These BBQ Bacon Smash Burgers make the best recipe for your Blackstone griddle! A juicy burger with crispy edges that is loaded with uncured bacon, caramelized onions, and bbq sauce. It will most definitely become a family favorite burger recipe.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The crispy edges - The signature characteristic of a good smash burger is the extra browning on the outside edges and a juicy interior! Smashing the burger allows for more of the surface area to be in direct contact with the heat source. This produces a delicious burger that has a nice crust while retaining the juices.
- Smash burgers are so versatile - Making homemade smash burgers allows you to make them exactly how you like them, with the toppings and ingredients you desire!
- You can cook everything in one place - The blackstone (or other flat top grill) is perfect for making big hearty meals all in one place! The burgers, bacon, and onions can be cooked right alongside each other and the buns can be heated on the griddle as well! This Blackstone Fried Rice recipe and the Blackstone Fajitas are a couple more of our favorite blackstone meals.
What Is A Smash Burger?
Smash burgers are essentially loosely packed burger balls made up of ground beef or ground chuck that is smashed over a hot griddle. Differing from a thick traditional burger, this results in a thin patty that is crispy on the outer edges and juicy and tender on the inside. Smash burgers are full of flavor and perfect for doubling (or tripling!) the patties on your burger.
Smashed burgers became popularized by the burger joint franchise, SmashBurger, that was founded in 2007 and specializes in these smashed burger patties.
Ingredients Needed
For BBQ Bacon Smash Burgers
For Toppings
Ingredient Notes
- Ground Chuck or Ground Beef - We prefer the flavor that ground chuck provides these burgers, however, ground beef will work as well! We recommend not using anything leaner than 80/20.
- Uncured Bacon - Uncured Bacon is easy to find and simply means the bacon was not cured using synthetic nitrates, nitrites or other preservatives. Bacon without added sugar is a great paleo and primal option!
- Barbecue Sauce - If you’re looking to keep these burgers primal or paleo compatible be sure to check the ingredients!
- Avocado Oil - This will be used as needed cook on the griddle. You may not need any depending on the fat content of the bacon.
- Cheese - your favorite will do! We like to use a raw grass-fed cheddar cheese slice.
- Buns - To keep these gluten free, we use Canyon Bakehouse gluten free buns. However, brioche buns, potato buns, or any other soft bun will be delicious as well!
There are no rules here! Top these burgers with your favorite toppings; burger sauce, dill pickles, tomatoes, or lettuce.
How To Make This Recipe
- Add the hamburger meat, barbecue sauce, salt and pepper to a large bowl and combine well.
- Divide the ground beef mixture into eight even sized, loosely packed, balls.
- Add the bacon slices to the preheated Blackstone griddle on medium-high heat.
- Then, add the sliced onions and mix with a small amount of the bacon fat to allow them to begin caramelizing.
- Flip the bacon as needed to ensure even cooking on both sides.
- Next, add the beef balls to the griddle over medium high heat and using a burger press, immediately smash the burgers for approximately 10 seconds each until each patty is thinned. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side.
**Note: If you don't have a burger press you can use a bacon press, a large flat metal spatula, or a cast iron skillet. To use a cast iron pan, place a piece of parchment paper between the skillet and the top of each patty.
**Note: Use avocado oil as needed to prevent the burgers from sticking. You may not need any depending on the fat content of the bacon.
- When the bacon is done to your liking, remove it from the griddle and onto a paper towel lined plate.
- Continue stirring the onions as needed and when caramelized to your liking remove them from the griddle.
- Add the hamburger buns to the bacon fat (cut side down) and let them toast on medium heat (turning down to low if you need more time).
- 1-2 minutes before the burgers are done, top them with a slice of cheese. Allow the cheese to melt while the burgers continue cooking to your preferred level of doneness. Then, remove from the heat.
- Assemble your homemade smashburger to your liking! Top the toasted bun with the patties, bacon, caramelized onions, additional bbq sauce, and any other toppings you desire.
