Smokehouse Bacon Burgers loaded with Kountry Boys Thick-Sliced Peppered Bacon, smoked cheddar and BBQ sauce. A bold, juicy backyard burger built for the grill.
Difficulty: Easy
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
Serves: 6
INGREDIENTS
2 lbs ground chuck (80/20)
Montreal Steak seasoning, to taste
18 strips Kountry Boys Thick-Sliced Peppered Bacon, cut in half
6 slices smoked cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons BBQ sauce per burger
INSTRUCTIONS
Cook bacon strips in a skillet until crisp. Set aside.
Form ground chuck into six 1/3-pound patties. Season generously on both sides with Montreal Steak seasoning.
Place patties on the hot grill and cook for 3–5 mins to sear. Flip and cook another 3–5 mins to your desired doneness, about 8–9 mins total for medium.
During the last 2 mins of grilling, place a slice of smoked cheddar on each patty and allow to melt.
Remove burgers from the grill and rest for 5 mins before serving.
While burgers rest, toast buns on the grill.
Description
The Smokehouse Bacon Cheeseburger is a full-commitment backyard burger — and it’s not built to be polite. A one-third-pound chuck patty seasoned hard with Montreal Steak seasoning, layered with three strips of crispy Kountry Boys Thick-Sliced Peppered Bacon, topped with melted smoked cheddar and finished with a slather of BBQ sauce. This smokehouse bacon cheeseburger is one of the simplest wins in backyard cooking, and it delivers every time.
What makes this one work is the bacon. Kountry Boys Thick-Sliced Peppered Bacon brings a cracked black pepper crust and real smoke to every bite. It doesn’t get lost under the beef the way thin-cut bacon does — it holds its own, adds a textural crackle and layers in heat that plays against the sweetness of the BBQ sauce. Three strips per burger, cut in half and stacked, means you get bacon in every bite, not just the lucky ones.
How to Build the Best Smokehouse Bacon Cheeseburger
The 80/20 ground chuck is non-negotiable. That fat ratio is the standard for a reason — it keeps the patty juicy under high heat without flare-ups and gives you the sear you need without the burger drying out before the cheese melts. Form them loose — don’t compress the meat more than necessary — and go a full third of a pound. These aren’t sliders.
Montreal Steak seasoning on both sides before they hit the grates. Don’t be shy with it. The coarse salt and cracked pepper in that blend form a crust that seals in juice and gives the patty flavor that holds up against everything else on the bun.
The smoked cheddar goes on in the final two minutes of cooking, lid closed. Give it the heat it needs to melt all the way to the edges.
The Grill Setup Matters
Getting a smokehouse bacon cheeseburger right is as much about heat management as it is about ingredients. Medium-high heat — 375°F to 400°F — is the target. Too low and you lose the sear; too high and the outside chars before the center cooks through. For gas grills, preheat all burners for 10 minutes and brush the grates clean. For charcoal, spread a two-zone fire and cook directly over the coals.
Rest the burgers for five minutes before serving. This isn’t optional — it’s what keeps the juice in the patty instead of running onto the bun.
Toast the buns directly on the grill in those five minutes. It takes 30 seconds and it matters.
Make It a Spread
A smokehouse bacon cheeseburger this size needs sides that can hold their own. Serve these alongside the Smoked Bacon Deviled Eggs for a cookout that starts strong, or add the Loaded Up Potato Salad for a side that keeps pace with the main event.
If you want to run it back with a different protein, the same thick-cut peppered bacon plays just as well wrapped around a tenderloin — check out the Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin for proof.