The Ultimate Pub Bacon Cheddar Burger is here! Jazzed up with McCormick® Grill Mates Cowboy Rub, thick cuts of bacon, aged cheddar and crispy onion rings, your summer grill has never had it so good.
Grilling season is in the building. I seriously cannot contain my excitement. After surviving yet another Chicago winter, I deserve a massive celebration since it’s finally time for warm weather and summer holidays. Because of my insane excitement, I felt it was time to make a grilling masterpiece worthy of a celebration. Please welcome the Ultimate Bacon Cheddar Burger recipe.
This recipe is the burger of my dreams. It reminds me so much of the best burgers I’ve had time and time again at wonderful neighborhood pubs. Juicy and flavorful with the best charred taste (I used a mix of ground beef and sirloin), high quality cheese, thick cuts of pepper bacon and delicious golden crisp onion rings on top of doughy and salty pretzel buns make these unforgettable.
What truly makes this the ultimate is the flavor of the burgers. I totally bucked tradition and used McCormick Grill Mates Cowboy Rub. You might be thinking, “Why a spice rub on burgers instead of steak or ribs?” Well, let me tell you it amps up the flavor like nothing else and gives the burgers this insane caramelized crust on the outside! It is officially time to take your burgers to the next level, and using a spice rub is the way to do this!
This Ultimate Bacon Cheddar Burger is inspired by McCormick®‘s brazen burger trend in their Grilling Flavor Forecast. This report (which you can find here) shares some of the hottest new trends that you will definitely want to jump on this grilling season. My favorite was definitely the brazen burger trend where you see typical spice rubs going beyond just steaks and ribs! You see them make their way to burgers like in this recipe.
The Cowboy Rub has spices like ground garlic, various peppers and even has coffee, cocoa powder and a hint of hickory smoke. Imagine all of that deliciousness in your burgers! You definitely want to give this a try all summer long.
After grilling the patties to perfection, I added a slice of aged cheddar cheese to each patty. The flavor was so rich and smooth and melted like a dream. I highly suggest getting a high quality cheese for this burger.
For the bacon, I went with thick cut black pepper slices. To evenly cook them, I put them in the oven instead of cooking them in a skillet. Once you start baking bacon, you never go back to stovetop my friends. It comes out evenly crisp throughout on every single slice.
I realize I could have stopped there but instead went for the win by topping the burgers with my favorite crispy fried onion rings. With a hint of cornmeal and a spicy note of paprika and cayenne, these are golden brown, crunchy and absolutely sensational. I almost didn’t end up with any to top my burgers with because I kept eating them all. You can certainly skip the homemade route and just buy some frozen ones and fry those up but if you have the time, I beg you go to the homemade route with my recipe. They are unforgettable.
This Ultimate Bacon Cheddar Burger recipe is now at the top of my list this grilling season, and I know it will be at the top of yours after you give it a try. And if you are looking for more sensational grilled recipes, like this Smoky Maple & Sage Breakfast Pork Burger, check out McCormick’s website.
- 8 slices thick cut black pepper bacon
- 8 ground sirloin burger patties
- McCormick Grill Mates Cowboy Rub
- 8 slices aged cheddar cheese
- 16 crispy fried onion rings (find recipe here)
- 4 toasted pretzel roll buns
- Optional: Lettuce and tomato for garnish
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and also preheat your grill to medium high heat.
- On a parchment lined baking sheet, evenly lay bacon slices on the surface.
- Bake bacon for 15-20 minutes until deep brown and evenly crispy. Remove from oven and pat bacon on paper towels to remove bacon fat. Break each slice in half.
- Season all sides of patties with Cowboy Rub and pat into the surface of the meat.
- Grill all burgers on both sides until reaching desired doneness.
- Add a slice of cheese on each individual burger patty, allow to melt then remove patties from grill.
- To assemble, (optional) place lettuce and tomato on each bun bottom.
- Place two patties on top of lettuce and tomato then add four bacon halves to each burger.
- Lastly add two onion rings on top of bacon and finish with top bun on each burger and serve.
This post was sponsored by McCormick®. All opinions are 100% mine.
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Dear Jocelyn, what an outstanding burger!! This is calling to me…I wish I had this for dinner tonight. Pinned for later. xo, Catherine
Thank you for the pin!
Now this is a burger!!!
Thank you so much Matt!
This is, by far, my most favorite combination of things to put on a burger. Homemade onion rings are probably one of the greatest gifts to mankind. I can’t wait to grill this burger up this weekend!
I love onion rings so much too!
This burger really is the burger of my dreams!
Thank you doll!
These burgers look amazing! I am loving that pretzel bun!
I adore pretzel buns!
Okay, now this is one FANTASTIC burger recipe!! Look at that monster 🙂
Thank you so much!
I want to dive into that burger!! That seasoning sounds amazing…plus bacon and onion rings. Girl you are totally undoing my diet!
Ha gosh I hate that your diet went goodbye with this!
Now that is what I would call The Ultimate Burger for sure!
That’s one amazing looking burger… it screams summer so hard! I like how you describe it as the burger of your dreams, it sure looks dreamy! 🙂
I’ve never heard of cowboy rub, buyi think I need to get some asap! That burger looks insanely good!
This is some kind of fabulous right here!
Holy hell, that is one AMAZING burger!!
A caramelized crust on a juicy burger? Sign. Me. UP! The flavors in the rub sound super tasty, but I’m telling you — those onion rings!! This is fab!
Now this is the cheeseburger of my dreams! And I never would have thought to use a spice rub on burgers- such a great idea. 🙂
Now THAT is my kind of burger, holy yum!
What a decadent burger! I really like the crispy onion rings on top!
So perfect for a summer party!!
So perfect for a summer party!! Looks great!
I’ve never used the cowboy rub, but I bet it’s delish! Definitely going to have to try these soon. 🙂