Cowboy Bacon Cheeseburger

Look at this beautiful burger and tell me your mouth isn’t watering! Sometimes you just need a really delicious fully loaded burger in your life. And if you have yet to try out what is called smashburgers, this is a great first try. This Cowboy Bacon Cheeseburger – or some might call it a Western Bacon Cheeseburger – is definitely what most would call a five napkin burger – because it’s messy but totally worth it!

Most of the time smashburgers are prepared on a flattop style griddle, but not everyone had access to that option. You can achieve the same great burgers on your stove with a nice wide flat pan. You have to make the burgers in batches, but they cook up so fast, there is little time for them to go cold. You also want to make sure you use a solid wide flat spatula to the do the pressing. If you do not have a spatula without slits, you can use a square of parchment on top the ball to help press it down evenly. Just use caution having your fingers that close to the hot pan.

For the BBQ sauce – you could make you own, or use your favorite bottled sauce. Different varieties of sauce – sweet, smokey, vinegary – will give the burger a slightly different over all taste. I like to use a slightly sweet sauce for this burger to balance out the saltiness of the onion rings and the smokiness of the bacon. Speaking of the onion rings, you can use your favorite frozen onion rings for connivence – like I did with this burger. But if you have the extra you may want to take the extra step to make my Beer Battered Onion Rings. I have included the recipe below. It really is a simple recipe and you can make it at the same time as the burgers.

Now Let’s Get Cookin’!

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Cowboy Bacon Cheeseburger

Double cheese and bacon smashed burgers piled high with onion rings and bbq sauce.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword american cheese, bacon, bacon cheeseburger, bbq sauce, cheeseburger, smash burger

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 13.5 oz Onion Rings fresh or frozen
• 9 slices Bacon cut in half
• 12 slice American Cheese
• ½ cup Mayo
• 1 cup BBQ Sauce
• 6 Burger Buns

For the patties

• 2 lb Ground Beef
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Black Pepper
• 1 tsp Paprika

Instructions

• Prepare onion rings as directed by package. If making fresh (recipe provided below), you can make them while cooking the burgers.
• In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add bacon. Cook until crispy and remove to a paper towel covered plate and keep warm. Reserve at least two tablespoons of bacon grease in the pan.
• Combine ingredients for patties and form into 12 equal balls. Place two to three balls into the hot pan (with bacon grease) and use a wide flat spatula to press each down into thin patties (¼ inch thick). Cook for 2 minutes then flip and press down again. Let cook for 1 minutes then top with each with a slice of cheese and let cook another minute. Stack two patties together. Repeat with remaining balls.
• Build the burger – smear bottom bun with mayo. Add double cheeseburger, then 3-4 pieces of bacon. Top with 2-3 onion rings then drizzle with BBQ sauce. Place top bun and press down slightly to help hold it all together.