These Peanut Butter Bacon burgers are made with homemade peanut butter - ground in the Weston Manual Food Grinder, homemade bacon - smoked in a Weston Vertical Propane Smoker, and fresh beef (or venison - this makes for a great venison burger too!)- ground in the Weston Manual Food Grinder. Crisped in peanut oil and served on a toasted bun, this burger makes your soul feel good.
Makes 4 burgers
Prep Time 10 minutes, not including homemade bacon
-Ingredients-
For the Burger
2 lbs fresh beef (or venison), cut into 1" cubes
.5 lbs
homemade bacon, cut into 1" cubes (not sliced)
1 cup homemade peanut butter
For the Bacon
Click here for the homemade bacon recipe
For the Peanut Butter
1.5 cups of roasted, shelled, unsalted peanuts
1.5 tablespoons peanut oil
-Tools-
Weston Manual Food Grinder
Weston Burger Press
Cast iron skillet
First, you're going to need to make your bacon ahead of time, recipe link is above. It will need to brine 24 hours at least, and then smoke for a couple of hours. Aside from the bacon prep, this recipe is quick and easy.
Once you have your bacon ready to go, chilling in the refrigerator, make the homemade peanut butter. Wet the surface under your
Manual Food Grinder, then turn the suction knob to lock it securely to your counter top. Pour half of your peanuts and half of your peanut oil into the
Food Grinder with the fine grinding plate attached. Begin turning the handle in a clockwise motion, and within seconds, semi-chunky peanut butter will be pouring from the grinder.
Repeat with the second half of the peanuts and oil. That's all there is to making peanut butter with the
Weston Manual Food Grinder. If you want a smoother peanut butter, run it through the grinder a few times. If you want a chunkier peanut butter, use the coarse grinding plate, and feel free to use more or less peanut oil to suit your tastes.
If you have a problem with peanut butter being in your burger meat, you can rinse the Food Grinder out, but ultimately, there will be peanut butter in your burger anyway. So, just change the grinding plate to the coarse grinding plate, then load the food grinder with the bacon and beef cubes. Turn the handle, and within two minutes, you will have two and a half pounds of fresh bacon-burger meat.
To form the patties, use a
Weston Burger Press. Set the press to 1/4#, place a piece of
Weston Hamburger Patty Paper on the bottom, then place a loosely packed ball of meat on the paper. Close the press tightly, and when you open it, you'll have a perfectly formed patty. Repeat this for half of your meat, then re-adjust the press to 1/8# and continue pressing.
Now, adjust your press to 1/2#. Place one of the 1/4 pound patties on the bottom of the press. Then spread about a tablespoon of peanut butter over the center of the patty. Layer a 1/8 pound patty on top, then tightly close the press. You will have a peanut butter filled hamburger patty. Repeat for all.
Once you've made your patties, grill until they are close to the temperature you like, then flash fry them in a skillet with about 3 tablespoons of peanut oil. Serve on toasted buns.
If you like your burgers extra peanut butter-y, you can add a dollop on top of the burger. And hey, while you're at it, maybe add a couple extra pieces of bacon too!
