Tyler Florence's Bacon Trick Is Key To The Most Flavorful Homemade Burgers

Is any combination so revered in American cuisine as bacon and burgers? The pair of meats simply belong together, whether you're at a ball game, a cook-out, or out on the town for a meal. While hacks such as cooking burgers in bacon grease have become in vogue in recent years, celebrity chef Tyler Florence has a different approach that supercharges any homemade burger: he adds bacon to the ground beef.

"I ... love to add finely chopped or ground bacon into the burger grind, which adds depth of flavor and texture," Chef Florence says in an interview with Michelin. The crunch of the bacon adds a subtle, salty pop while mixed in with the soft ground meat and the extra bit of fat that renders will make the finished product extra juicy. 

To get the most out of these burgers, Florence says that it's crucial to cook them on a flat surface on high heat. "Even if you're going to cook outside, take a cast iron griddle or plancha ... and put it over a screaming hot grill. You'll get the best crispy exterior that way," he says. For those unfamiliar, a plancha is a Spanish flat-top griddle that's ideal for making the perfect burger and is especially beneficial when cooking burgers for a crowd. Planchas are good at holding an even heat level, which means fewer risks of hot spots and more consistent cooking.

When incorporating bacon into your ground meat, it's worth experimenting with precooking the bacon versus adding it to the meat raw and cooking it all together. If you're going the latter route, blend the bacon and beef together in a meat grinder — Tyler Florence grinds his ground beef at a ⅜-inch grind, which he considers the ideal size. If you don't have a meat grinder, you can chop the bacon into fine pieces and mix together by hand.

Chef Florence also utilizes bacon as a stuffing for burgers, combining cooked bacon with Monterey jack cheese, rolling it into little balls, and forming burger patties around the bacon and cheese. Gently flatten these back into patties and cook until the meat is done and the cheese gooey.

There are other ways Chef Florence uses bacon with his burgers for big-time results. At his San Francisco restaurant Miller & Lux, Florence uses bacon jam and onion rings. Bacon jam is a delicious condiment that works as a beautiful accompaniment to dishes from grilled cheese to deviled eggs and is surprisingly easy to make at home. Cook bacon, onion, and garlic, then add coffee, vinegar, brown sugar, and maple syrup and cook until it forms a thick, syrupy liquid. Just make sure to store it correctly, as canned bacon jam can be a breeding ground for dangerous bacteria.