Week 31: Bacon Double Cheese Burger Salad

From Closet Cooking.

The Recipe
(serves 2 as a main course)

60-70g bacon, cut in thin slices (half a package if you're in Denmark)
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped and divided
250g ground beef
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tsp mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp bacon grease oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar (I used 1.5tbsp red wine and 0.5tbsp balsamico instead)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tbsp oil or bacon grease (I used half oil with basil and half oil with chili)
2 hamburger buns, cut into 1 inch cubes (didn't have any, so I used pita bread instead)
4 cups lettuce, sliced
2 large tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup cheddar, shredded
1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Cook the bacon in a pan over medium heat until nice and crisp - about 5-10 minutes. Set aside the bacon and drain the bacon grease from the pan (I only got about 1 tbsp - you might get more). Add the onions and half the garlic and saute until tender and fragrant. Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Mix in the ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, simmer to reduce, remove from heat and set aside. Add the vinegar to the pan, deglaze it and then add 1 tbsp bacon grease, sugar, mustard, the rest of the garlic and season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Meanwhile, toss the buns in the oil / bacon grease and bake in the oven until lightly golden brown (about 10 minutes).

Toss the lettuce and tomatoes along with the pan sauce dressing, beef, bacon, croutons and cheese. Yes, it looks like a lot of cheese, but it works :)

The Verdict
SO GOOD!!! Even my husband loved it and asked for left-overs the following day (drat! I had hoped to keep them all for myself!). Really delicious and definitely something I'll be making again. The substitutions worked perfectly and I can't think of a single thing I'd do to change it or make it better. Definitely worth a repeat!