Oh yes. Here we go. Fresh ground lean beef. Fatty, delicious, thick cut bacon. When you smush them together, you get a juicy, tasty 60/40 beef bacon burger that will make you wonder why you ever put bacon ON your burger instead of IN it.
Now, this may seem obvious, but this is NOT a healthy burger recipe. Quite the opposite: this is a rich, indulgent, calorie fest. But if you ask me, it’s worth every single tasty bite. Moderation, right?!?.
Speaking of moderation, try these Crispy Cajun Fried Onion Strings on top of your burger. Perfection.
Making your own freshly ground bacon at home may sound intimidating, but it’s actually a simple process that results in incredibly flavorful bacon bits and recipes. Grinding bacon yourself gives you complete control over the ingredients and texture, allowing you to customize it to suit your cooking needs. In this guide, I’ll explain the step-by-step method for grinding bacon along with tips for maximizing flavor.
Why Grind Your Own Bacon?
Here are some of the benefits of grinding your own bacon compared to buying pre-ground bacon:
-
Custom textures – You can adjust the coarseness from fine bacon dust to larger chunks.
-
Ingredients you trust – By choosing high-quality pork belly and curing it yourself, you know exactly what’s going into your bacon.
-
Better flavor – Grinding just before using means you get the full taste without preservatives.
-
More uses – Freshly ground bacon works for seasoning, toppings, fat rendering, burgers, etc.
-
Cost savings – Grinding your own can be cheaper than specialty artisanal bacon.
-
Control over smokiness – You can smoke the pork belly as much or as little as you like
While pre-ground bacon certainly has its place for convenience, there’s no match for the texture and flavor of DIY grinding.
Step 1: Choose the Right Cut
The first step is selecting high-quality pork belly for the bacon. Look for meat with ample fat marbling throughout. The fat should appear white, with a ratio of around 40-60% fat to 60-40% lean meat. This balance ensures the bacon grinds up nicely.
Pork belly is sold fresh or cured at butcher shops and Asian markets. You can also cure pork belly yourself at home using a dry brine or wet brine. Include any flavors or spices you want at this stage.
Allow the pork belly to cure for 4-7 days in the fridge until firm throughout. Then smoke it lightly if desired. This imparts delicious flavor without overpowering the pork.
Step 2: Prepare the Bacon
Once cured and smoked, the pork belly must be chilled completely. This helps it grind more easily. Cut the pork into 1-2 inch cubes first so it fits in your grinder or food processor.
For bacon with a chewy texture, choose pieces with more meat. For crumblier bacon, select cubes that are fatty. Mixing both types works great for balance.
Chill the cubed pork belly in the freezer for 30-60 minutes until very firm but not fully frozen. This prevents the fat from smearing during grinding.
Step 3: Grind the Bacon
Food Processor Method:
Place the chilled bacon cubes into the bowl of a food processor. Use short pulses to grind it, stopping to scrape down the sides. Be careful not to overprocess into a paste.
For coarser bacon texture, pulse less. For fine crumbs, pulse continuously. Remove and process smaller batches for finer results.
Meat Grinder Method:
Assemble the meat grinder according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Choose a medium die size around 3/16 or 1/4 inches. Feed the chilled bacon through the grinder slowly using the pusher.
Collect the ground bacon in a bowl placed under the grinder nozzle. Resist the urge to press too hard, which can clog the grinder.
Step 4: Use Immediately or Refrigerate
For maximum flavor and texture, it’s best to use the freshly ground bacon right away. The pork fat can smear or become mealy if stored too long.
However, you can keep ground bacon 3-4 days refrigerated in an airtight container. For longer storage, lay bacon flat on a baking sheet and freeze, then transfer to freezer bags.
Thaw frozen ground bacon overnight in the fridge before using. It may need a quick touch in the food processor or grinder to restore texture.
Tips for Maximizing Flavor
Follow these tips when grinding bacon for intense pork flavor:
-
Use heritage breed pork belly like Berkshire, Tamworth, or Mangalitsa.
-
Add aromatics to the brine like garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves.
-
Sprinkle with spices and sugar when dry curing.
-
Hot smoke for up to 2 hours at 180°F using apple, pecan, or cherry wood.
-
Chill quickly after smoking so the bacon doesn’t soften.
-
Ask your butcher for uncured belly with the rind on to make your own bacon.
-
Mix meats by grinding smoked bacon with unsmoked fresh pork belly.
-
For deeper flavor, grind bacon a second time after initial grinding.
Recipes for Fresh Homemade Bacon
Grinding your own bacon enables endless possibilities in the kitchen. Here are just a few delicious ways to use it:
-
Bacon burger blend – Mix 20% ground bacon into ground beef for juicy burgers.
-
Breakfast sausage – Combine ground bacon with sausage seasoning for an upgrade.
