Cheddar Bacon Mushroom Smash Burgers

We all love burgers in some way. Whether they are vegan or full on meat smothered in cheese… I have to say, I love them all.

This burger, on the other hand, is our favorite. It is a “guys burger” as my husband says. I guess it’s because it is two patty’s smothered with cheese, bacon, mushrooms and onions on a bun with minimal amount of veg. Well, at least on his anyways. I love my veggies so I usually put lettuce and tomato on mine… But, my husband, He is all guy and loves meat so he puts everything but veg. lol. That is fine and it tastes amazing either way.

Serve this with some fries and you have a pub style burger for the win! Or if you are like me and sometimes opt for a salad, then that is fine too. I like to switch it up from time to time depending on my calories for the day.. This is definitely a carb and calorie buster, but who cares…. It is a cheat meal for me and I like to indulge to stay sane on my journey… Sometimes I eat just the burger minus the bun with the veg as a salad… if I’m being “good”. lol

Either way you enjoy this burger, it is delicious…. So, let’s get in to the recipe so you can enjoy this burger too.

Let’s get going.

INGREDIENTS:

Butter – For the buns to make them all nice and toasty
2 lbs Ground beef ( I use 80/20 but use what you have)
2 tsp Salt -or to taste
2 tsp Pepper – or to taste
1 1/2 tsp Seasoned Salt
1 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
2 cup Mushrooms – Sliced
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
salt and pepper ( to taste)
1/2 Onion – thinly sliced
6-8 Slices Of Bacon (any style or brand) halved
Burger Buns Of Choice (we used the large buns with sesame seeds on top)
6-8 Slices of Cheese ( I prefer Cheddar but you can use what you like)

DIRECTIONS:

1. First we are going to butter the burger buns and place the top and bottom together and set aside. Heat up a grill pan or large skillet over medium heat. When up to temp place the buttered side of the buns on the pan and let toast for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove them when they are golden brown and to your liking. Place the top and bottom together and place on a plate and put them in the oven ( off) to stay warm.
2. In that same skillet or a separate skillet add your bacon and brown them up until it is to your perfection. Remove and set aside on a line plate to cool and to drain the extra fat off.
3. In a small bowl add the salt, pepper, seasoned salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. Mix well and set aside. ( I just realized there was a lot of setting aside in this recipe….but it’s worth it)
4. Now is the time to have a scale. If not use about a 3 tbsp scoop and it should work out just fine. Weigh out 3 oz. of the beef and shape into rounds. Don’t press the meat together yet, just shape them. Set them aside until all of them are ready to go.
5. Go ahead and heat the skillet or grill pan back up to about medium heat and add a bit of butter to the pan. Make sure to cover the entire pan with the butter to prevent it from sticking to much. It will stick slightly anyway because of the outer crust you are going to put on it.
6. When the pan is nice and hot place about 3 to 4 meatballs into the pan and use something heavy like a grill press or a lid with parchment paper and press down until they are completely flat. Continue to hold it there for about 30 seconds to help develop that crust on the meat. Add a bit of your seasoning mix and let cook for about 2 to 3 minutes per side. When you flip the meat over season the other side and immediately add the bacon halves and cheese to the other side on half of the burger meat. This makes the cheese all nice and melty and just….yum. You will be stacking these so keep that in mind. You only want the bacon on one patty and not both of them.
7. When the meat is done top one of the bacon and cheese topped burger on to a plain with cheese and remove to a plate.
8. In the meantime, while you are cooking the burgers go ahead and add a bit of butter to a skillet and add the onions and cook until just tender. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook until the onions are transparent and the mushrooms are tender. Add the Worcestershire sauce and cook until the onions and mushrooms are caramelized and delicious. Remove to a bowl. This should take about 10 minutes or so.
9. By now your second or third batch of burgers should be done and on your plate. Now all you have to do is assemble them to your liking.
   

• You can assemble these fab burgers how ever you desire. Mayo, mustard, pickles, lettuce, tomato, what ever you like. You can even leave off the veg and go straight meat, and cheese. This is how I assemble ours… most times.
  Bun – mayo- lettuce- tomato- patty with cheese- patty with cheese, bacon- mushroom/onion mix- top bun. This makes a monster of a burger so keep that in mind and it does get somewhat messy. It is so good though.
• If you don’t want two, just top each patty with cheese and bacon and have a smaller burger. It’s still delicious. You’ll just have more burgers.
• Serve with fries or a side salad. I also serve with baked beans during get together as well to make it more “get together BBQ friendly” style. You do you and make it your own.
• If you are keto/low carb, leave off the bun and have a side salad with full fat dressing of choice.
• If you are vegan/vegetarian, use your favorite brand of veg burger and leave out the cheese and meat and other items that are not vegan or vegetarian and make it your own. Burgers are so versatile and you can make them however you like.