Blue Cheese Burgers with Candied Bacon

This burger recipe is what dreams are made of. It’s creamy and salty while the caramelized onions and candied bacon give it a little sweetness to balance the kick from the blue cheese. It is the best burger I have ever had! In daily recipes, I usually substitute ground turkey for ground beef for a lighter option but you really can't beat the combination of beef and blue cheese. And if you’re gonna have a blue cheese burger, might as well splurge, right?

We paired this with my famous creamy mac and cheese and a side salad but it is so filling and so good, it can be served alone.

I really was inspired to develop this recipe because we have been so stir crazy lately being quarantined in our little Manhattan apartment. Our roof has been closed for a little over a month during quarantine and was secretly hoping I could sneak up there to grill. Long story short, I failed and settled for my cast iron skillet which is arguably just as good if not better (don't @ me). Anyway, please make this recipe -you won’t regret it and drop a comment/suggestion/emoji below 👍🏼

Ingredients:

Burger Patty

• 1 lb 85% lean ground beef

• 1 large egg

• 1 clove garlic, finely minced

• 1/4 tsp cumin

• 1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp onion powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp pepper

• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Blue cheese aioli

• 2 oz blue cheese, crumbled

• 1 clove garlic, finely minced or pressed through garlic press

• 1 tsp stone ground mustard

• 1/4 cup Hellmans mayonnaise

Toppings

• 1 Tbsp olive oil

• One handful of baby arugula

• 1 medium red onion

• 5 slices thick cut bacon

• 3 Tbsp brown sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place parchment paper on a baking sheet

2. Place bacon pieces onto parchment paper and sprinkle with brown sugar

3. Place another sheet of parchment paper over the bacon and brown sugar and cover with another baking skeet of same size base down (this allows the bacon to stay flat during cooking process)

4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes then remove to paper towel lined plate

5. Next, trim the stem and root end of onion and peel away the outer layer. Then slice crosswise, into rounds

6. Heat a medium skilled over low heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil and onions, stir occasionally for about 30 minutes until they begin to turn a light brown color

7. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix all burger patty ingredients together until combined

8. Divide meat mixture into 4 round patties and set aside

9. Next, make the aioli by combining the blue cheese, garlic, mustard, and mayonnaise, set aside

10. Cook burger patties over medium-high heat in skillet (preferably cast iron)

11. Toast buns, layer all ingredients, and enjoy!