Kristina Vanni for Taste of Home
Your bacon burger is about to get so much better. Pinwheel burgers are the summertime grilling sensation that’s taking over social media.
Bacon makes everything better, in my humble opinion, and I know I’m not alone in thinking that. If you’re always on the hunt for new bacon recipes, add this one to your weekend grilling sesh immediately. This genius technique for pinwheel burgers is all over Instagram, and is just as easy as making a hamburger, but it kicks the whole experience up a notch.
What is a bacon pinwheel burger?
Kristina Vanni for Taste of Home
A bacon pinwheel burger is a new and exciting way to serve hamburgers that is sure to draw all the attention at your next backyard barbecue. To make the patties, ground beef is basically just rolled up in a slice of bacon. The process isn’t difficult, but a few tips along the way will ensure gorgeous and juicy results.
How to Make Pinwheel Burgers
Ingredients
- Bacon strips: Each pinwheel burger will use two bacon strips.
- Ground beef: If you start with a little over a pound of ground beef, it will make four burgers.
- Seasoning: Salt and pepper are a must, but you can season with all the herbs and spices you prefer.
- Buns and toppings: Make sure you have your favorite hamburger buns on hand as well as all your favorite hamburger toppings and spreads.
Directions
Step 1: Form the pinwheel patties
Kristina Vanni for Taste of Home
Start off with a classic hamburger recipe to season the beef. Then, lay out two strips of bacon on your work surface. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the hamburger mixture onto each strip and press to adhere. Place the two covered strips of bacon end to end and roll up the two strips into a big spiral. Repeat the process with the remaining bacon and beef to make additional patties. To make sure the pinwheels don’t fall apart while cooking, insert two long skewers into each burger to secure the bacon.
Step 2: Cook the pinwheel patties
Kristina Vanni for Taste of Home
At this point, you can cook the burgers according to your preference. They can be smoked, grilled over indirect heat or baked in the oven on a wire rack. No matter which method you choose, you’ll want the temperature to be 350°F. It will take between 1 hour and 1 hour 30 minutes to render the bacon, crisp it up and fully cook the beef.
Step 3: Build the pinwheel burgers
Once they’re done, you’ll have gorgeous hamburger patties, each with its own eye-catching spiral of perfectly cooked bacon running through it. Serve pinwheel burgers on a bun with all your favorite burger toppings, and chow down!
Kristina Vanni for Taste of Home
Thoughts on the Pinwheel Burger
I was blown away when I opened up the grill after an hour and saw these beautiful burgers. I had no idea what to expect! So often when dishes are stuffed or wrapped, the bacon either burns to a crisp or doesn’t render completely. In this preparation, I found the bacon to be delightfully crisp throughout every bite. I did find the ground beef dried out a bit from such an extended cooking time, so I might try it again with ground beef that has a higher fat content. That being said, the additional richness from the bacon helped create balance.
I am really glad I took the extra time to secure the pinwheels with skewers to keep them together. I think this helped them come out perfectly round without falling apart.
Next time, I will be sure to use ground beef that’s 80% lean and 20% fat, and I might even try using just one strip of bacon per pinwheel for slider size patties. Overall, I was delighted that the technique was such a success.
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