Chorizo and Beef Burger with Bourbon BBQ Sauce, Bacon, Slaw, and Onion Straws
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This epic burger is part of a fun month-long event hosted by Girl Carnivore, but opinions are always my own!
Looking to make an epic burger that your friends won’t be able to stop talking about? I built a burger with a combination of lean ground beef and spicy chorizo topped with homemade bourbon BBQ sauce, crispy bacon, homemade slaw, and crispy onion straws that is going to knock your socks off!
I love building burgers. It’s one of those things that makes me totally happy. To find the perfect combination of the meat, cheese, and toppings is a skill that not everyone has. I probably have close to 25 burger and slider recipes on my blog that range from straight up beef to vegetarian burgers. Some of my favorites include Burgers with Bacon Bourbon Burger Sauce, Jalapeno Cheddar Stuffed Burgers, Black Bean Burgers, and Greek Style Hummus Burgers.
This burger is different from others I’ve made because it’s a combination of beef and chorizo. Now chorizo is a pork product so you do have to get it up to a higher temperature but with a burger I don’t think it matters all that much. It also adds a ton of spiciness and flavor to the burger so it’s totally worth it.
After figuring out the actual burger I went for the toppings. It seemed natural to top it with slaw because with a spicy burger you want something to help cool it off. While you can buy slaw at the market my homemade version is super easy and so much better.
I went back and forth with bacon as a topping because the chorizo already adds a pork product but in the end how can you go wrong with bacon on top of a burger? It’s crispy, salty, and goes on almost any burger.
That left me with the sauce. Sauce is a tricky one because I’m partial to BBQ sauce but I’ve made several different varieties and I wanted to find the one that would work best with this burger. I ended up going with my bourbon BBQ sauce simply because it has a bit of sweetness that works so well with the chorizo in the burger.
I got everything together and made the slaw and BBQ sauce. Both of these are easily made a day in advance and simply refrigerated. Then I cooked my burger. I put it all together but when I looked at it I felt like something was missing. I needed some type of vegetable.
I grabbed a few things out of the refrigerator and experimented. I tried lettuce but that didn’t work for me on this burger. Then I went with red onion slices which were decent but I thought I could do better. Finally I settled on homemade crispy onion straws.
Crispy onion straws are a piece of cake to make and they add a nice crunch to burgers, sandwiches, or even salads. You have to make them the day you are using them or they will get soggy. I fried up a batch of them and they were perfectly crisp and salty.
I added them to my burger and took a bite. Man do I wish you could grab this burger and take a bite through the screen because it is incredible! The spicy burger with the slightly sweet sauce, creamy cole slaw, crisp bacon, and salty onion straws to finish it off makes for a tasty homemade burger.
Serve these at your next BBQ and you’ll be sure to be the talk of the town!
Pro Tips & Substitutions:
- For a party make the burgers and then set them out with all the toppings so your guests can make their burger the way they want too.
- You can buy cole slaw from the store but this version is seriously delicious. You might want to make a double batch so that you can have some for a side dish along with this burger!
- Chorizo needs to be cooked to 160 so make sure your burgers hit this mark before removing them from your grill.
Chorizo and Beef Burger with Bourbon BBQ Sauce, Bacon, Slaw, and Onion Straws
Ingredients
For the BBQ Sauce:
- 1 T. butter
- 1/2 onion minced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/3 c. ketchup
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 1/4 c. vinegar
- 2 T. Worcestershire sauce
- 3 T. bourbon
- salt and pepper
For the Slaw:
- 2 c. cole slaw mix cabbage and carrots
- 3 T. mayonnaise
- 2 T. sour cream
- 1 t. sugar
- 2 t. vinegar
- 1 t. celery salt
- 1/2 t. celery seed
- 1 t. dry mustard
- 1/2 t. black pepper
For the onion straws:
- 1/2 onion
- 1/2 c. milk
- 3/4 c. flour
- 1 t. garlic powder
- 1 t. salt
- 1/2 t. black pepper
- 1/2 t. paprika
- 1/2 c. vegetable oil.
For the burgers:
- 1 lb. lean 85/15 ground beef
- 1/2 lb. ground chorizo
- 1 T. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 t. salt
- 1 t. black pepper
- 1 t. garlic powder
- 5 slices of bacon cooked
- 5 hearty hamburger buns
Instructions
- To make the sauce heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium high heat.
- Add the onions and saute for 3-4 minutes or until they start to turn translucent. Add the garlic and saute for an additional minute.
- Stir in the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestshire sauce, and bourbon. Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
- To make the cole slaw mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, sugar, vinegar, celery salt, celery seed, dry mustard, and pepper in a medium bowl.
- Add the cole slaw mix and mix until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- To make the onions thinly slice half an onion and place the slices in a bowl of milk. Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes.
- When ready to make the onions heat 1/4 cup of vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium high heat.
- In a small bowl combine the flour, garlic, salt, pepper, and paprika.
- Remove the onions from the milk and toss them in the flour mixture.
- Add the to the oil in the pan so that the pieces are spread out and not touching each other. You may need to do this in 2 batches. Fry until the under side is golden brown, about 3 minutes, then flip them over. Fry for another 2-3 minutes or until the other side is golden brown as well.
- Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel lined plate.
- To make the burgers combine the beef, choirzo, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a medium bowl. Work the mixture together with your fingers until combined but do not over work.
- Shape the mixture into 5 burgers, each being between 1/4 and 1/3 of a pound.
- Heat a grill to medium high. Place the burgers on the grill and cook for 4-5 minutes on one side then flip them over and cook for another 4-5 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
- To assemble the burgers place a burger on the bottom portion of a hearty bun. Break a strip of bacon in half and place on top of the burger.
- Pour serveral tablespoons of BBQ sauce over top of the bacon and bun. Then top your burger with a few tablespoons of cole slaw and finish it off with a pile of onion straws.
- Place the top bun on top of the burger and enjoy!
Notes
Check out all the Burger Month Participants:
? Girl Carnivore ? A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures ?A Day in the Life on the Farm ? A Merry Recipe ? An Affair from the Heart ?Art of Natural Living ? Caroline’s Cooking ?Chef Justin Grimm ?Chiles and Smoke ? City Living Boston ?Comfortably Domestic ?Culinary Adventures with Camilla ?Daily Dish Recipes ? Everyday Eileen ? Everyday Southwest ? For the Love of Food ?Good Cook Doris ?Grillax: Fire. Food. Fun. ? Grilling Montana ? Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks ? Jolene’s Recipe Journal ? Karen’s Kitchen Stories ? Kate’s Recipe Box ?Kudos Kitchen by Renee ?Life Currents ? Life of a Ginger ?Making Miracles ?Man Meat BBQ ? Miss in the KItchen ?Off the Eaten Path ?Our Good Life ? Palatable Pastime ? Pastry Chef Online ? Real Life With Dad ?Renee Nicole’s Kitchen – Everyday Gourmet ? Sarah’s Cucina Bella ?Savoring Midlife ? Seduction in the Kitchen ? Simple and Savory ? Spoonabilities ? Sumptuous Spoonfuls ? Swirls of Flavor ? The Redhead Baker ? The Spiffy Cookie ?This is How I Cook ? Thyme for Cocktails ?What’s Cooking Italian Style Cuisine ? Wildflour’s Cottage Kitchen ?Wile E. BBQ ? Wok & Skillet ?