Serving up a Greasy Spoon Special

Welcome to National Greasy Food Day. This is our second celebration of what has to be one of the least healthy of National Days. Last year, my first reaction was to made a nice, juicy burger just dripping with fatty flavors.

But then I decided anything fried would do – so why not serve up a Chicken and Waffle Sandwich? Yeah, that was fun, and definitely outside the box. This year, we are playing it safe. Now we could have made a nice, greasy Pepperoni Pizza or Chorizo Nachos or a BLT. All great choices. But for my guys, it’s gotta be burgers all the way.

And just to make sure our burgers are extra greasy, we’ve topped them with crisp bacon. If that’s not enough, we’ve fried up our burgers in bacon drippings for extra fat and extra flavor. Oh yeah, the best greasy spoon special hands down!

Bacon Cheeseburgers with Fry Sauce
Bacon Cheeseburgers
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon Hickory Salt
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
1-1/3 lb Ground Chuck
8 Bacon Strips
4 slices Sharp Cheddar Cheese

In a large bowl, combine Worcestershire sauce, garlic, seasoned salt and pepper. Add beef; mix lightly but thoroughly. Shape into four 1/2-in.-thick patties. Chill burgers.

Cut bacon strips in half. Working in batches, fry up half of the bacon until crisp in a large cast iron skillet. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain, fry remaining bacon. Keep warm until ready to use.

Fry burger patties in the skillet with bacon grease over medium heat, covered, for about 6 minutes per side. Top with cheese; continue to cook, covered, until cheese is melted, about another minute longer. Remove skillet from heat, make fry sauce and prepare the buns.

Fry Sauce
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Ketchup
1 tablespoon Cider Vinegar
1 tablespoon Honey

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, ketchup, vinegar and honey. Set aside.

For Serving
4 Hamburger Buns
2 tablespoons soft Butter
1/2 cup French-fried Onions

Brush buns with butter, pop under the broiler just long enough to lightly toast.

Spread fry sauce over cut sides of buns. Top bun bottoms with bacon, cheeseburgers, French-fried onions and bun tops.

Awesome with Shoe String French Fries.

Shoe String “Fried” French Fries
1/2 bag frozen Fast Food or Shoe String Cut Potatoes
3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
Salt to taste

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place a baking rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. Set aside.

Empty frozen fries in a gallon-size zip lock bag. Pour vegetable oil into the bag. Shake, move frozen potatoes around in the oil to coat well.

Spread fries out on the wire rack. Season with salt as desired.

Place in the heated oven, bake for about 15 minutes, check for doneness. Once golden and almost cooked through, turn oven off. Let fries continue to cook another 2 or 3 minutes undisturbed.

Pile alongside the burgers and enjoy.