During Covid lockdown, our daughter’s boyfriend lived with us. Colton is a big guy and he loves to eat. Fortunately for us, he also loves to cook. This is Colton’s recipe for the best homemade burger. Using a variety of ground meats like lamb, bison or grass fed beef and fresh bacon makes for a juicy, flavorful and easy to prepare burger. Perfect for a weeknight meal or a backyard BBQ.
Serve these burgers with this cauliflower “no potato” salad, homemade BBQ sauce, a tomato, avocado and cucumber salad or homemade brownies!
Why You’ll Love This Perfect Burger
This burger is bursting with flavor and comes together in just a few minutes for an easy, family favorite you can whip up on a busy weeknight. You can combine a variety of ground meats so feel free to use whatever you have on hand and add your favorite seasonings. That’s one of the great things about this recipe is that you can easily customize it to your liking.
Ingredients To Make The Perfect Burger
- Pastured ground lamb or bison
- Grass fed beef or bison
- Bacon – uncured, pastured, minced
- Paprika
- Sea salt
- Pepper
- For a spicier burger add 1 tsp chili powder
Equipment
- Cast iron skillet
- Medium bowl
How To Make The Perfect Burger
- Grass fed beef by itself can be dry but combined with lamb or bison it is juicy and flavorful and moist.
- In a cast iron skillet or pan, cook bacon lightly until some of the fat has rendered and it is soft but not browned.
- In a medium bowl mix together 3 pounds of ground meat- any combination you like.
- Fold in and mix the minced bacon along with the paprika, salt and pepper and chili powder if using.
- Once the meat is well combined, form into patties of desired size. 1/4 pound, 1/3 pound or 1/2 pound are common sizes if you would like to weigh them and make them into similar sizes. The key is to form the patties “loosely” so they aren’t tough when cooked. This is not the time to pack the meat tightly into a puck!
- Cooking method is up to you! You can fry them in the bacon fat in the pan you used to render the bacon, broil them in the oven until browned, or cook them on the grill. They will take about 5-8 minutes to cook.
- Serve lettuce wrapped using butter lettuce or red head lettuce and top with onions, pickles, bacon strips, goat cheddar, mustard, ketchup, mayo or anything you fancy and enjoy!
Storage
Leftover burgers will keep well in the fridge for 4 days. Make sure to wrap tightly in foil or place in an airtight container. You can also freeze leftover burgers for up to 3 months. Make sure to separate them with a piece of wax or parchment paper or freeze individually on a cookie sheet and then place in a container.
Pro Tips
Here are a few things you can do to make sure your burgers turn out every time.
- Use a variety of different ground meat for a really flavorful burger.
- Loosely shape the patties so they don’t turn out tough.
FAQs
Do you need an egg to make burgers?
Some hamburger recipes call for an egg but in this recipe I haven’t used an egg and I think they hold together very well.
What can I substitute for bacon?
If you don’t want to use pork bacon you can use turkey bacon or any other kind of bacon you prefer.
Did you make this recipe? If you did, please tag me and share on Instagram!
The Perfect Burger
Ingredients
Instructions
- Grass fed beef by itself can be dry but combined with lamb or bison it is juicy and flavorful and moist.
- In a cast iron skillet or pan, cook bacon lightly until some of the fat has rendered and it is soft but not browned.
- In a medium bowl mix together 3 pounds of ground meat- any combination you like. Fold in and mix the minced bacon along with the paprika, salt and pepper and chili powder if using.
- Once the meat is well combined, form into patties of desired size. 1/4 pound, 1/3 pound or 1/2 pound are common sizes if you would like to weigh them and make them into similar sizes. The key is to form the patties "loosely" so they aren't tough when cooked. This is not the time to pack the meat tightly into a puck!
- Cooking method is up to you! You can fry them in the bacon fat in the pan you used to render the bacon, broil them in the oven until browned, or cook them on the grill. They will take about 5-8 minutes to cook.
- Serve lettuce wrapped using butter lettuce or red head lettuce and top with onions, pickles, bacon strips, goat cheddar, mustard, ketchup, mayo or anything you fancy and enjoy!