Triple Cheese Bacon Avocado Burgers
Gahhh burger night is here!! & I am sooo excited!! Our new place is right around the corner from a 50s inspired burger shack, and that place has been calling my name for days while also inspiring me to go hard on some at home Summer burgers. So that is exactly what I am doing this Friday night - not holding back and cooking up some indulgent, cheesy & juicy burgers. & truth be told - I have been eating pretty much one meal a day in preparation to really dive in to these amaze-balls burgers.
This week has been a high and low of keeping myself busy here in Washington. Highs have been busting out home projects right & left - a little gardening and interior painting to keep me busy. But I am no DIY professional, so the lows have been running out of projects that I feel confident in my ability to complete on my own. It lead to way too much binge watching of 13 Reasons Why during said downtime, which is now my new TV addiction. & then there has been the perpetual job search and taking some phone interviews. But ya looking for a job - the worst. The uncertainty and wanting to find the right thing literally gives me anxiety. But I am getting through it, and lifting my spirits with a Friday filled with exploring Tacoma and capping it off with my version of the best burger I have ever eaten.
Tacoma is really such a cute little town, and today we ventured to the downtown area for an afternoon of shopping finished with a quick little happy hour. Jordan and I have to work on Saturday, so he is playing hooky with me today and leading the charge in showing me around our new town. The man knows I loves shopping, especially in a good little boutique, and so we headed to the boutiques of Tacoma and found so many cute & trendy shops. Ummm Satori is my new favorite store and I can go with shopping there for the rest of my days here in Tacoma. It was the perfect little spot to get some new summer accessories needed for our upcoming tropical vacation. & then we snagged some local beers at Elemental Pizza to round out the afternoon of exploring and rev up our appetites for burgers.
So back to the burgers - of course we bought grassfed beef (as we make the habit of doing on all carnivorous occasions), but I tell you one of the BEST burgers I ever ate was at a place called The Pharmacy in Nashville. It was a very miserable work date with not the best company, but nonetheless a delicious meal. If you're in the Nashville area - you must go because this burger is one of the top three reasons I want Jordan and I to go vacation there. Anyways, I ordered the cheese burger with bacon as that is my typical go to when it comes to burgers and my ULTIMATE FAVORITE THING TO EAT EVER, but in this case didn't really fully understand what I was getting. To my surprise, the waiter at Pharmacy comes with this burger that was absolutely smothered, and I mean smothered, with cheese. He sets it in front of me, and after further inspecting what I ordered I see that what I thought was a typical bacon-cheeseburger actually was topped with 3 thick slices of 3 different cheeses. So much cheese I couldn't even see the patty. This triple cheese burger gem was pure heaven, and a burger that has been a must for recreating since this magical eating experience. So I am recreating it at my house tonight - using mozzarella, swiss, and cheddar to make my very own Triple Cheese Bacon Avocado Burgers.
Again, my burger from the pharmacy was just my muse, so I made it my own by adding avocado and a spicy kick. To appeal to my cheeseburger cravings while also catering to my husbands more spicy preferences, I am heating up this burger with some candied jalapenos. Candy-ing jalapenos is not something I have done before, but when it entails a mason jar, sugar, vinegar, and some patience, well it sounds easy enough to me. & it is sooo easy and sooo delicious! Full disclosure - I found a recipe for these pickled jalapenos and thought I might be taking a risk by just putting raw jalapenos on my burger. But the candying of the jalapenos really dials down the heat and does do a light cook of peppers while they marinade in a mason jar. Almost like a pickling process. The big point I am trying to make is that even if you are intimidated by heat, you should definitely give these candied peppers a try because you get the jalapeno flavor without the intense heat.
For the Candied Jalapenos
1 mason jar, or equivalent sealed glass container
4 thinly sliced jalapenos
1 c. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. white sugar
For the Burgers
4 potato buns (or other buns of your choice)
4 slices bacon
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 1/4 lb. 100% organic grassfed beef
4 slices of Swiss cheese
4 slices of mozzarella
1/2 c. of shredded cheddar cheese
1 avocado, thinly sliced
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced (with a mandolin if possible)
Butter lettuce leaves
Salt & pepper
Mayonnaise (best quality you can find)
Start by making the jalapeños. Add the vinegar and sugar to the glass jar, and shake violently until the sugar dissolves. Once sugar has dissolved, add in the jalapeños. Place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
To prepare your burgers, start by cooking the bacon. Preheat the oven to 275. Spread the bacon on a foil lined baking sheet, and cook for 30 minutes. Once that time is up, remove the bacon from the oven and generously brush the maple syrup over the top of the bacon. Cook for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan.
Get organized for the rest of your burger prep by spreading all veggies onto a cutting board, including the bacon. For the bacon, cut each strip in half. For the burgers, form the meat into 4 equal sized patties that are about the size of your bun in diameter. Season both sides of the patty with salt and pepper, and press your thumb into the center of each patty. Leave out at room temperature until you're ready to cook.
To prepare the beef, heat a skillet or griddle over medium high heat. Once the skillet is hot, melt 1 tbsp of butter over the top. Cook the beef on one side over medium high heat for 3 minutes, flip and then top with the 3 cheeses, with the shredded cheddar going on first. Cover, and cook for an additional 3 minutes. During the last minute, put your buns on the skillet face side down to toast. Turn off the heat and remove the patties and buns from the heat.
To assemble your burger, spread mayo on both sides of the bun. Place the lettuce on the bottom bun and top with the patty (trust me - much easier to eat this way as the patty will down the leafy lettuce). Then layer on the avocado, the bacon, and 4-5 candied jalapeno slices. Top with the other half of the bun, and you're ready to eat.
