Bacon Cheeseburger Buns

Fourth of July and Liam's first real fireworks. He'd been told about them for a week -- they're loud, they're in the sky, they're beautiful, and no, they're not dangerous, they're controlled. He processed this information carefully and decided he was ready. He was ready. He stood on the rooftop at my aunt's building in Southie and watched the harbor fireworks with both hands holding the railing and his mouth open and his face the absolute face of a person who has just been shown something they didn't know the world contained.

Nora was ambivalent. The first boom sent her face into my shoulder. The second boom, she looked out. By the fifth she was watching. By the tenth she was saying "ohh" with her hands flat on my arms. She had decided the situation was acceptable. She is like this with new loud things: protest, assessment, integration, approval. The process takes about six experiences.

The barbecue beforehand was everyone -- my parents, Sean's parents, my aunt and uncle, cousins, neighbors who have been at this Fourth for twenty years. The grill all afternoon, the potato salad that I now know I've gotten right, the corn from a farm in Plymouth. Sean's father did a burger at 4pm and said it was the best burger he'd ever had and Sean Sr. says this every Fourth and means it every Fourth and we let him mean it every time.

Walking home through Southie in the dark afterward, both kids asleep in the stroller. This is the walk I've been taking on the Fourth since I was a child, watching the sky. Now I'm the one pushing the stroller. The city looks the same.

Sean Sr. has called the burger the best he’s ever had every single Fourth of July for as long as I can remember, and part of what makes that true — for him and for all of us — is that the setup is right: the grill going all afternoon, everyone around, the kind of unhurried cooking that only happens on a holiday. These bacon cheeseburger buns are what I’d bring to that rooftop next time, because they keep everything together the way a good Fourth of July does — the meat, the cheese, the crowd, the tradition, all in one.

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 12

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (80/20)
6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup finely diced white onion
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 can (16 oz) refrigerated flaky biscuit dough (12 count)
1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
Sesame seeds for topping (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease it.
Brown the beef. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef and diced onion together, breaking up the meat as it cooks, until no pink remains, about 7–8 minutes. Drain excess fat.
Season the filling. Stir in the ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1 more minute until everything is combined and fragrant. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Add bacon and cheese. Fold in the crumbled bacon and shredded cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese begins to melt from the residual heat.
Prepare the dough. Separate the biscuit dough into 12 individual rounds. On a lightly floured surface, flatten each round into a 4-inch circle using your palm or a rolling pin.
Fill and seal. Place about 2 heaping tablespoons of the burger filling in the center of each dough round. Gather the edges up around the filling and pinch firmly to seal, forming a smooth ball. Place seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.
Apply egg wash. Brush the tops of each bun with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds if using.
Bake. Bake for 18–20 minutes, until the buns are deep golden brown and cooked through. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Bacon Cheeseburger Buns — The Burger Sean Sr. Calls the Best He’s Ever Had