by Cindi Sutter, Founder & Editor Spirited Table® - Content provided by Good Ranchers March 4th, 2022

Hello and welcome to MARCH BURGER MADNESS! With the NCAA basketball tournament coming up, we all have many games and many meals ahead of us as we support our alma maters, the underdogs, or the bandwagon we recently joined for valid reasons.

To make your March party planning or meal planning a bit easier, we compiled the best burger recipes our team at Good Ranchers knows how to make. There were lots of recipes to start, but these are the Final Four of burger recipes. No tickets needed to enjoy these top-level match-ups. Pick your favorite and find the full recipe below at the bottom of this blog!

1. Bacon, Egg, Avocado Burger

Ingredients

8 slices Bacon, thick-cut
1 1/2 lbs Ground beef, lean
2 Avocados, pitted, and thinly sliced
4 Lettuce, large leaves
1/2 Red onion
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp Seasoning, steak
4 Hamburger buns
3 tbsp Butter, salted
4 slices Cheddar cheese
4 Eggs Large

Instructions

Step 1
Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate. Butter each half of hamburger buns

Step 2
Place bacon in a heavy skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain bacon slices on paper towels. Set the skillet aside, reserving grease.
Step 3

Mix ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, and steak seasoning together in a large bowl; do not overmix. Form into 4 patties. Make a thumbprint in the middle of each patty to keep it from shrinking as it cooks.
Step 4

Grill patties on the preheated grill until preferred doneness, about 6 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (71 degrees C). Top each burger with 2 slices bacon and a Cheddar cheese slice; close the grill lid until cheese is melted, about 1 minute. Remove patties from the grill
Step 5

Place buns on the grill, buttered-side down, and cook until browned, about 1 minute. Remove from the grill. Place 1 patty on the bottom half of each bun.
Step 6

Reheat the bacon grease in the skillet over medium-high heat. Crack eggs into the hot skillet and fry until whites are cooked but yolk is still runny, about 4 minutes. Immediately place 1 egg on top of each patty. Top with lettuce, onion, avocado, and remaining buns.

2. Cheddar & Onion Smashed Burger

Ingredients

1 1/4 lbs Ground beef chuck

2 Onions, small paper thin

16 Bread-and-butter pickle, thin slices

1 Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 4-inch potato buns

4 oz Cheddar cheese, sharp

Umami dust, for sprinkling (optional, see Note)

Instructions

Step 1

Heat a cast-iron griddle until very hot. Layer the pickle slices on the bottom buns.

Step 2

Without overworking the meat, loosely form it into 4 balls and place them on the griddle. Cook the meatballs over moderately high heat for 30 seconds. Using a sturdy large spatula, flatten each ball into a 5-inch round patty. Season the patties with salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes, until well seared. Press a handful of sliced onions onto each patty. Using the spatula, carefully flip each burger so the onions are on the bottom. Top with the cheese and cook for 2 minutes. Cover with a roasting pan and cook just until the cheese is melted, 1 minute more. Transfer the burgers with the onions to the buns and sprinkle with umami dust. Top with the buns and serve.

3. Nacho Burger

Ingredients

Salsa

3 tbsp Red wine vinegar

1 tbsp Vegetable oil

3 tbsp Cilantro

3 Plum tomatoes

2 tbsp Red onion

1 Chipotle chile in adobo

Salt

Cheese Sauce

1 tbsp Butter unsalted

1 1/2 cups Milk

1/2 lb Monterey jack cheese

2 tbsp Pecorino cheese

1 tbsp All-purpose flour

Salt

Burgers

1 1/2 lbs Ground beef chuck

Pepper, Freshly ground Salt

1 tbsp Vegetable oil

4 Hamburger buns

1 Pickled jalapenos and blue corn tortilla chips

Instructions

Step 1: Make the salsa

In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients and season with salt.

Step 2: Make the Cheese Sauce

In a saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook over moderate heat for 30 seconds. Whisk in the milk and cook, whisking, until thickened, 5 minutes. Stir in the Jack cheese until melted, then stir in the pecorino; season with salt and pepper. Let cool until spreadable.

Step 3: Make the Burgers

Light a grill. Form the beef into 4 patties and brush with oil; season with salt and pepper. Grill over moderately high heat until browned outside and medium within, 4 minutes per side. Place the burgers on the buns, top with the cheese sauce, salsa, jalapeños and chips, and serve.

4. BBQ Havarti Burgers + Sweet Potato Curly Fries

Ingredients

Burgers:

1 pound ground beef
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons BBQ sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
8 ounces havarti cheese, sliced
4 to 6 brioche or sesame seed buns,depending on your size preference
spring greens for serving

Sweet Potato Fries:

3 sweet potatoes, spiralized
vegetable or canola oil for frying
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Burgers:

Step 1 - Place the beef in a bowl and seasoning with the salt and pepper. Add the BBQ sauce and gently mix with your hands to incorporate, forming 4 to 6 patties, whichever size you wish and whatever size fits your bun. Heat a large skillet (or your grill, your preference) over medium heat and add the olive oil and butter. Cook the patties until browned on both sides and your desired doneness is reached. I do about 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-well, but it will depend on how think your burgers are. A minute or two before they are done, cover the tops with the sliced harvarti and cover the skillet to let the cheese melt.

Step 2 - To serve the burgers, add a dollop of BBQ sauce on the bottom of the bun, then cover with spring greens. Add the patty on top, more BBQ sauce and a heaping pile of sweet potato fries!

Sweet Potato Fries:

Step 1 - Spiralize the sweet potatoes and place the spirals in a large bowl. Cover with water completely and let soak for 45 minutes. Once finish soaking, place the potato spirals on a large towel, covered with another towel, and pat firmly to remove as much water as you can.

Step 2 - Heat the oil in a large stock pot over medium-low heat. Fit the pot with a candy thermometer. You want the oil to be around 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with paper towels. Stir together the sugar, paprika, garlic powder, salt, onion powder and pepper.

Step 3 - Working in batches, add some of the potato spirals to the oil (don’t overcrowd!) and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until the very so slightly seem to be crisping or changing texture. Remove the spirals with a slotted spoon or kitchen tongs and place on the paper towel to drain the excess oil. Repeat with remaining spirals. Once those are all finished, you do the second fry. Work in batches again – this time the spirals will only need 1 to 2 minutes in the oil – they will turn golden, you will see. Remove and place on a paper towel again. While still hot, cover the spirals in the seasoning mixture.
We hope you find a burger recipe you enjoy. Get our signature steak burgers or our wagyu burgers in our shop! They make any recipe a hit because they are 100% American and 100% delicious.

MARCH BURGER MADNESS: THE FINAL FOUR RECIPES