The Fully Loaded: BLT, Egg & Avocado Burger

Prepare to get your hands dirty with this one, so worth it! This massive restaurant style burger is sure to impress. Homemade and fully loaded with egg, bacon, and avocado; these juicy burgers are full of flavor.

First thing’s First

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and lay raw strips of bacon on a baking sheet with foil, no need to spray/butter the foil. Bacon has lots of grease already! That will cook for 15 minutes while you prep the remaining ingredients.

When it’s done, immediately place the bacon on a plate with paper towels, so it absorbs the grease. Place another layer of paper towel in between strips if you have to, and lastly one on top so the grease doesn’t stay on the bacon.

Put your ground beef in a mixing bowl and sprinkle in 1 packet of burger seasoning (I love Kinder’s) salt, pepper, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce. Ground beef can taste pretty plain so don’t be afraid to season the meat! With that, be careful there isn’t too much sodium if you use a burger seasoning packet, so that it’s not too salty.

Next, get those hands dirty and mix it all in! Take your time and fold the meat inward so all the seasoning spreads out. Take a chunk and make a round, flat burger patty. These will expand on the bbq or stove top (unlike frozen ones that shrink), so aim for 1.5 inch thick. Lay out your patties on a baking sheet, then set aside.

Start Chopping!

Whip out the cutting board, rinse and slice a large beefsteak tomato (or any large one you can get your hands on). If you’re making 4-5 burgers, 1 tomato should be enough. Take a couple hass avocados (my favorite) and carefully cut in half, lengthwise. Remove the seed, and with the same knife make vertical, thin slits. When your burger is ready to build, you’ll just scoop the avocado out with a spoon, and then lay the pieces flat on the burger.

For the lettuce: I love butterhead! It has great flavor, but romaine works just fine too. Break them up into burger size pieces and wash them; then pat dry with paper towels.

Let’s cook those burgers

For the BBQ

A burger cooked on the BBQ gives it amazing smoky flavor! (No BBQ, no problem. See the stove top directions below) Get the grill on medium-high heat, or 375 degrees. Cook based on your preferred degree of doneness, the best thing you can use is a meat thermometer (check out USDA guidelines here) that way you don’t have to cut into them and see if they are cooked. If you want to add cheese, add some slices during the last 2 minutes so it melts perfectly!

For the Stove Top

Use a cast iron skillet or nonstick frying pan with a little olive oil. Sear each side on medium to high heat, anywhere from 3-5 minutes based on how you like your burger cooked. Don’t forget the cheese slices at the end!

Final Touches

If you cooked the patties on the stove top, feel free to fry an egg on there too! Why dirty more dishes? Carefully wipe the pan with a few paper towels if you have any burger crumbles left over. Use a little butter or olive oil to grease the pan and crack that egg, cooking on medium heat for about 2 minutes. Personally, I am not a fan of sunny side up. I typically flip the egg with a spatula and cook the other side so the egg is still runny, but over medium. The choice is yours! A runny egg on a burger is just delicious.

Build it!

Bring out the mayo, mustard, ketchup, etc. I used a chipotle sauce mixed with a little mayo, and spread it on the insides of both bun slices. It was fantastic combined with the bacon flavor!

Serve with some pickle spears, or chips on the side. I hope you love these burgers as much as we do, homemade is so much better!

Healthier Substitutions

Watching what you eat? I get it! Use:

Ground turkey instead of ground beef, gluten free – low carb buns instead of brioche buns, light mayo or low calorie sauce.

Enjoy!!