Make dad's day with this candied bacon and basil cheeseburgers recipe for Father's Day this year. Kids can mix and match their own toppings if you have a picky eater.
Who grills the burgers in your house?
Even though I cook 99% of everything that hits our table, there are certain things that Handyman Tim does waaaaaayyyyy better than me.
Grilling burgers is definitely one of them.
He knows just how to pat out the patties just so, has a couple {about to be not so} secret ingredients he adds to the mix, and serves them up hot and juicy and perfect.
With Father's Day coming, I thought it would be fun to take Tim's masterful burgers and kick them up a notch.
He is my anti-veggies, meat and potatoes manly man.
It seems like every member of our family prefers something just a little different on their burger.
So I made a list of our favorite mix and match toppings and served them up burger bar style.
Everyone could top them just the way they like.
Bacon cheeseburgers are Tim's very favorite.
To make our Father's Day burger bar extra special, I made a batch of my peppered candied bacon.
With summer here, I can't get enough fresh tomato and basil.
And you just can't have a cheeseburger with out a high quality slice of sharp cheddar cheese.
We love the thick and creamy slices of cheese that melt just perfectly over the hot burger patties.
While Tim prepped the burgers, I got the bacon started in our oven.
Baking the bacon makes it perfectly crispy but still tender and chewy, just right for topping our burgers. For full instructions, see my bacon recipe here.
Tim gently mixes the ground beef with a healthy sprinkle of Worcestershire Sauce and a few shakes of Montreal Steak Seasoning.
These secret ingredients give the burgers just enough kick and keep them extra juicy.
While he grilled everything up, I set out our burger bar ingredients for the table.
The bacon was the only ingredient that took a little extra effort. Everything else was so easy to pull together, it's all in the presentation!
I prepped and then placed all the toppings in cute containers for the table.
6 Grown-up Cheeseburger Toppings
- fresh basil leaves
- thinly sliced tomatoes
- thick sharp cheddar slices
- black peppered candied bacon
- sliced raw onions or caramelized onions
- BBQ sauce
We also set out ketchup and mustard for the kids along with a big bowl of BBQ flavored potato chips and some seasoned sour cream dip.
By serving everything separately on the table, my kids were able to fix their plates with the veggies on the side rather than on the burger itself.
Doesn't matter as long as they tried the new flavors!
Candied Bacon and Basil Cheeseburgers
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2-3 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1-2 teaspoon Montreal Steak Seasoning
- 8 hamburger buns
- 1 pound bacon
- Fresh ground pepper
- 2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 8 sharp cheddar cheese slices
- Thinly sliced fresh tomato
- Fresh basil leaves
- Sliced raw onions or caramelized onions
- Jarred BBQ sauce
Instructions
To make the candied bacon:
- Line the bacon up in a single layer on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Cover in fresh cracked black pepper, sprinkle brown sugar over the top.
- Bake at 375°F for 15 minutes. Drain the extra fat off the pain, flip the bacon over to the other side.
- Sprinkle more pepper and brown sugar and bake for an additional 7 minutes.
- Drain on paper towels, gently patting the extra fat off the tops but being careful to not wipe off the sugar/pepper blend.
Prepare the hamburgers:
- Use a fork to gently combine the ground beef with the Worcestershire Sauce and Montreal Steak Seasoning.
- Form into 8 equal sized patties. Grill as desired.
Assemble the bacon cheeseburgers:
- Serve the cooked burgers topped with a slice of cheddar cheese, 1-2 slices of candied bacon, fresh sliced tomatoes, a leaf or two of basil, slices of fresh onions, and a drizzle of BBQ sauce.
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[…] Just the way he likes it: A Father’s Day cheeseburger bar […]