An easy dinner of Hamburgers with Bacon and Caramelised Onion Jam. The best hamburgers are made simply with beef, salt and pepper, but add in a little diced bacon and you take your burgers to another level!
Cooked perfectly with crispy edges and juicy, tender beef on the inside. Make these even more fun by letting the kids choose the fillings themselves.
HAMBURGERS
A lot of burger patties are made with breadcrumbs and egg, but you really don’t need to add anything other than a really good quality mince, salt and pepper. I like to add bacon for extra flavour, but you could easily leave it out.
The secret is to use beef that’s nice and fatty as fat equals flavour. A little burger tip is to dent the surface of they patty using your fingers. This will reduce the shrinkage of the patties.
INGREDIENTS
- BEEF MINCE – try to get good quality beef mince as this is the main ingredient in the burgers.
- BACON – diced finely to add to the beef mince.
- CHEESE – I used cheddar cheese but you can use any cheese of your choice.
- HAMBURGER BUNS – any hamburger buns from your local bakery or supermarket.
- LETTUCE – I left my leaves whole so they covered the bun but you shred your lettuce if you prefer.
- TOMATO – I used cherry tomatoes sliced as I find they are sweeter and my kids prefer them.
- PICKLES – any type of pickles you prefer will work.
- CARAMELISED ONION – I used caramelised onion Jam by Crunch Preserves. You can find it here.
HOW TO MAKE HAMBURGERS
STEP 1
Combine the beef & bacon into burger patties. Use your fingers to indent the centre.
STEP 2
Cook until your liking & crispy on the edges. The BBQ works great.
STEP 3
Slice up your favourite salad fillings and sauces.
STEP 4
Layer the buns with plenty of Caramelised Onion Jam.
WHAT TO PUT ON YOUR HAMBURGERS
I like to add the cheese to the burger patties while they are still cooking so it melts over the meat. Pickles are a must for my son and me, but not my daughter, so I find its easiest to set up a plate in the centre of the table and give everyone their bun and meat, then they can build their own burgers with their favourite salad.
You could also cook up some eggs, fried onion and slices of bacon if you wanted.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR HAMBURGERS
Do you need bread crumbs in hamburger patties?
Breadcrumbs are not usually included in a traditional hamburger patty mixture, but their addition can help give the cooked patties a more tender and lighter texture.
What are some other hamburger topping ideas?
Some other hamburger toppings you could try would be bacon, coleslaw, avocado, beetroot, pineapple, red onion, fried egg and sautéed mushrooms. Other ideas could be to mix up the sauces you use like tomato sauce, aioli, barbecue sauce, mayo, sriracha to name a few.
What should I serve with homemade hamburgers?
There are many things you can serve with hamburgers. Below are some of my recipes for some ideas.
Hamburgers
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 burgers 1x
Description
Hamburgers made with beef and bacon patties and caramelised onion.
Ingredients
- 500g beef mince
- 2 slices bacon, finely diced
- salt & pepper
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 4 slices of your cheese of choice
- 4 hamburger buns
- lettuce
- cherry tomatoes, sliced
- pickles
- caramelised onion jam
- tomato sauce
Instructions
In a bowl combine the mince, bacon, salt and pepper, then split into 4 equal portions. Form into patties and place on a plate in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Remove the patties from the fridge and use your fingers to make a dent in the centre of each. This helps keep their shape when cooking.
Add the oil to a large frypan over high heat, add the patties and cook for 2 minutes, without pressing down, until crispy. Flip over carefully, cook for 1 minute, top each with a slice of cheese and cook a further minute until cheese has melted and patties are cooked to your liking.
Set patties aside and quickly toast your buns in the hot frypan.
Layer each bun with caramelised onion jam, lettuce, tomato, burger pattie, pickles and tomato sauce, top with lid of bun and serve straight away.
Notes
By denting the centre of the patties it stops them from rising in the centre and forming odd shaped domes.
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dinner
Have you tried this recipe? I love receiving feedback, leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @kidseatbyshanai.
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