-
Baked potato topping – Sprinkle coarse ground bacon over loaded baked potatoes.
-
Salad booster – Toss fine bacon crumbles into green salads, pasta salads, and potato salads.
-
Macaroni and cheese – Stir bacon crumbles into the cheese sauce for smoky depth.
-
Breadcrumb coating – For next-level seafood, chicken, or tofu coating.
-
Scaling fish – Roll fish fillets in bacon dust before cooking for added flavor.
-
Rim salt – Mix with salt for a tasty rim on Bloody Mary’s and margaritas.
-
Compound butter – Soften butter and mix in bacon crumbles for a gourmet spread.
-
Pizza seasoning – Combine with oregano, garlic powder, chili flakes, paprika, and parmesan.
The possibilities are endless when you have freshly ground bacon on hand. It takes recipes from basic to gourmet in seconds.
Get Creative with Homemade Bacon Grinding
Cooking and finishing your 60/40 beef bacon burger
Put a few burgers in a large skillet and heat it over medium-high heat. Don’t overcrowd the pan, it’ll probably take a few rounds. You should let the first side cook for about 5 to 6 minutes, depending on how thick it is, before you flip it over. Avoid flipping these burgers more than just once. Reminder: The meat may be a little softer than normal. It’s fine if it starts to break in the pan, like the one on top of the picture above. When you add cheese on top, it’ll almost act like a glue and hold the pieces together.
I put sharp cheddar on top of these because I like it, but you can use any kind you like! I often use Swiss or pepper jack too.
Getting started on your 60/40 burger
You only need a meat grinder and a few other simple things to make this tasty food. The attachment that comes with my CuisineArt stand mixer works great, but any kind will do.
Before we get down to the nitty gritty of the ingredients, let me tell you a little secret. I don’t do a true 60/40 ratio. Even though I have made this burger with that amount of bacon before, I think it was a bit too much this time. Blasphemy, I know.
I actually prefer a 2:1 beef to bacon ratio, or a 67/33. You still get all that bacon-y goodness. It’s still rich, flavorful, and delicious- it’s just a liiiiittle more beef forward. In this case, I used 18oz of sirloin and 9oz of bacon.
Speaking of beef. When I buy regular old ground beef, I’ll get some that’s got fat in it. I don’t go for the super lean. The fat tastes great, but for this burger, I get a slab of lean sirloin and let the bacon do all the heavy lifting. I prefer the Wright brand thick cut applewood bacon. Ever time. It’s just so darn good. But then again, all bacon is good, amirite?!.
Getting the meat ready to form into patties is really quite simple. The first thing you need to do it chop the meat into cubes- about 1 inch. It just needs to be small enough to feed it through your grinder. When you have the meat chopped up, start grinding!.
Before you feed the meat through the machine, you don’t have to perfectly mix the meat before you start grinding it. It works just fine to alternate until you run out. I normally do a small handful of each one, however, here’s the trick:
After you run all the meat through the grinder, run in through again. This will cause the beef and the bacon to incorporate even better together. You’ll notice that the ground meat is a lot more evenly colored and less lumpy on the second pass through. It doesn’t necessarily grind it any smaller, it just mixes it very effectively.
Making Venison Burger with Bacon
How do you grind Bacon in a Burger grinder?
Mix the meat so the bacon is dispersed evenly throughout the beef, ensuring the bacon is spread evenly throughout the burgers. Add the cold meat to the grinder hopper and use the plunger tool to push it down through the grinding mechanism.
What type of bacon to grind with burger meat?
Consider fat content, quality and cut of beef and bacon when choosing the best type of bacon to grind with the burger meat. If you are planning to use a less expensive cut of beef with a high fat content, lean, high quality bacon, such as center cut bacon, pairs well.
How do you cook bacon without a meat grinder?
But if you don’t have a meat grinder then just chop the bacon into small pieces and mix with the ground beef. To that, add some salt, pepper and spices (garlic powder, onion powder, paprika…) and give it all a good mix together. (Using your hands to mix it all together works best. Just make sure they’re nice and clean first!)
What does a burger with bacon taste like?
A burger with bacon ground into the meat offers the same taste as a bacon cheeseburger, but without the bacon sliding off the burger when you take a bite. When you grind your own beef you have the choice of which cuts of meat to use, while store-bought ground beef may contain meat from thousands of cows.
How do you make a burger with bacon?
Chop bacon as fine as possible and mix together with ground beef (or cut bacon into slightly larger pieces and use a meat grinder to grind together with the beef). Add Worcestershire sauce, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and black pepper and mix by hand until all ingredients are well combined.
How do you grind your own beef?
Catch the ground meat in a mixing bowl beneath the grinder. Form the meat into loose patties with your hands, working the meat as little as possible to prevent dry, tough burgers. When you grind your own beef, you get to choose the quality of beef that goes into each bite. You can select a piece of beef that was cut from the whole cow.