Jalapeño Bacon Cheeseburger
- Author: Hilah Johnson
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
- 2–4 strips of bacon, cut in half
- 3/4 pound ground chuck (80% lean/20% fat preferred)
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2–4 cheese slices
- Fresh or pickled jalapeño slices
- Other toppings:
- Buns
- Mustard/ ketchup/mayonnaise
- Pickles
- Tomato/ Lettuce/ Onion
- Start cooking your bacon. You’ll need 1-2 strips of bacon per burger and I recommend you cut them in half before cooking so they’ll fit on the buns better. Place the strips in a single layer in a cold pan and turn the pan to medium heat. Let them cook 3-4 minutes while you get your beef patties together.
- Put the meat in a large bowl with the Worcestershire and garlic. Mix together with your hands, using a light touch, but fully incorporating the seasonings.
- Form the meat into two patties, no thicker than one inch and about 5-6 inches across. Make the center 2 inches of the patty slightly thinner than the outer circle.
- Season the out side of the patties with the salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Now it’s probably time to flip your bacon. Flip and cook another 3-4 minutes or until it’s as crisp as you like. You can prep your tomatoes/lettuce/onions while it finishes.
- Remove cooked bacon to a plate or paper towel to drain. Pour out all but a tablespoon of bacon grease from the skillet.
- (Optional: you can also grill the jalapeño slices in the bacon grease before cooking the burgers for extra bacon fat infusion!)
- Increase the heat to medium-high and put in your patties. Cook 3 minutes on one side.
- Flip and cook another 3 minutes for rare; 4 minutes for medium-rare, 5 minutes for medium to medium-well. Add the cheese slice to the burgers for the last 1 or 2 minutes of cook time, depending on how easy your cheese melts (i.e. American cheese only needs a minute; other cheeses will need 2 minutes).
- Once cheese is melted and burgers are cooked, serve on buns topped with bacon, jalapeños, and any other toppings you like.