"The Lure Burger" with Caramelized Onion and Bacon Jam

 
I went home to Upstate New York this Memorial Day for a long, relaxing weekend by the pool. I'll be heading to Argentina in less than a month for a study abroad program, and since it's winter in the southern hemisphere I'm trying to take in all the sun I can get before departing. It was great seeing my hometown friends and celebrating mine and my sister's May birthdays with my family!

Summer in Upstate New York is perfect - 80 degrees, dry and sunny. If I could, I would spend one last summer lounging in my hammock, sipping fruity drinks and reading books by the pool without any responsibilities. But alas, with college comes a transition into adulthood, and with adulthood comes work. Yuck. Why can't I just get paid to cook delicious food and hang out with friends?

Speaking of delicious food, Dylan and I cooked up these burgers before catching a 7 hour bus back to Boston on Monday. Based on the winner of the 2009 Rachel Ray Burger Bash, this recipe was surprisingly easy, totally delicious, and wonderfully... unhealthy. But hey, if you're eating a hamburger anyway, you might as well go all out.

"The Lure Burger" with Caramelized Onion and Bacon Jam
Adapted from Chef Josh Capon of Lure Fishbar's "The Lure Burger" *
Makes: 8 burgers  Prep: 40 minutes  Total: 1 hour

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Vegetable oil
4 cups white onion, diced
1 pound bacon
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tbs red wine vinegar
2 tsp Worcester sauce
Kosher salt
Coarse ground pepper
8 hamburger buns

Directions
In a large bowl, combine ground beef with Dijon, kosher salt and coarse ground pepper. Form into 8 burger patties and set aside.
Heat vegetable oil in a large pan. Add diced onion and cook on medium heat until caramelized, about 15 minutes. In the meantime, fry the bacon in a large skillet and drain on paper towels. When the bacon strips are dry, chop into fine pieces. Combine bacon bits and caramelized onion in a bowl, add salt and pepper, and mix well.
To make the sauce, mix ketchup, mayo, red wine vinegar, Worcester sauce, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and combine. Refrigerate until serving.
Grill burger patties on an outdoor grill until medium rare. Toast hamburger buns on the grill inside face down for several minutes before serving. Assemble burgers with sauce and onion and bacon jam. Serve with Sweet Potato Fries with Tangy Chili Aioli and fresh fruit.

*I changed the recipe quite a bit, so check out the link for Chef Capon's original burger.