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50-50 Burger Failure

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SmokeWatcher

  • Karma: 1
I tried making a 50-50 burger this weekend. A 50-50 burger is made with 50% ground beef and 50% ground bacon. Should be a no-brainer!

I froze and ground the bacon with no issues and mixed it with the ground beef to make 1/3 lb patties. I then set the patties in the fridge until I was ready to grill. Because the patties were so sticky with fat I placed them on the grill straight from the fridge and grilled them about 7-8 minutes per side. The burgers still turned out pretty pink (even though I probed them at 160+...damn thing anyways) and they had absolutely NO BACON FLAVOR!

Would pan frying them help me keep all that bacony goodness by allowing it to cook in the fat instead?
#1 - July 08, 2013, 04:00:35 am
If it ain't right, don't do it....If it ain't true, don't say it....If it ain't yours, don't take it.

Mark

  • Karma: 23
I think you have the right idea. Pan-frying them would allow them to cook in the bacon fat, instead of it dripping away, retaining much more of the flavor. I think would also be a good time to use a super-lean ground beef, such as 93/7, allowing the bacon fat to play a bigger role in the flavor profile.
#2 - July 08, 2013, 06:58:55 am
Mark Motta
Meatier Creator

SmokeWatcher

  • Karma: 1
I think would also be a good time to use a super-lean ground beef, such as 93/7, allowing the bacon fat to play a bigger role in the flavor profile.
I thought about that too after I made them.
#3 - July 08, 2013, 12:04:22 pm
If it ain't right, don't do it....If it ain't true, don't say it....If it ain't yours, don't take it.

AzScott

  • Karma: 13
Another option is to make two patties. One beef and one bacon. I find that bacon loses much of it's flavor when mixed with other meats.
#4 - July 08, 2013, 04:03:35 pm
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Tek465

  • Karma: 0
I think the allure of bacon is that it is crispy with a Maillard reaction. I don't see the advantage of grinding it like sausage. Almost every recipe involving bacon has it wrapped or rendered exposing it to direct heat.

If it is ground up in burgers beforehand I think it's just going to end up being steamed or boiled bacon. There's just too much moisture inside the meat. And while a moist juicy burger is good, soggy bacon is not good eats.

If you bacon wrap your burger, the bacon tastes great but the burger misses out on the Maillard reaction. Now you could cook the bacon beforehand. Chop it, then work it into the burger. But what are the gains. You still have the same taste, but you loose the visual appeal of those lovely strips poking out of the bun.
#5 - July 09, 2013, 03:57:48 pm

SmokeWatcher

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Just to finish my story...
I made another attempt to create a 50-50 burger. This time I used 93/7 ground beef mixed with the ground bacon and decided to fry it. I definitely smelled the bacon! I was so worried about undercooking the bacon that I ended up overcooking it and drying the burger out...but I could at least taste the bacon this time.

This was a lot of work. Next time I'll just leave the bacon as a topping. :)
#6 - July 14, 2013, 03:30:05 pm
If it ain't right, don't do it....If it ain't true, don't say it....If it ain't yours, don't take it.

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