BBQ recipes, product reviews, & how-to's
Pickles have grown in even more popularity recently and the fried pickle dip recipe is now the perfect dip to try! This easy pickle dip recipe stands out as it uses smoked cream cheese, ranch seasoning, and bacon. And dill pickles, of course (amongst other…
Crack burgers are very addictive due to the tasty combo of flavors such as bacon, ranch seasoning, and cheddar. This burger gets its name, as well as most of its ingredients, from crack chicken. The recipe is simple and the end result is addicting…hence the…
Inject some extra flavor into your burgers with this mouthwatering garlic bacon burger recipe! This recipe also includes a bonus recipe for a creamy burger sauce to compliment it. Let’s dig into the process.
The list of ingredients for this burger recipe is short and simple:
Start by placing ground beef in a medium-sized bowl. For the best flavor, use 80/20 ground beef for it’s perfect blend of beef and fat mix. Combine with two cloves of minced garlic. You can use the minced garlic from the jar, but freshly minced garlic will provide a more profound taste.
Next, dice two strips of precooked bacon and put into the bowl. Raw bacon won’t fully cook in this mixture and could make you sick. Precooked bacon not only brings a little more salty taste, but also adds a nice, subtle crunch. Add a couple of teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce and a tablespoon of Montreal steak seasoning and start mixing.
To make a quarter pound beef patty from your pound of beef, grab one-fourth of the ground beef and roll into the shape of a ball. With the ball of beef in one hand, gently press down until the beef is a flat, one-inch disc. Seal up any breakage along the edges by pinching the beef together and reshaping.
Pro tip: press a dimple into the middle of the burger patty on both sides. Doing this will prevent the burger from thickening in it’s center while it cooks. When a burger patty cooks, it shrinks. And as it shrinks, it naturally builds up toward the center, forming a thick mound. This keeps the burger from cooking evenly.
When it comes to cooking burgers, I prefer to have a more even crust on both sides of the beef patties. This is why I prefer to cook burgers on a griddle or in a cast iron skillet.
However, cooking on the grill over direct heat brings a flame-broiled flavor that a griddle cannot duplicate. Ultimately, it’s a matter of your preference and what you have access to.
With the griddle preheated to medium heat, place patties on the heated surface and let cook for about five minutes. With burger patties freshly on the griddle, top the burger with more seasoning.
After five minutes, flip burgers over and cook for an additional five minutes. Two minutes before time is up, add a slice of Gouda cheese to each patty to let the cheese melt on top. To enhance the cheese melting process, cover burgers with a metal mixing bowl.
Remove the garlic bacon burgers from the grill and place directly on a hamburger bun. Speaking of hamburger buns, place them face down on griddle for 30 to 60 seconds to get them nice and toasty.
Compliment any burger with this irresistible burger sauce! The ingredients are as follows:
Add all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. Stir altogether and spread on the insides of the hamburger buns. This burger spread adds a salty, slightly sour taste with a hint of sweet and crunch.
Burger toppings are in the eye of the beholder. Classic toppings include lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion. Ketchup and mustard are the most popular sauces to put on a burger.
For this recipe, burger sauce and grilled onions are perfect for me!
Some classic side dishes to serve with burgers are as follows:
Five Guys Copycat French Fries
Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers w/Chorizo
Inject some extra flavor into your burgers with this mouthwatering garlic bacon burger recipe! This recipe also includes a bonus recipe for a creamy burger sauce to compliment it.
NOTE: Nutritional information isn't always accurate.
This bacon jam recipe is so easy and makes the perfect topping for burgers and appetizers! Follow these easy steps to make this game changing topping! What is in Bacon Jam? Bacon jam is a perfect blend of sweet and savory. Bacon jam ingredients include…
Chicken bacon ranch Hawaiian roll sliders are some of the best tasting sliders I’ve ever made! Using Hawaiian rolls, chicken, bacon, ranch, and cheese, these bacon ranch chicken sliders are going to be the talk of your next gathering! What are Sliders? Sliders are basically…
BBQ chicken often gets overlooked on the menu, especially when up against other meats like brisket, pulled pork, or ribs. Chicken lollipops are bacon wrapped drumsticks you can eat with your hands!
Trimming the bone may take a few attempts to get down (good thing there are many of them in a pack), but the rest of the process is smooth sailing. Let’s walk through the process.
The most tedious part of making these is trimming the drumsticks. To French drumsticks, use a sharp knife and trim chicken drumsticks at the base of the meat, cutting all the way around until tendons and skin are completely disconnected.
Pull disconnected skin and tendon all the way down off the end of the bone, using a paper towel (or an actual towel) to help with grip. On the other side of the bone (where the meat is), I like to cut the tip of the bone and cartilage, as well as a sliver of meat to help create a flat surface for the chicken drumstick to stand. Trim off the remaining skin to expose meat.
This collage below shows the steps in the process.
This recipe calls for a dozen chicken drumsticks. You can find 12-packs in your local grocery stores, or even two six-packs will suffice. You can also half the recipe for a smaller audience if you need.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, place trimmed drumsticks and drizzle in olive oil. I like to use about a half cup. Mix around until all meat on drumsticks are covered. Lightly season each drumstick with your favorite seasoning or rub.
Remove the drumsticks from the bowl and individually wrap the meaty part of each with one strip of bacon. As you finish wrapping each one, tuck in the end of the bacon underneath itself. Season again.
