Meal No. 729: Peanut Butter Bacon Burgers

It's been over 200 meals ago since this Roediger House favorite was on the evening's menu, and that sort of shocks me. It's not like I made 200 meals that were just better than this in the meantime. Suffice it to say that it's been too long since the

WONDERFUL

AMAZING

CULINARY SENSATION

of

PEANUT BUTTER BACON BURGERS

has made an appearance. This dreadful oversight was corrected this evening.

The first steps are grinding roasted Virginia peanuts to made the peanut butter (with a bit of peanut oil and honey mixed in), and making the Classic Burger Sauce (recipe down below). Then the bacon gets cooked and set aside to drain and cool.

Since I consider these a special treat, I try to really do it up right, including grinding my own beef. This starts with cubing a mix of boneless beef ribs and top sirloin, and letting them firm up in the freezer for a half-hour:

I then grind them in the Cuisinart food processor, using 17 or 20 1-second pulses. My recipe recommends against it, but I like to add in some dashes of garlic salt and onion powder during the grinding process (which I do in two batches). The result gets dumped onto parchment on a rimmed baking sheet, so that I can sort out the chunks and the clumps of gristle:

Then I spread out the meat and divide it roughly into portions. The patties are formed by gently pushing the ground meat towards and into each other, while avoiding much handling. There is definitely NO two-handed palmed-patting of these patties:

Since they're not firmly pressed together, you've got to handle and transfer them with care. That happens after a good salting and fresh ground peppering, and into the electric griddle they go. (I'd already buttered and toasted the buns at this point.)

About five minutes on one side, flip, and about four minutes on the other side. Then the slabs of sliced cheese go on top to have time to melt while I spread the classic burger sauce onto the buns.

Out come the burgers, topped with the homemade peanut butter, then the bacon, and then the top bun crowns it. Yum-mee:

Tonight there was a special request for steak fries, so I accommodated by making them in the deep fat fryer.

The inspiration for this meal comes from Yo Mama's in the French Quarter in New Orleans, where I first experienced this monstrosity under the kind and able tutelage of former student and good friend Tim Schwarz.

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Previous Blog with Step-By-Step Photos: Meal No. 234
Labeled Finished Burger: Guide to Meal No. 234

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Classic Burger Sauce

from Cook's Illustrated, July-August 2008, p. 11.

4 T mayonnaise
2 T ketchup
1 tsp sweet pickle relish
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl.

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Recipe and Instructions based on Cook's Illustrated, No. 93 (July/August 2008), p. 10.