Cheddar Burgers with Caramelized Onions, Bacon and Sauce | Fantastic Frugal Foods from Justa's Kitchen

By bklynmommy

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Ketchup
• 1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
• 1/4 Teaspoon Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Pound Ground Beef
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 6 Slices Crisp Bacon
• 1 Small Onion
• 4 Slices Cheddar Cheese
• 4 Hamburger Buns, toasted

Details

Adapted from justafrugalfoodie.com

Preparation

Step 1

Start with the Sauce since it needs to refrigerate the longest to allow flavors to blend: Combine the Ketchup, Mayonnaise, Red Wine Vinegar and Worcestershire Sauce in a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Let rest in fridge at least an hour before serving.

Next are the Burgers: Combine the ground beef, Dijon Mustard and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Mix well but don’t overwork. Form in to patties. I prefer thin burgers over thick burgers any day but regardless of how thick or thin you like them it’s always a good idea to put a small indentation in the center of the burger to keep them from puffing up in the middle. Let patties rest in the fridge at least 20 minutes so they can firm up. While they are resting, move on to the onions and bacon. And if you noticed, there’s only three burgers here…that’s because I freeze my meat in 3/4# packages but I leave all other recipe ingredients the same.

For the Caramelized Onions and Bacon: I keep partially cooked bacon and caramelized onions in my freezer at all times. It just makes for super fast work when ever I need them. If you don’t already have them handy then go ahead and cook your bacon until crisp, let cool and chop finely. If you notice in the very first picture there is some brownish looking mess in a strainer over a bowl. Those are my caramelized onions that I pulled from the freezer. I’m straining off some of the freezer liquid as well as some of the natural juices that come about as they come to room temperature. I make them by slicing and/or dicing them and cooking them slowly over a medium low heat in Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper for 20-30 minutes, stirring occassionally. Some people add sugar but I never do because I find them sweet enough once caramelized. Once your onions are done combine them with the crisp bacon and mix thoroughly. You can refrigerate if you want but I prefer them room temperature over the warm burger.

Cooking the burgers: Heat a skillet over medium heat and make sure it’s HOT before adding the burgers. I check it by tossing in a few tiny droplets of water. If they sizzle and dance I know the pan is ready. If they sit there and steam I wait another minute or so. Carefully place the burgers in the pan and leave them alone. You want these to get good and caramelized. If you keep moving and flipping the burgers you won’t get that crispy seared crust. And please don’t squish or flatten them because that just gushes all the juices out and you’ll have a dry, crumbly burger. Here’s how I know when mine are ready to flip…the indentations start to fill with liquid and I can see that about halfway up the sides of the burger the meat is starting to change color.

Once this happens I give them a flip and immediately kick the heat back to medium low because they spit and splatter everywhere. See how gorgeous they are?

Now let them cook a few more minutes, top with cheese, turn off the heat and cover the pan so the cheese will melt.

In the meantime, butter the insides of your buns and toast them in another pan. Once the buns are toasted, slather the sauce on both sides of the bun, add a patty and top with the caramelized onions and bacon.