This Bourbon Burger with Crispy Onions is a fantastic grilling recipe you can enjoy any time of the year. With fried onions, melty cheese, and a homemade bourbon glaze, this recipe is sure to revolutionize the way you make burgers.
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Why this Bourbon Burger Recipe is a Keeper
These cheesy burgers topped with bourbon glaze taste like those at your favorite burger joints. Filled with boozy bourbon flavor, this recipe remains one of our favorites. Your friends or family will love it, and it goes great with a large bowl of BBQ chips.
- 30 Minute Meal: Have these delicious bourbon burgers with crispy fried onions ready in less than 30 minutes.
- Easy Ingredients: All of the ingredients can be found in your kitchen or local grocery store.
- Adaptable: Adjust the ingredients to your tastes and dietary preferences, or add your favorite toppings.
If you’re looking for more burger recipes, try these: Pizza Burgers, Asian Burgers, and Spicy Burgers with Creamy Sriracha Sauce.
What is the Best Beef Blend for Burgers?
70/30 ground beef is a popular choice for burgers, as it contains enough lean meat for a rich texture, but enough fat for a juicy, flavorful burger. If you want to take your burgers to the next level, ask your local butcher for recommendations if possible.
Ingredient Notes for Bourbon Burgers
- Ground Beef: 70/30 ground chuck or 80/20 are recommended for these beefy burgers, depending on the ratio of lean meat to fat that you want.
- Bourbon Glaze: Smother the burgers in a savory bourbon glaze you can make yourself with our recipe.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Variations and Substitutions for Burgers with Crispy Onions
Ground Meat: Use different kinds of ground meat, such as ground turkey or ground chicken.
- Cheese: Feel free to use your favorite kind of cheese, such as pepper jack, white cheddar cheese, or Swiss cheese. You can also add toppings, such as lettuce and tomatoes.
- Bun: Use your favorite bun to make the best burger. A pretzel or brioche bun both work great.
Special Equipment Needed
It’s super easy to make regular burgers without any gadgets. This recipe calls for a grill, but you don’t need anything else.
- Grill: Make these burgers on the grill, preferably outdoors, or use a grill pan if cooking indoors.
Pro Tip
As the alcohol cooks down, save some money and use a less expensive bourbon to make the glaze.
How to Make Bourbon Burgers
These are the basic steps for making bourbon burgers with fried onions. Refer to the full, printable recipe card below for detailed instructions.
1. Make Hamburger Patties
Combine the ground beef, Worcestershire sauce and burger seasoning blend.
Mix very gently by hand just until combined but be careful not to overmix. Shape into six patties about 1 inch thick. Push a ½ inch indent into the center of the patty to prevent it from puffing up.
2. Grill the Burgers
Preheat grill to medium to high heat and place the burgers on the grill grates. Flip and cook for 6-8 minutes per side, or until cooked to desired degree of doneness. When burgers have 1 minute left to cook reduce the heat and top each with a slice of cheese. Place the burgers on a plate with a paper towel and set aside.
3. Assemble Your Burgers
While burgers are resting, grill the buns until golden brown. Spread 1 tablespoon of bourbon glaze on the bottom half of each bun. Place a burger on top of each roll, top with 2 tablespoons of French’s fried onions and 1 tablespoon of bourbon glaze. Add top bun and serve immediately with a toothpick.
Burger with BBQ Sauce FAQs
Store leftover burger patties in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes.
Yes; you can use a grill pan in the oven instead of grilling outdoors.
Yes; make the bourbon glaze a few days in advance, then add it to the burgers when you’re ready.
Use your favorite bourbon or whiskey to make the glaze.
Expert Tips for Making This Grilling Recipe
- Patties: Make patties slightly larger than your bun to account for shrinkage. Create a small indentation in the center to prevent puffing up.
- Seasoning: Season on both sides with oregano, cumin, and your favorite spices.
- Meat Thermometer: Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the burgers. They should be done when it reaches 160 degrees F. If they’re still not fully cooked, close the lid on your grill and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
- Resist the Urge to Press: Pressing down on the burger will release juices and make it dry.
- Grilled Onions: You can also make this recipe with grilled onions. Saute them in a medium saucepan and let simmer until translucent.
More Popular Recipes
If you liked these burgers with a splash of bourbon, try these related recipes:
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Bourbon Burger with Crispy Onions
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Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds Ground Beef
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Burger Seasoning Blend
- 6 slices Monterey Jack Cheese
- 12 tablespoons Bourbon Glaze
- ¾ cup Fried Onions, divided
- 6 Burger Rolls
- Toppings, if desired
Instructions
- Combine the ground beef, Worcestershire sauce and burger seasoning blend. Mix by hand just until combined, but be careful not to overmix.
- Shape into six patties that are about 1 inch thick. Push a ½ inch indent into the center of the patty to prevent the patty from puffing up.
- Heat grill to medium-high and grill the burgers for 3-5 minutes.
- Flip and grill other side for 5-6 minutes or until cooked to desired degree of doneness.
- When burgers have 1 minute left to cook, top each with a slice of cheese. Remove to plate and set aside.
- While burgers are resting, grill the buns until golden brown.
- Spread 1 tablespoon of bourbon glaze on the bottom half of each bun.
- Place a burger on top of each roll, top with 2 tablespoons of fried onions and 1 tablespoon of bourbon glaze.
- Top with top half of bun and serve.
Christina’s Notes
- Patties: Make patties slightly larger than your bun to account for shrinkage. Create a small indentation in the center to prevent puffing up.
- Seasoning: Season on both sides with oregano, cumin, and your favorite spices.
- Meat Thermometer: Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the burgers. They should be done when it reaches 160 degrees F. If they’re still not fully cooked, close the lid on your grill and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
- Resist the Urge to Press: Pressing down on the burger will release juices and make it dry.
- Grilled Onions: You can also make this recipe with grilled onions. Saute them in a medium saucepan and let simmer until translucent.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.
I saw a recipe for onions like that using walnuts, pecans, and nutritional yeast. They were considered “raw” but I think that would work here…
Thanks for linking to Creative Juice last week. Hope to see you back this evening…
YUM! The hubs and I LOVE burgers and LOVE bourbon so this sounds and looks perfect!!!
That sounds SO yummy.
Stumbled you, my post is: http://www.mapleleafmommy.com/2011/06/review-story-about-ping-scholastic.html
Sounds delicious!!! Thanks for sharing at the Tuesday To Do Party! Can’t wait to see what you link this week!
Smiles!
Jami
This looks soo yummy! Love burgers that ooey and gooey and covered in sauce and onions! Thank so much for sharing with the Pink Hippo Party.. can’t wait to see what you share next week!
Great job to your husband for making great burgers! I like my burgers well-done but still with lots of juices. Those onion rings sure is a great idea on a burger, I should try that sometime 🙂
Doing my hop from this week’s FTF! Here’s mine:
Breakfast for Dinner at The Food Encounters.
sounds interesting and looks delicious! thanks for sharing and wishing you a great weekend. 🙂