Bacon Double Cheese Burger Salad

By Addie

Not too long ago I came across a recipe for a cheeseburger salad on The Pioneer Woman which reminded me of one of my favourite salads, the taco salad, and since I also enjoy a good burger, I was immediately taken in by the idea. The plan was to make a salad with all of the flavours of my favourite burger all the way from the ground beef to the condiments and even the bun. When I think of burgers, I go straight to bacon cheese burgers so I knew that I would have to start my salad off with bacon! For the beef patties I was planning on cooking some ground beef and then seasoning it with things that I would use in a burger patty including onions, garlic, ketchup, mustard and worcestershire sauce. After cooking the beef I used some vinegar to deglaze the pan and then made a simple pan sauce with some of the bacon grease to use as a dressing. Up next were the buns which I used to make croutons to go on the salad and instead of using oil on the diced buns I used the remaining bacon grease before baking then until golden brown and crispy. I pulled the salad together with a base of lettuce, tomatoes, the dressing, beef, bacon, two kinds of cheese, the croutons and even some diced dill pickles.

As much as I like my taco salad, there is a new winner in town with this tasty bacon double cheese burger salad that is just packed with flavour!

Ingredients

• 1/4 pound bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 teaspoons mustard
• 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons bacon grease oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon bacon grease oil
• 2 hamburger buns, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 4 cups lettuce, sliced
• 2 large tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup cheddar, shredded
• 1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded
• 1/4 cup dill pickle, diced

Details

Adapted from closetcooking.com

Preparation

Step 1

Cook the bacon in a pan over medium heat, set aside over paper towels to drain reserving 1 tablespoon of grease in the pan and the rest elsewhere. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minutes. Add the ground beef and cook draining any grease when done.

Mix in the ketchup, mustard, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, simmer to reduce, remove from heat and set aside.

Add the vinegar to the pan, deglaze it and then add bacon grease, sugar, mustard, garlic and season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Meanwhile, toss the buns in the bacon grease and bake in a preheated 400F oven until lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes, turning half way through.

Toss the lettuce and tomatoes along with the pan sauce dressing, divide between 4 plates, top with the beef, bacon, croutons, cheese and pickles and enjoy!