Maple Bacon Cheeseburger Food

THE BEST BACON CHEESEBURGER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, relish and vinegar in a small bowl; set aside.
• Working in batches if necessary, add the bacon to a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Cook, flipping halfway through, until crisp and golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a nonstick baking sheet. Discard the bacon fat (or save for another use) and wipe the skillet clean but do not wash. Heat over medium-high heat until very hot, about 5 minutes.
• Add the buns split-side up to the baking sheet with the bacon and bake until the buns are toasted, about 5 minutes.
• Loosely form the beef into 4 balls. Add one ball of beef to the skillet and press firmly to flatten with a large flat metal spatula for 10 seconds, then gently remove the spatula. Sprinkle the patty generously with salt; repeat with the remaining beef balls, cooking in batches if necessary. Let cook, undisturbed, until well browned on the bottoms, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the patties, sprinkle with more salt and top each with a slice of Cheddar. Continue cooking until the cheese is melted around the edges and the bottoms are browned, about 2 more minutes.
• Spread the mayonnaise mixture on the bun tops. Serve the patties on the bottom buns topped with the bacon, onion, tomato and lettuce.

MAPLE-PEPPER BACON

Steps:

• Position wire racks on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Lay 1 pound bacon in a single layer on the racks and bake 7 minutes at 375 degrees F. Brush with maple syrup and continue baking until caramelized, about 25 minutes, flipping, brushing with syrup and seasoning with pepper every 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the racks.

MAPLE BACON CHEESEBURGER

Steps:

• Preheat grill to medium-high; grease grates well.
• Mix together ground beef, bread crumbs, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic, salt, pepper and chili powder. Divide into 6 portions and shape into 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick patties.
• Grill burgers, flipping once, for about 10 minutes or until cooked through. Top each burger with cheese slice during last minute of cooking. Meanwhile, grill buns for 1 minute or until lightly toasted.
• Spread mayonnaise and mustard over top halves of buns. Place burgers on bottom halves; layer bacon, tomato, lettuce and onion over top. Cap with top halves of buns.

THE ULTIMATE BACON CHEESEBURGER

Steps:

• Put the bacon in a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Cook just until the fat is rendered out, 5 to 7 minutes. (The bacon should not brown at all.) Remove the bacon from the pan and place in the bowl of a small food processor. There should be about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat that has collected in the pan.
• Place the buns into the warm bacon fat, cut-side down. Toast the buns they are until golden brown around the edges, about 2 minutes. Set aside for burger assembly.
• Pulse the par-cooked bacon in the food processor until it is coarsely ground, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer the bacon to a large mixing bowl. Add the ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Use your hand to gently work the bacon and seasonings into the ground beef. Divide the meat into 4 portions (6 to 7 ounces each). Loosely pack the meat into 4 thick patties, using your thumb to create a shallow dimple in the center of each. Sprinkle the outside of each patty with salt and pepper as desired.
• Preheat the grill and generously oil the grill grates. Place the patties on the grill and cook to the desired degree of doneness, 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Top each patty with a slice of American cheese and cover the grill to allow the cheese to melt, 30 seconds.
• Assemble the burgers and top with ranch, lettuce, tomato slices and red onion. Serve immediately.

BACON DOUBLE-CHEESEBURGER PIZZA

Steps:

• Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
• In a food processor, finely chop mushrooms, yellow onion and garlic.
• Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and steak spice and cook, stirring and breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, for 8 minutes or until meat is no longer pink and no liquid remains in bottom of pan. Add mushroom mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is fragrant and liquid is evaporated. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper.
• Line a large (about 11- 16-inch) baking sheet with parchment paper, mist with cooking spray and sprinkle with cornmeal. Stretch dough to fit sheet.
• Mix tomato and BBQ sauces together and spread in an even layer onto pizza dough. In a bowl, combine the cheddar and mozzarella, then sprinkle half the cheese mixture overtop the sauces. Spread beef mixture over cheese. Top with remaining cheeses, red onion, tomatoes and bacon.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until crust is golden and cheese is golden brown.
• While pizza is baking, combine yogurt and mustard. To serve, slice pizza, drizzle with yogurt sauce and top with shredded lettuce.