The Peanut Butter Cheddar Bacon Burger

With the hot weather hitting Canada’s west coast this month, I felt it was a about time to clean off the ole’ barbecue and get back to cooking with fire. Immediately after coming to this conclusion, I took a look at how dirty it had gotten over the winter…and immediately switched conclusions to one that required substantially less effort.

Actually, the big reason I thought to use the barbecue was because I’d recently been craving a really good burger. To be clearer, I should mention that I was craving a very specific burger: the Darrell’s Peanut Butter Burger. One of only two burgers I ever truly crave (the other being White Spot’s Bacon Cheddar Bigger Burger, which never makes me feel good, but is still ALWAYS worth it), this burger combination may seem a little odd, but is in fact quite fantastic.

Now, being much further away than the 1 1/2 blocks my wife and I used to walk to Darrell’s, I knew the only way to satisfy my craving was to make the burger myself. Checking out the restaurant’s website to confirm the exact details (it’s been three years since my last bite there), I was surprised to see that the burger incorporated all the main burger condiments (mayo, mustard, relish and ketchup) in addition to the peanut butter. I’d imagined that the addition of the peanut butter would’ve meant an exclusion of some other aspects of the average burger, but amazingly that wasn’t the case.

So, armed with a general understanding of what went into such a burger, I set out attempting to make it myself. The end result is something I am massively proud of – and quite excited about! Using seasoned 100% all-beef patties (no bread crumbs, no egg), a frying pan, and a revered respect for Darrell’s original flavor combination, my kitchen gave birth (figuratively) to – quite literally – one of the best burgers I have ever tasted.

Honestly, it’s so good that I felt the need to put “The” in the title. Seriously. That. Good.

But enough of that. I always promised myself I wouldn’t be that food blogger that just wrote gushing self-praise like, “OMG, like, seriously, you need to try this! You’ll thank me later! Soooooo good! Super yum-yums!”…and now I feel as though I’m halfway there. Oh, Peanut Butter Cheddar Bacon Burger, look what you’re doing to me!

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Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
• olive oil
• 1/2 – 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/8 – 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 4 burger buns (classic, brioche, or other)
• 8 slices double-smoked bacon
• cheddar cheese slices
• romaine lettuce leaves
• 1 large tomato (or 2 romas)
• ketchup, relish, mustard & mayo
• smooth peanut butter

Directions:

• Prepare a large plate or serving tray by lightly greasing it with olive oil. Divide your ground beef into 4 equal-sized pieces, roll into balls, then form into patties roughly 1 cm. thick (the circumference should be larger than that of your buns, as they’ll shrink as they cook). Place the patties on the plate and refrigerate while you prepare your other ingredients.
• Prepare all your other ingredients, slicing tomatoes, washing lettuce, etc.. If you love cheese, slice a ton of it; if you’re big on lettuce, tear up and set aside a bunch, if your bacon isn’t cooked yet, fry it up now.
• Mix together your salt and pepper in a small prep bowl and heat a small amount of oil (1-2 tsp.) in a large frying pan (one that has a lid) over medium heat.
• Remove your meat from the fridge and season the tops of the patties with roughly half of your salt and pepper mix. Flip the patties onto the frying pan so that the seasoned side is down.
• Cook for two minutes, then season the tops with the remaining half of the seasoning (If you mix together the full 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper, you may not quite use the full amount – use your judgement here). Flip the burgers and cook another 2 minutes.
• Pour a small amount of water into the pan, then cover and adjust the heat if necessary. Continue cooking until cutting into the middle of a patty reveals no pink (alternately you can use a meat thermometer to check for doneness).
• Toss a layer of cheese on your patties, then cover the pan again just until the cheese melts. Remove the patties to a plate to rest for a few minutes.
• When you’re ready to throw your burger together, here’s the order: bottom bun; mayo, mustard and relish (all spread on the bottom bun); burger patty (with cheese); bacon; tomato; ketchup; lettuce; then peanut butter spread across the top bun.
• Serve alongside some form of fried potatoes (optional) with a healthy supply of napkins (not optional – this thing is messy!).

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