Maple Syrup And Bacon Will Give Your Burger The Perfect Breakfast Twist
Though it's not all that common, there's nothing stopping you from having a hamburger for breakfast. Given that the most important meal of the day is just as often made up of savory foods as it is sweet, and given the amount of combinations that can come from this, you may want to give it a try.
One possible way to give your burger a breakfast twist may be in the addition of bacon and maple syrup. Bacon is, of course, already a common feature in both breakfast and a large variety of burgers, as well as plenty of other dishes that show up at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Maple syrup is definitely one of those ingredients you wouldn't have thought to use, but its flavors do show up in all kinds of non-breakfast foods, and its sweetness is well-known to pair perfectly with the fatty saltiness of pork products.
It's not all that surprising, then that there are plenty of recipes for maple bacon burgers out there. While you could just go the obvious route of dumping a bunch of syrup directly on your burger, like so much ketchup or mustard, those of you looking for a more refined route might want to look for some of these recipes.
Infuse the maple flavor into your meat
There are a few different ways to get that sweet maple flavor into your burger. One is to infuse it directly into your bacon, drizzling it over a few strips as they fry in your pan. Naturally, this is also when you would season your bacon with any other flavors you might want. If you're looking for a spicy kick, try sprinkling some cayenne in there; its heat compliments the maple syrup's sweetness, not unlike a really good chili-infused honey on your favorite fried chicken.
Another route you could go is to infuse the maple directly into the beef. This is, again, probably best done while you are seasoning the beef, though in this case, that would be done before shaping the ground beef into patties and placing them on the grill.
Finally, there is the option of making a barbecue sauce that features maple syrup to be added to your burger after the bacon and beef –- and whatever else you might want on it. Once again, in order to get a balanced flavor profile out of your sauce rather than just the extreme sweetness of the maple syrup, you will want to even it out with some acid, some heat, some salt, or both. Vinegar will work well in these cases. So will Worcestershire sauce and chili peppers.
What about putting candied bacon on your burger?
Or, if you want to go the extra mile in giving the bacon an extra sweet flavor and crunchy texture, you could just make maple candied bacon. There are recipes for that out there, which include the right method for candying your bacon with maple and brown sugar if you're planning to add them to your burger.
For this, you're not going to want to use your frying pan. Rather, in order to get your brown sugar and maple syrup caramelized around your bacon, you'll want to use your oven. And there are some great recipes for Millionaire's Bacon out there that combine maple syrup with the heat of cayenne.
Of course, if you're going to go this far, then you're probably starting to go a bit far afield from breakfast and venturing into the territory of an indulgent feast. Perhaps you could balance it out by adding a fried egg for a truly unique brunch burger, so long as you don't mind your brunches on the much heartier side.