Ingredients
Units
Patties:
- 1 lb ground beef NY Strip Steak, (will make four 1/4lb, three 1/3lb. or two 1/2lb. burgers)
- 1 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- sea or kosher salt and pepper to taste
Toppings:
- American cheese, 2 slices per burger
- Hickory or applewood smoked bacon, 3 slices per burger
- 1 beefsteak tomato, sliced (rest each slice between a paper towel to soak up excess liquid if necessary)
- 1 small red onion, sliced thinly
- Lettuce
- Pickles (optional)
- Creole mustard (spicy mustard)
- Mayo
- 2 to 4 large crusty rolls, I used vienna rolls
- 1 tsp olive oil
- coarse sea or kosher salt (optional)
For the fries:
- Frozen straight cut fries (quantity is up to you)
- 1 tsp lemon-pepper
- 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
- 1 to 2 tbsp reserved bacon fat
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450° degrees with a large foil lined baking sheet on the lowest oven rack. Let the baking sheet get nice and hot for about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, season your ground NY Strip Steak with the worcestershire sauce, olive oil, and form into patties. Don’t overhandle or overmix the ground beef because it will become tough. Liberally sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of each patty and set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat, fry your bacon until crisp and reserve the bacon fat in a separate glass bowl or container and set aside. Alternatively, you could cook your bacon in the oven either on the same baking dish as your fries or on a separate one.
- Remove baking sheet from oven and CAREFULLY place frozen fries in a single layer on the baking sheet, don’t clump them together and make sure they each have space to crisp up and aren’t touching. Be careful because the baking sheet will be extremely hot. Place fries into the oven for about 5 minutes to defrost, then remove the fries from the oven and sprinkle them with the lemon-pepper, granulated garlic and 1 to 2 tablespoons of the reserved bacon fat. Toss them around to make sure they’re evenly seasoned and coated. Place them back in the oven and allow them to cook an additional 7 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Meanwhile, drizzle a tablespoon of oil into your skillet over medium-high heat and cook your burger patties for about 5 minutes per side, or until they reach an internal temperature of 160° degrees. DO NOT PRESS YOUR BURGERS WITH YOUR SPATULA! That will cause them to dry out. Only flip once! Turn off the heat and top each burger with 2 slices of American cheese and cover the skillet with a lid or use aluminum foil to tent over the burgers. The residual heat will melt the cheese.
- While the cheese is melting, brush a very thin layer of olive oil over the tops of your buns and sprinkle a tiny bit of coarse salt on top for texture (optional). Toast in a super hot oven or toaster until golden brown. Slather the spicy mustard and mayo inside both halves, and assemble your burger.
- When the fries are done, sprinkle them with a little salt to taste and serve immediately.
