Bacon Goat Cheese Burger with Pepper Jam

Salty bacon, creamy goat cheese and sweet spicy pepper jam make this Bacon Goat Cheese Burger incredibly tasty.  It is packed with flavor and is one of the best burgers I’ve ever made. Made with peach pepper jam, this burger gets a bit of sweet heat.

  We really love a good burger in our house and this one was a definite winner.

Bacon Goat Cheese Burger

A few years ago, we were at a food truck festival and the lines were insane for every single truck.  I think the entire city might have turned out for this event, because I couldn’t get near half of the vendors.  By default, I went to the truck that made sliders because it was closest and I had a fighting chance of eating something.

They had all the basics and then there was this one burger that stood out.  It had strawberry jam.  Everyone in my group just looked at me like “Are you seriously ordering that?!”  Yes.  Yes, I did.  It was ah-mazing.  That’s where the idea for this burger was born.  The salty-sweet combination is out of this world.

HOW TO MAKE THIS GOAT CHEESE BURGER

First, let’s talk about the actual MEAT of the matter.  I used ground chuck.  It is my preference for burgers.  I find it makes a juicy burger and the fat ratio (15 – 20%) is perfect.  I portion out 5 ounces for each burger, using this handy kitchen scale. 

It isn’t absolutely necessary to weigh them, but if you have people in your house who compare their plate to other people’s plates, it’s helpful.  Also, I don’t want to get the tiny burger of the bunch.  I’m stingy like that, so I weigh the meat to make sure my burgers are the same size. 

Next, after the burgers are portioned and shaped, I make a divot in the middle.  This keeps the burgers flat when cooking.  Otherwise, they tend to look more like meatballs.

WHY DOES WEIGHING MATTER?

Let’s say I have a burger that is a whopping 6 ounces and one that is a measly 2 ounces.  (This sounds like a word problem in math…) If I’m cooking them at the same time, the smaller burger will be a sad little hockey puck by the time that big boy is cooked.  That’s really why I measure the portions.  I want them to cook at the same rate.  It’s easier to time the cooking, knowing that they are uniform.

Summertime is all about burgers

I love having friends over, making a few burgers and hanging out.  These burgers are destined to be at many a backyard party.  Whether you cook them on the stove or on the grill, this bacon goat cheese burger is a home run.  While I have cooked burgers on the grill,  a hot cast iron pan delivers an awesome burger.  The burger basically cooks in its own fat, which makes it even tastier. 
Everyone expects cheddar or american cheese on a bacon burger, so of course I used goat cheese.  Swap out ketchup and mustard for sweet and spicy peach pepper jam and you are in for a tasty treat.

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MORE BURGERS:

• Pork Burger with Hatch Chiles and Pickled Red Onions
• Italian Sausage & Peppers Burger
• Spiced Lamb Burger

Bacon Goat Cheese Burger

Cheryl Bennett

4.80 from 5 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Servings 4

Calories

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 1/4 lbs ground chuck
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
• 1/2 tsp. granulated onion
• 8 strips bacon cooked
• 4 ounces goat cheese or more if you like
• 8 lettuce leaves
• 1/3 cup pepper jam homemade or store-bought
• 4 burger buns

Instructions

 

• Portion burgers, then wet your hands and lightly flatten, making a divot in the center of each patty. Place on a parchment-lined sheet pan and slide into the refrigerator to chill until ready to cook.
• Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Pull burgers out of the fridge and season both sides of each burger with kosher salt, pepper, granulated garlic and granulated onion.
• Place 2 burgers in the hot pan and cook 5 minutes without touching (or longer if you like a well-done burger). It's ready to flip when you see the juices pool in the middle. Flip, then top each burger with an ounce of goat cheese.
• Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook for an additional 4 minutes.
• Let burgers rest for 5 minutes. While the first two are resting, repeat cooking process with remaining burgers.
• Assemble burgers: Place lettuce on bottom bun, add 2 slices of bacon,goat cheese burger and pepper jam. Cover with top bun and serve.

Notes

When cooking burgers, you want them to start cold. Most times, we let meat come to room temperature before cooking. Burgers do not follow this rule.

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