Loaded with a beef patty, cheese, bacon, tomato, pickles, and caramelized onions this Bacon Cheeseburger Melt will melt in your mouth as soon as you bite into the crispy crust. If you love kicking sandwiches up a notch, try my classic Patty Melt and Double Decker French Onion Patty Melt!
Bacon Cheeseburger Melt
This Bacon Cheeseburger Melt is a cross between a patty melt and a bacon cheeseburger. What makes it stand out is the homemade aioli spread that is added to the sandwich. An aioli sauce is typically mayonnaise that is full of garlic. With garlic being the main ingredient added to the mayonnaise, it is sometimes called garlic mayo. You may find yourself using this sauce a lot more than just for the recipe. Try it with olives, seafood, or even my Roasted Potato Wedges.
Bacon Cheeseburger Melt Recipe (full recipe below)
Traditionally, rye bread is used in most patty melt recipes, but I went with the thick slices of Texas toast for this Bacon Cheesburger Melt recipe. It’s really your preference as to what type of bread you choose to use. But, don’t skip the mayonnaise that you spread on top of the slices of bread. That helps give the sandwich a crunchy and greasy (in the best way) texture and delicious crust. Plus, the mayo won’t burn as fast as butter, so you can get your cheese extra gooey.
Don’t skip on making the aioli for this awesome cheeseburger patty melt! If you make the aioli ahead of time, be sure to store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
How to Make a Bacon Cheeseburger Melt
It starts with the caramelized onions in this melt recipe. To caramelize the onions, melt butter over medium-low heat in a medium skillet. Add the onions and cook for about 20 minutes, or until soft and golden brown. Remove the onions from the skillet, and place them in a tented bowl to keep them warm while you prepare the beef patty.
To make the hamburger patties, combine the ground beef, Worchestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Make four square patties out of the beef mixture, keeping each patty just a little bigger than the bread. If you aren’t making the patties right away, just cover them and put them in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. When you are ready to cook the patties, wipe out the skillet that you used to caramelize the onions, set the heat to medium-high, and place the patties in the skillet two at a time. Cook each side for 1-2 minutes, leaving each patty pink in the center. Place the patties on a plate.
Assembling the Bacon Cheeseburger Melt
To put together the melt, wipe out the skillet, set the heat to medium, mix your aioli spread ingredients in a small bowl, and do the following for each sandwich:
- Take a piece of the Texas toast and top it with a slice of cheese.
- Add a beef patty on top of the cheese.
- Add onions.
- Nestle the pickles and tomatoes in the onions.
- Place another piece of cheese on top of the pickles and tomatoes.
- Add three pieces of the bacon.
- Spread on the aioli.
- Put the second slice of bread on top, spreading mayonnaise on top of the bread.
- Place the sandwich, mayo side down, into the skillet. Cook this side for about 3 minutes. A key to a perfectly grilled patty melt is weight or chef’s press. This is the tool that makes smash burgers so good and helps sear a piece of meat more evenly. You don’t have to have the actual tool to use as the weight. Just grab a small pan and use the bottom of it! The whole point is to help the sandwich cook at an even rate and get as close to the heat as possible.
- Remove the skillet from the heat to spread mayo on the top of the melt, flip it over, and cook it for another 3 minutes, or until it is golden brown and the cheese is melted.
- Repeat for all the cheeseburger melts.
How to Bake Bacon
Just like you can make the beef patties ahead of time for this recipe, you can also bake the bacon ahead of time. Yes, I said bake. When I cook bacon, I do it in the oven. I set the temperature to 415°F and while it is preheating, I lay out the individual slices of bacon on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. (Yes, right on the pan! No rack needed.) They are perfectly crispy in 18-20 minutes. No flipping and easy cleanup! Store the cooked bacon in the refrigerator in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in aluminum foil for up to 4 days!
More Delicious Sandwiches
Bacon Cheeseburger Melt
Ingredients
CHEESEBURGER MELT
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 yellow onions, sliced thin
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 8 slices cheddar cheese
- 8 slices Texas toast
- 12 slices hamburger pickles
- 1 large tomato, cut into slices
- 12 pieces bacon, cooked
- 8 teaspoons mayonnaise
AIOLI SPREAD
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon (about 3 cloves) garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
Instructions
- In a medium skillet melt butter over medium low heat. Add onions and cook until caramelized (about 15-20 minutes), stirring often. Add water as needed to prevent burning. Remove from skillet and tent to keep warm.
- In a large bowl, mix together ground beef, Worchestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Make 4 square patties (a little larger than the bread). Each patty should be about ¼ inch thick.
- Wipe out the skillet and set the heat to medium-high. Add the hamburger patties in batches (two at a time), cooking them for 1-2 minutes per side. Remove patties from the skillet and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, pepper, garlic, parsley, and ketchup to make the aioli spread.
- Top 4 slices of bread with cheese, hamburger patty, onions, pickles, tomatoes, another slice of cheese, bacon, aioli spread, and piece of bread.
- Spread 1 teaspoon of mayonnaise on the top.
- Wipe out skillet and set heat to medium. Add sandwiches to pan, mayo side down in batches (two at a time). Place a weighted pan on top to hold the sandwich firmly in the pan. Cook until golden brown (about 3 minutes). Remove the weighted pan. Spread 1 teaspoon of mayo on the top slice of bread and flip. Cook for 3 additional minutes (or until golden brown). Serve warm.
Did you make this recipe?
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