Place the fully prepped bacon wrapped chicken lollipops standing up on the grill. Make sure grill is preheated to 375 degrees over indirect heat. I prefer to use cherry or pecan wood. You can cook these on the grill until the internal meat temp reaches around 170-175 degrees. You may be thinking to yourself, “isn’t chicken finished cooking when it reaches 165 degrees?” Yes, for white meat it is. Since drumsticks are dark meat, they finish cooking later. Aim for a temp between 175 to 185 degrees.
Using an instant read thermometer, such as the Thermoworks ONE, will help you get quick, accurate temps.
As the meat reaches the 150 degree range, dip the bacon wrapped chicken lollipops in BBQ sauce. Place back on the grill and cook until internal meat temp reaches 170-175 degrees (reasons stated in previous section).
My favorite way to cook these is on a grill with two-zone cooking, using both direct and indirect heat. If you have the ability to use direct heat on your grill, then place the drumsticks over the direct heat to help get the bacon a little more crispier. Make sure to also lay it on their sides as to not burn one spot of the chicken.
Note that you can use a strictly indirect heat source, such as a pellet grill, and cook these just fine.
After you pull these from the grill, make sure to let it rest a few minutes to allow it to finish cooking internally. Make sure to snap a few pics during this time to brag to your friends and family.
When stored in an airtight container and placed in the refrigerator, chicken lollipops are good for up to three days. If placed in the freezer, they will be good for a month.
Here are some other recipes that pair well with these:
Honey Glazed Teriyaki BBQ Ribs
Green Beans with Bacon and Onion
BBQ chicken lollipops wrapped in bacon are both an eye-catcher and a tasty crowd pleaser!
1. If you have a grill set up for two-zone cooking (direct and indirect heat at the same time), then move BBQ chicken drumsticks over to direct side after saucing.
2. I like to cut the tips off both sides of the bone: the meat end to help it stand, the handle end because I think it looks cool.
Note: this post for bacon wrapped filet mignon Polish sausage is sponsored by Omaha Steaks. I occasionally collaborate with brands I trust to help keep Learning to Smoke up and going. I’m speaking from my own genuine experience and am not being asked by the…
The bacon wrapped jalapeno popper burger is a perfect blend of appetizer and main dish. A burger topped with bacon, three types of cheeses, roasted jalapeno, all packed within a toasted brioche bun? Does it get much better? You be the judge. For starters… Let’s…
If you’ve ever been to a gathering of sorts, especially those where watching sports is involved, then there’s a chance you’ve had smoked bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers. But have you had them stuffed with chorizo? And with a kiss of hickory smoke? Next level. I’ll explain how to make these grilled poppers in quick time.
For this recipe, you’ll need jalapenos, cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, chili lime seasoning, ground chorizo, and bacon. Before you start prepping the jalapeno poppers, preheat your grill to 375 degrees with hickory wood over indirect heat. Now that you’ve done this, grab a cutting board, sharp knife, spoon, and the jalapenos. Cut the stem off the tops of the jalapenos. Next, slice them in half longways and use the spoon to scoop out the insides (seeds, rib, placenta). I personally like using a small metal measuring spoon because it fits and scoops perfectly.
In a medium sized bowl, mix a pack of softened cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, and Oaxaca cheese together. Note: if you want to add a little heat to the poppers, mix in some shredded pepper jack cheese. Even hotter? Leave some of the jalapeno seeds in.
In a medium saucepan, cook up the ground chorizo. The chorizo I bought needed to be grinded up into smaller pieces so I used my spatula to break up the ground chorizo into even smaller bits. Cook these until done and set aside.
Take the spoon and scoop the cheeses into the sliced jalapenos. Now grab the strips of bacon and wrap one strip around one jalapeno popper. To keep the bacon from unraveling during the cook, I suggest wrapping the bacon a little tighter. Tucking in the ends of the bacon strips will help. Use toothpicks to hold together if you need. Once this is done, sprinkle chili lime seasoning on top of each jalapeno popper.
Place the bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers on a baking sheet and cook on the grill for 30 minutes. Remember, the grill should be at 375 degrees with indirect heat and smell of hickory. If you have a cooling rack that fits the size of your baking sheet, then put the jalapeno poppers on that while they cook as to not get the bottoms too crispy/burnt.
After 30 minutes, the smoked bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers with chorizo are done. Some folks like their bacon cooked to different degrees. If you want your bacon more crispy, then consider cooking a little longer. With the smoked bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers recipe done, you are now ready to be the hit of the party! That is, if you don’t keep them all to yourself. Note: if you’d like a different appetizer or side dish to try, may I suggest some elotes (Mexican street corn).
This recipe can absolutely be made in the oven! You won’t get that hint of smoke flavor, but the major flavor components will still be there.
If you’re looking for other creative ways to use chorizo, I recommend my popular chorizo breakfast burritos and my queso fundido recipes!
Become the hit of the party with this easy recipe for bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers! Simply combine cream cheese and cheddar cheese in hollowed-out jalapeno halves and wrap them in bacon. Keto friendly, too. Easy win!
1. Place bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers on cooking rack for more even cook and bacon crispiness.
2. Speaking of crisp of bacon, for each person this differs. This may take longer than 30 minutes to reach your desired crispiness.
3. This recipe can be made in the oven.
NOTE: Nutrition information isn't always accurate.
This post is sponsored by Kingsford and I used Kingsford Wood Pellets for cooking all of these recipes in this post. Most folks who cook on the grill primarily use it for meats. While cooking meat on the grill is my jam, just know you…
