Bacon Jam Burgers

Name: Bacon Jam Burgers with Brie
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1.2 lbs ground beef (80/20, ground chuck); 1 tsp kosher salt (to taste); 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper (to taste); 6 oz Brie (sliced thick, rind on); 1/2 cup Bourbon Bacon Jam (warmed); 3 brioche burger buns; 1 cup baby arugula; 2 tbsp unsalted butter (softened); 2 tbsp mayonnaise (optional)

There’s a jar of bacon jam in our fridge right now, and we will absolutely derail a boring weekend night over it. We made these the first time because we couldn’t think of a good enough reason not to… Have you ever tasted bacon jam on a burger? It’s a match made in heaven, and we’re just mad it took us this long to share the recipe.

A burger with leafy greens, cheese, and bacon jam in a sesame seed bun, served with fries on a wooden board.

This was one of those meals where we wanted something elevated but could have just as easily smeared some peanut butter on the bun and been satisfied too (try it, we’re serious).

For this burger, though, we wanted to feel boujie, so we chose a creamy brie to melt over top, peppery arugula (a personal favorite), and soft buns. We felt like we were dining at a French bistro that totally got the memo on how to build a proper American burger.

Top-down view of burger ingredients: ground beef, leafy greens, brie cheese, butter, seed-topped buns, bacon jam, and a small dish of black pepper.

🔪 Ingredients for Bacon Jam Burgers

Ground beef: 80/20 only. Ground chuck is the label to look for. Anything leaner and you’ll feel it – dry patty, no crust worth talking about.
Brie
Bourbon bacon jam: Your homemade bacon jam is the move here. Warm it in a small pan before you build the burgers – cold jam drags.
Brioche buns: Butter and toast them; an untoasted bun is a soggy bun.
Baby arugula: The peppery bite is doing real work against the richness. Don’t skip it.
Unsalted butter: or mayo, for toasting the buns
Mayonnaise
Kosher salt and black pepper: Season right before the patties hit the pan. Salt draws moisture – you don’t want that happening early.

Equipment

12-inch cast iron skillet: Holds heat through the sear. A stainless pan works, but you’ll get less crust depth.
Instant-read thermometer
Lid or a large metal bowl: For the cheese-melting step. The bowl works better than most lids because it traps steam more aggressively.

📝 How to Make Bacon Jam Burgers

Form the patties. Divide cold 80/20 ground beef into three equal portions, about 5.5 oz each. Handle as little as possible – loose texture holds juice. Shape into rounds about 1 inch wider than the buns, then press a thumb into the center of each one to make a dimple.
Season. Hit both sides generously with kosher salt and cracked black pepper right before they go into the pan – not 10 minutes before, not the night before. Immediate to pan.
Toast the buns. Heat the cast iron over medium. Butter the cut sides of the brioche buns and toast them cut-side down until deep golden, about 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.
Sear. Crank the heat to medium-high and wait until the skillet is smoking slightly. Add the patties – don’t touch them. Cook undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes until a deep, dark crust has formed and the edges are showing gray about a third of the way up.
Flip and melt. Flip each patty, then immediately lay 2 to 3 slices of cold Brie on top. Add a teaspoon of water to the far edge of the pan, then cover immediately with a lid or large metal bowl. The steam traps under the cover and melt the Brie in about 2 to 3 minutes without overblowing the cook. Pull the burgers at 160°F internal temperature.
Build the burger. Thin swipe of mayo on the bottom bun and a handful of arugula. Then the patty with the Brie draped across it, all topped with a generous spoonful of warm bacon jam on top. Crown it and serve immediately.

A hand spoons dark bacon jam onto a cheeseburger with greens on a plate, with chips and another burger in the background.

