Wow, talk about a burger that just rocketed to the top of our favorite-to-make list. These campfire burgers are just packed with flavor, inside and out. The patties are not boring, combining ground beef with cheese, bacon, Worcestershire sauce and just a hint of smokiness. And then there’s the caramelized onions. Caramelized onions are a wonderful thing but adding balsamic vinegar to them makes them spectacular. And finally, a lightly smoky creamy sauce to top it all off. These burgers are messy, which keeps with my motto: messier is better.
I recommend making more of the onions than the recipe for these campfire burgers calls for. As in doubling it. On the off-chance that you have leftover onions they are also fantastic on grilled hot dogs. I also recommend making more of the sauce. It’s great to have on hand for, well, hot dogs again, but also po boy sandwiches or even as a dipping sauce for chicken nuggets.
I like to use a burger press when I make burgers. It, in combination with some patty papers, enables me to crank out a whole bunch of equally-sized burger patties in no time at all with little cleanup.
Also try my chili crunch burgers.
Campfire Burgers
Ingredients
For the Caramelized Onions
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion sliced thin
- pinch Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon balsamic vinegar
For the Campfire Sauce
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup barbecue sauce
- ⅛ teaspoon liquid smoke
For the burgers
- 1 pound ground beef I prefer 85/15 beef/fat mix
- ¼ cup extra sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 slices bacon cooked, crumbled
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- pinch ground black pepper
- 4 hamburger buns
Instructions
For the Caramelized Onions
- Heat the oil in large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the onions and sprinkle with salt.
- Toss to coat and cook for 20 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are brown and caramelized.
- Add the balsamic vinegar, stir, and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat.
For the Campfire Sauce
- Whisk all ingredients until smooth.
For the burgers
- Fire up your grill for direct and indirect cooking.
- Place meat into a large bowl.
- Add all of the remaining ingredients except for the buns and mix well.
- Form into 4 equally-sized patties.
- Grill as desired.
- Assemble the burgers by adding cooked patties to the bun bottoms. Add onions and plenty of the Campfire sauce.
- Serve with plenty of napkins!
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.
