Burgers with Bacon Bourbon Burger Sauce

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Let’s talk about burgers.   Burgers are a funny thing.   Years ago I wouldn’t touch a burger, especially if it wasn’t made by me.  I thought they were pretty gross but as it turns out all burgers are not created equally.  Nowadays I am super picky about where I will eat a burger but I always say the best burgers are the ones I make at home.

You won't be able to eat just one of these Burgers topped with my Bacon Bourbon Burger Sauce

A few things that make my burgers the best?  The first is the beef.   I’ve had some pretty low grade beef burgers before.  I will only buy Certified Angus Beef brand ground beef for my burgers because I can taste the difference.   Certified Angus Beef brand holds their beef up to 10 high standards so I always know I’m eating the best.   If I do happen to buy another kind my husband will look at me right away and tell me that he knows it isn’t Certified Angus Beef and I agree! 

Everything you need to make Burgers with Bacon Bourbon Burger Sauce

The other thing that makes my burgers the best is that I don’t add a ton of filler.  Burgers don’t need egg and breadcrumbs and tons of seasonings.   Make a basic burger patty with high quality beef, salt, and pepper then pile on the toppings if you want additional flavor.  While I do still add a small amount of breadcrumbs to help hold my burgers together I don’t pile it in or add eggs anymore.   If I do add seasonings besides salt and pepper it’s usually simply garlic or chopped fresh herbs from my garden.

It's easy to make Burgers with my homemade Bacon Bourbon Burger Sauce

I think a good quality burger allows for some delicious topping opportunities and boy do I have an out of this world sauce for you!   It’s Burgers with Bacon Bourbon Burger Sauce and I made the sauce by accident.  Well that’s not entirely true.  I was trying to make a sauce using bourbon and bacon but the sauce that I ended up making was not what I had envisioned.  This sauce is thick, sticky, slightly sweet, salty, and bursting with flavor.  I piled it on my burgers along with cheese and that’s all I needed!

Fried Onions are great for topping burgers

My husband was a little skeptical when he tried it but after the first bite he was piling on more!  In fact, he then asked if I could make this sauce and use it on top of baked beans as well.  I have to tell you, that’s a great idea!  While I made it as a burger sauce it would be awesome for baked beans as well.  It has bacon, onions, garlic, bourbon, brown sugar, and a few other ingredients that combine in one outstanding sauce. 

I can't get enough of this Bacon Bourbon Burger Sauce on my burgers!

I could seriously use this sauce on everything.  It’s great for dipping fries in, on top of burgers or hot dogs, used as a baked bean sauce, and it could even be the base for a pizza sauce!   You might want to double this recipe because you’ll be making it a lot this summer!

You won't be able to eat just one of these Burgers topped with my Bacon Bourbon Burger Sauce

Burgers with Bacon Bourbon Burger Sauce

Yield: 4 burgers
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Grilled burgers topped with cheese and a slightly sweet, salty, and totally tasty Bacon Bourbon Burger Sauce

Ingredients

For the sauce:

  • 4 strips bacon
  • ½ onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 3 Tablespoons bourbon
  • ¼ c. brown sugar
  • 1/3 c. ketchup
  • ¼ c. vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

For the burgers:

  • 1 ¼ lb. 85/15 ground beef (I used Certified Angus Beef brand)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon roasted garlic powder
  • 4 slices American cheese
  • 4 hamburger buns

Instructions

  1. To make the sauce chop the bacon into small pieces.
  2. Place the bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently for 5-7 minutes or until the bacon is browned. Remove from the saucepan with a slotted spoon and drain the bacon on a paper towel lined plate.
  3. Add the onion to the bacon drippings in the bacon and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
  4. Stir in the bourbon, brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add the bacon back to the saucepan along with the salt and pepper and continue cooking for 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat.
  6. To make the burgers heat an outdoor grill to medium high heat.
  7. Mix together the ground beef, salt, pepper, and garlic. Do not over mix.
  8. Divide the beef mixture into 4 equal balls and flatten into patties. Place a dent in the center of each burger.
  9. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side on a grill. Place a slice of cheese on each and cook for 1 minute.
  10. Remove from heat and place the burgers on a bun and top with the sauce.

Notes

A Hezzi-D Original recipe


Juicy Burgers topped with Bacon Bourbon Burger Sauce and crispy Air Fried Onions

 

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13 Comments

  1. I just made this sauce and it was delicious! There is a restaurant I go to that has something similar to this so I tried to recreate it with this recipe it and it came out great – what I did was to toast an English muffin and spread plenty of cream cheese on each half. Then, dust the cream cheese with garlic powder and add some sliced jalapeños or banana peppers to the top half. Finally, add the burger to the bottom half, add a generous amount of this bacon bourbon sauce, and close up the burger. It’s so good, can’t wait to make it again!
    The only advice I’d give is that when you cook the bacon, it gives off a lot of fat. You don’t need all of it to cook the onions and garlic, so after you set the bacon bits aside, pour the fat into a bowl and add back maybe a tablespoon, just enough to cook the onions. If it starts to look a little dry, you can always add more of the fat as needed.

    1. So glad you liked this sauce! It’s one of my favorites. Your English muffin burger sounds amazing! Definitely going to try that soon.

  2. I would be putting that sauce on all the things, including a spoon to eat it without anything. And I completely agree about not loading a burger up with fillers, many just dry them out.

  3. My husband is a member of Men’s Club here in our community and I know they would love to have this burger. Maybe I’ll have to surprise them with this someday!

  4. That sauce sounds delicious and I love putting caramelized onions on my burgers. I have never added bread crumbs nor eggs to my burger until this event when I decided to share a meatloaf burger LOL.

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