#HotSummerEats ~ Smoky Date Bacon Cheeseburger

Welcome to day 1 of #HotSummerEats! 18 bloggers are sharing some AMAZING recipes with you to inspire your summer cooking over the next week. Make sure to click over to this kickoff post and enter the HUGE giveaway - so many amazing prizes from our sponsors!!

Today I am sharing with you a divinely saucy, cheesy, bacony, oniony burger infused with the smoky sweet flavor of Not Ketchup Smoky Date Sauce. This stuff just works beautifully with ground beef.

Pile your favorite burger bun (I am recently obsessed with the Hawaiian bread style burger buns) high with a 1/3 lb ground beef patty, generously seasoned with Not Ketchup sauce and grilled to perfection, covered in melted gooey cheese, then topped with a generous helping of deliciously creamy caramelized onion, crisp bacon, and don't forget some of the Smoky Date Mayo sauce! Yumm!!

Smoky Date Bacon Cheeseburger

Ingredients

For the burger:
1 lb ground chuck
1/4 cup Not Ketchup Smoky Date sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

For the sauce:
2 TBS mayonnaise
1 - 2 TBS Not Ketchup Smoky Date sauce

Caramelized Onion:
1 large Vidalia onion, chopped
1 TBS butter
1 TBS olive oil

Other Ingredients:
3 slices provolone cheese
3 strips thick cut bacon, cooked to desired crispiness
Optional: Lettuce, Tomato, Sliced Avocado, etc.
3 hamburger buns

Directions

1. Combine burger ingredients in a medium sized bowl until well combined. Form into 3 large patties, place on a plate, cover and refrigerate until ready to grill.
2. Meanwhile, dice the onion thinly. Heat the 1 TBS butter and 1 TBS olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Saute the onions in the butter and olive oil for 20 - 30 minutes, adjusting heat as needed so that the onions get very tender but also caramelize and get some nice color on them.
3. When onions are almost done, preheat your grill and cook your burgers to desired doneness (about 5 - 8 minutes total over medium to medium-high heat). Meanwhile, prepare the bacon and other topping ingredients. 
4. Combine the mayonnaise and Smoky Date sauce in a small resealable tupperware container and refrigerate until needed.
5. When burgers are cooked, turn heat off and cover with a slice of cheese and allow to melt.
6. Place a burger bun on a plate, and smear desired amount of Smoky Date Mayo on top and / or bottom bun (about 1/2 - 1 TBS). Top bottom bun with burger patty, top with bacon and caramelized onion and any other desired toppings. Top with remaining bun, serve immediately and enjoy!

Disclaimer - Thank you to #HotSummerEats sponsors BenBella Vegan, Caribeque, Casabella, Gourmet Garden, Intensity Academy, Not Ketchup, Out of the Weeds. Pirate Jonny's, Quirk Books, Spicely Organics, T.Lish , and Voodoo Cheffor for providing prizes as well as samples and product to use for#HotSummerEats. No additional compensation was provided. All opinions stated are my own. 

An InLinkz Link-up