🔄 Substitutions

Brie → Camembert: Nearly identical in melt and flavor. A direct swap with no timing change needed.
Brie → triple cream brie or Saint André: Richer and butterier – works beautifully, melts even faster. Watch the heat.
Brie → cheddar: It works, but you lose the creamy contrast with the jam. The pairing becomes one-note sweet-salty instead of layered. Go sharp aged cheddar if making the swap.
Homemade bacon jam → store-bought bacon jam: Fine in a pinch. Warm it first. Most store-bought versions are sweeter and less savory… You may want a pinch of smoked salt to even it out.
Brioche → potato roll: Softer and slightly denser. Holds up just as well and is easier to find.
Arugula → watercress: Same peppery bite, slightly more delicate. Works well.
Arugula → iceberg or butter lettuce: Neutral crunch, none of the bitterness that cuts the richness.

💡 Meat Nerd Tips

Keep everything cold until it hits heat. Cold fat hitting a screaming-hot skillet is how you get a crust. Patties that have been sitting at room temperature for 20 minutes give you a gray band instead of a sear. Form them, refrigerate them, cook them cold.
The dimple is structural, not decorative. Ground beef patties puff toward the center as the proteins contract. The dimple is a pre-compensation move – it fills in as the burger cooks, and you end up with a flat patty instead of a dome. Skip it, and you’ll be trying to keep a ball-shaped burger from rolling off the bun.
Don’t season early. Salt on ground beef before cooking draws out surface moisture, which creates steam instead of a crust when the patty hits the pan. Season immediately before the patties go in. Two to three seconds before is fine. Ten minutes before is not.
Brie melts fast – kill the heat if needed. If the pan is very hot when you flip, turn the burner to low the moment you cover the pan. Residual heat in cast iron is more than enough to melt Brie in 2 minutes. Leaving the heat cranked melts the cheese into a liquid puddle before the interior reaches temp.

🍽️ What to Serve with Bacon Jam Burgers

Crispy shoestring fries or kettle chips: The crunch and salt cut through the Brie without trying to compete with the jam.
Arugula side salad with lemon dressing: Echoes the arugula already in the burger and keeps the whole plate from tipping into richness overload.
French Onion Smash Burgers: Build both at a backyard burger bar and watch people go back and forth between them until they’re gone.

🧊 Leftovers and Storage

Cooked patties: Store separately from toppings in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Assembled burgers: Don’t. The bun goes soft and the arugula wilts. Build fresh every time.
Reheat the patty: Skillet over medium-low with a splash of water and a lid to re-steam the cheese. Microwave dries it out.
Freeze raw patties: Separate with parchment and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the fridge before cooking. Do not thaw on the counter.
Bacon jam: Keeps in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Reheat in a small saucepan before serving.

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Quick Summary

Bacon jam burgers are a cast iron skillet build – 80/20 beef, a hard sear, and the steam trick to melt Brie without killing the cook. The bacon jam goes on warm, the arugula cuts the richness, and the whole thing comes together in under 20 minutes once the jam is made. The key is keeping the beef cold, the pan hot, and the cheese on at the flip.

❓ FAQs

Can I make bacon jam burgers on the grill instead of a skillet?

Yes, with a workaround for the cheese melt. Grill the patties over direct high heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side, then move them to indirect heat, top with Brie, and close the lid for 2 to 3 minutes. You won’t get the steam effect but the ambient heat melts the cheese reliably. The crust won’t be identical to cast iron but it will still be excellent.

What’s the best bacon jam for burgers?

Homemade is the answer, specifically the onion bacon jam we use in this recipe. It has balsamic and coffee in the build that add depth store-bought versions don’t come close to. If you’re using store-bought, choose a version with visible bacon pieces — the texture matters as much as the flavor on a burger.

Can I use a different cheese instead of Brie?

Camembert is the cleanest swap — same texture, nearly identical flavor. Triple cream Brie or Saint André is even richer if you want to go that direction. Cheddar works but changes the character of the burger significantly — the creamy contrast against the sweet jam is gone and the result eats heavier.

Why do my burgers puff up in the middle?

You skipped the thumb dimple. Press a shallow indentation into the center of each patty before it goes in the pan. Protein contracts toward the center as it cooks — the dimple compensates and you end up with a flat patty. No dimple means the burger puffs into a dome that’s impossible to stack.