What To Serve With Smash Burgers?
These smash burgers are so versatile and go great served with many things! Serve them with a side salad, homemade baked potato wedges (or traditional french fries), or any of these delicious healthy side dishes:
Smoked Vegetables
Paleo Broccoli and Bacon Salad
Traeger Asparagus
Recipe FAQ’s
Yes! These smash burgers can certainly be made in a large cast-iron skillet. I recommend cooking the bacon first and reserving some of the bacon fat to use for caramelizing the onions and cooking the burger patties in. This will provide optimal flavor and the juiciest burger.
Additionally, the burgers will have to be cooked in batches to prevent from overcrowding and allowing enough room to “smash”!
As with every recipe on this site, we prioritize using real and wholesome ingredients to make our recipes! Using grass-fed and grass-finished beef, uncured bacon (that is also sugar free), BBQ sauce made with real and simple ingredients, and raw grass-fed cheddar makes this a great primal dish! You can opt to serve it on a gluten free bun, lettuce wrap, or make a salad out of it.
These burgers store best in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
More Blackstone Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Blackstone BBQ Bacon Smash Burgers
Equipment
- Blackstone Griddle or cast iron pan
- Burger Press or large metal spatulas
Ingredients
- 2 lb ground chuck or ground beef
- 2 tbsp bbq sauce
- 12 oz bacon
- ½ large onion sliced thinly
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- grass-fed cheddar cheese optional
- hamburger buns
For Toppings
- tomatoes sliced
- lettuce
- BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Add the hamburger meat, bbq sauce, salt and pepper to a large bowl and combine well. Then, divide the ground beef mixture into eight even sized, loosely packed, balls.
- Add the bacon slices to the preheated blackstone griddle on medium-high heat. Then, add the sliced onions and mix with a small amount of the bacon fat to allow them to begin caramelizing.Flip the bacon as needed to ensure even cooking on both sides.
- Next, add the beef balls to the griddle over medium high heat and using a burger press, immediately smash the burgers for approximately 10 seconds each until each patty is thinned. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side.
- When the bacon is done to your liking, remove it from the griddle and place it on a paper towel lined plate. Continue stirring the onions as needed and when caramelized to your liking remove them from the griddle.
- Add the hamburger buns to the bacon fat (cut side down) and let them toast on medium heat (turning down to low if you need more time).
- 1-2 minutes before the burgers are done, top with a slice of cheese, allow it to melt while the burgers continue cooking to your preferred level of doneness and then remove from the heat.
- Assemble your homemade smash burger to your liking, topping the toasted bun with the patties, bacon, caramelized onions, additional bbq sauce, and any other toppings you desire. Enjoy!
Notes
- Ground Chuck or Ground Beef - We prefer the flavor that ground chuck provides these burgers, however, ground beef will work as well! We recommend not using anything leaner than 80/20.
- Uncured Bacon - Uncured Bacon is fairly easy to find and simply means the bacon was not cured using synthetic nitrates and nitrites or other preservatives. Bacon without added sugar keeps it paleo and primal.
- BBQ Sauce - If you’re looking to keep these burgers primal or paleo compatible be sure to check the ingredients!
- Buns - If you're looking to keep these gluten free, Canyon Bakehouse gluten free buns are a great option. However, brioche buns, potato buns, or any other soft bun will be delicious as well.
- If you don't have a burger press you can use a large flat metal spatula, or a cast iron skillet to smash the burgers.
- To use a cast iron pan, place a piece of parchment paper between the skillet and the top of each patty.
- To make these burgers in a cast iron skillet, I recommend cooking the bacon first and reserving some of the bacon fat to use for caramelizing the onions and cooking the burger patties in.
- The burgers will have to be cooked in batches to prevent from overcrowding and allowing enough room to “smash”.
- These burgers store best in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
Love this recipe? Consider leaving a 5-star 🌟 rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. We LOVE to hear from you!
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