions in the rendered bacon fat that has been generated in the skillet after the bacon has crisped. After adding the sliced onions to the pan, swirl them around to evenly distribute the fat. Allow the onions to simmer for a deep brown color, stirring them from time to time. I’ve discovered that caramelizing onions is best done over medium-low heat. You do not want them to burn and dry out from cooking at an excessively high heat.
- Develop the taste. Use the bourbon to deglaze the pan when the cooking procedure is finished. Add the maple syrup and mix in the onions after that. The sweetness of maple with the smokiness from the bourbon, like a chef’s kiss.
Let’s Talk Bacon Burger Preparation
- Preheat the bacon. This step comes first since the meat mixture is flavored with fried bacon chunks. When the bacon is cooked, place it on a dish covered with paper towels to absorb excess oil before moving on to the next step.
- Mix the mixture of meat. To a large bowl, add the meat, Worcestershire, mustard, garlic powder, old bay seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Form and mix the burgers. Combine the saved bacon with the beef mixture in a bowl and stir until well blended. After that, split the mixture equally, form it into four hamburger patties, and save it until you’re ready to cook it.
Tips + Tricks, & More For The Best Bacon Burgers with Caramelized Onions
- USE QUALITY BEEF: When we talk about quality beef, we’re talking about its flavor, tenderness, color, leanness, and juiciness. Since beef is the main ingredient in a beef burger, you want to use high-quality meat. When I cook these bacon burgers, my goal is always to use cattle that is either wagyu, kobe, or grass-fed. Because of their greater flavor and/or nutritional information, they are regarded as higher quality. This is only a suggestion, so go ahead and use whatever ground beef you have on hand and enjoy.
- KEEP AN EYE ON THE ONIONS: As previously noted, caramelizing onions correctly takes time. Stir the onions often and cook on a lower heat to prevent them from burning.
- DON’T PRESS THE BURGERS: Folks, fight the inclination to push or squish the burgers while they cook. By doing this, the burger’s tastes and liquids will be forced to evaporate. You want it tasty, juicy, and fat, I promise 😏.
- ENJOY YOURSELF! As much as I adore this dish, there are no hard-and-fast guidelines when it comes to burgers. Add a favorite spice to the meat mixture if you have any. There is an infinite variety of toppings you may use for your burgers! These bacon burgers are completed with jalapeños, crispy onions (yes, on top of the caramelized onions haha), and other toppings.
Burger Assembly & All The Fixins
I serve my bacon burgers simply on buns with lettuce, tomato, mayo, and mustard (as seen in the image). I serve them this way, but feel free to alter it to suit your tastes. If you prefer American cheese over sharp cheddar, that’s also a good option. Do you enjoy pickles? Serve with a dill pickle spear on the side or toss in some bread and butter coins. Yum!
Do you have ketchup on your burger or is there none at all? We really adore potato buns for this dish, brioche, and pretzel buns (very tasty!). For a satisfying serving style, wrap your bacon burgers with caramelized onions in lettuce if you’re trying to stick to a low-carb diet.
More Recipes You Might Like
- Pomegranate Braised Lamb Shanks
- Southern Smothered Pork Chops
- Caribbean Red Peas Soup
- Authentic Cajun Gumbo
- Honey Baked Ham
Bacon Burgers with Maple Bourbon Caramelized Onions
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion thinly sliced into half moons
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 lb ground beef grass-fed, kobe/wagyu recommended
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire
- 1 tablespoon stone ground mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon old bay seasoning
- kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 slices sharp cheddar cheese we use Tillamook
For burger assembly:
- 4 hamburger buns of choice we love using pretzel, brioche, and potato buns!- lightly toasted, if desired
- butter lettuce and tomatoes as desired
- mayonnaise mustard, and other condiments, as desired
Instructions
- Cook the bacon: Place the diced bacon over medium heat in a big pan that measures at least 10 inches, ideally cast iron. Fry the bacon bits until they are perfectly crisp, rotating them occasionally. Do not turn off the heat. Next, take the crisp bacon with a slotted spatula and place it on a dish covered with paper towels.
- To caramelize the onions, put the sliced onion to the skillet with enough of rendered bacon fat and toss to coat the onion slices in the grease. Turn the heat down to a medium level. Simmer the onions for approximately 25 to 30 minutes, or until they are soft and golden, tossing them occasionally to ensure equal cooking. It will take some time for onions to break down and completely caramelize when done correctly; take care not to overcook them.
- Prepare the bacon burgers in the interim: Ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic powder, old bay, salt, pepper, and the bacon bits that were set aside should all be combined in a big dish. Gently mix the ingredients with your hands (using disposable gloves if preferred) until it’s just incorporated. Be cautious not to overmix the burger mixture as this can result in tough burgers.
- Divide the ingredients for the bacon burgers into four equal parts. Flatten each part into a 1-inch-thick burger patty using your hands. After that, place the burgers on a dish or plate.
- Going back to the onions, make a well in the middle of the pan once they get brown. Pour in the bourbon to deglaze, then whisk in the onions for approximately 30 seconds, using a wooden spoon to scrape off any crumbs. After that, add the maple syrup and mix everything together. Take out of the skillet and place the caramelized onions with maple and bourbon aside. Wipe the skillet down carefully.
- Cook the bacon burgers by adding oil to the skillet and heating it all the way through on medium-high heat. Directly place the bacon burger patties into the skillet, leaving a small gap between each one. Note: To prevent packing the pan too full, make the patties in batches if you can’t fit them all in. Cook for 3–4 minutes on each side, or until done to your preferred consistency, till golden and slightly charred. We want to retain all of the taste and juicy goodness of the burgers, so avoid mashing or pressing them down while they cook!
- Top each burger with a piece of cheese when the cooking time reaches one minute remaining. To let the cheese steam and get extra melty, I prefer to cover the pan with a lid or other heatproof item. Before assembling the bacon burgers, move them to a fresh dish or platter and let them a few minutes to rest.
- Serve: Top the bacon burgers, as preferred, with lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, mustard, and a dollop of the maple-bourbon caramelized onions that were set aside on gently toasted buns. If preferred, serve burgers with your preferred side dishes. Have fun!
Notes
- Please read the blog post in its entirety for more tips + tricks.