¼cupRed Duck mustard-based barbecue sauce or similar
For the Burgers
10oz80/20 ground beef
10ozground pork
kosher salt
4ozCabot Pepper Jack Cheese
4potato burger bunsfaces toasted in a buttered pan
Instructions
For the Bacon
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Lay out the sliced bacon on a foil-lined sheet pan.
Bake in the center of the oven for about 20 minutes.
Remove the tray from the oven and brush on a thick layer of KC-style bbq sauce onto each slice.
Return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes.
Set cooked bacon aside on a paper-towel lined plate. Refrigerate if not making your burgers right away.
For the Relish
Combine the relish, jalapenos, brown sugar, and mustard bbq sauce in a small bowl and stir well.
Set aside at room temperature if you are going to go ahead and make your burgers. If not, refrigerate until needed.
For the Burgers
In a large bowl, thoroughly mix together the ground beef and pork.
Form into 8 equal portions, or use a scale to weigh out 2.5 oz portions and then roll into balls.
Use a cheese plane to cut thin slices of pepper jack and set aside convenient to the stove.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. NOTE: This is a smoky process. If you don't have a really strong range hood, open all your windows and turn on your fans OR cook on a burner outside.
Do not oil your pan. You want the burgers to stick a bit to get a good crust.
Place 2 "meat balls" in the hot pan and then smash down each firmly into a thin patty with a flexible metal spatula. Sprinkle each patty with a bit of kosher salt.
Let the burger patties cook until they are done around the edges, about 3 minutes. Use the spatula to scrape each burger off the pan and then flip.
Put 2-3 thin slices of pepper jack cheese on top of one of the patties.
Cook for about 1-1 1/2 minutes and then place the plain patty on top of the patty with cheese.
To Build Your Burgers
Have Ready:
Buttered and toasted potato buns
4 pieces lacquered bacon for each burger
The bbq relish
Spread about 2 Tablespoons relish on the bottom buns.
Top with the burger-cheese assembly.
Top the burgers with bacon: 2 pieces one way and 2 pieces the other
Top with another Tablespoon or so of the relish.
Add the top bun.
Serve with your favorite side dishes. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Timing for the bacon is for thick-cut bacon. It will take much less time to cook thin bacon, and you may need more slices that what I recommend.Cook time shown is for 1 round of cooking 2 burgers. When making multiple burgers, I put the cooked patties (double stacked with cheese in the middle) in my toaster oven to keep warm)