Crack Burgers Recipe

Crack burgers are beef patties with ranch seasoning, shredded cheddar, crumbled bacon and sour cream mixed into the meat. Combine a pound and a half of ground chuck with three tablespoons of sour cream, two of ranch dressing mix, a third of a cup of bacon and a cup of cheddar, shape four patties and grill them four to five minutes a side.

Where crack burgers come from

The name comes from the food blog Plain Chicken. Its author explains that a recipe there with crack in the title contains cheddar, bacon and ranch. It goes back to a dip made for a football game in 2007, and the burger is that dip turned into a patty.

The quantities in the card are Plain Chicken's: ground chuck, sour cream, ranch dressing mix, bacon and cheddar, for four patties. The method, the resting time and the temperatures are this site's.

Recipe

Crack Burgers

Beef patties with ranch dressing mix, shredded cheddar, crumbled bacon and sour cream mixed into the meat, grilled and served on buns. Four burgers.

5.0 (1)Print

Prep

10 min

Cook

10 min

Total

40 min

Serves

4

Cuisine

American

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds ground chuck (80% lean)
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 tablespoons dry ranch dressing mix
• 5 slices cooked bacon, crumbled (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 hamburger buns

Instructions

1. Put the ground chuck, sour cream, ranch dressing mix, bacon and cheddar in a large bowl. Mix by hand just until evenly combined; overworked beef makes a dense burger.
2. Divide the mixture into 4 portions and shape each into a patty about 3/4 inch thick. Press a shallow dimple into the centre of each and refrigerate the patties for 20 minutes.
3. Heat a grill or a cast-iron skillet to medium-high. Cook the patties for 4 to 5 minutes a side, turning them once and gently, until they reach 160°F inside.
4. Toast the buns, cut side down, for 1 minute. Serve the burgers on the buns with lettuce, tomato, mustard and mayonnaise.

Nutrition

Calories:

765

Calculated from the ingredient quantities above using the USDA FoodData Central database, then divided by the number of servings. It is an estimate and will vary with the exact products you use.

Ranch seasoning: packet or homemade

Dry ranch dressing mix is sold in packets and in shaker jars; measure out two tablespoons. The mix is salty, so the patties get no other salt.

To make the two tablespoons, stir together 1 tablespoon of buttermilk powder, 1 teaspoon of dried parsley, 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, dried dill, dried chives and salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Those are the ingredients Plain Chicken names for its own ranch mix; the amounts are this site's.

Keeping the patties in one piece

Plain Chicken warns that the burgers are very moist and need care when they are flipped. The cheese and the sour cream are the reason. Three things help.

• Chill them. Twenty minutes in the refrigerator firms the fat, and the patties hold their shape on the grill.
• Turn once. Wait until the underside has browned and releases on its own.
• A skillet or griddle in place of grill grates. Cheddar that melts out of the patty browns on a flat surface; on grates it drips into the fire.

The dimple keeps the patty flat. Without it the middle domes as the meat tightens.

Doneness, skillet and oven

Ground beef is cooked through at 160°F, the temperature USDA gives for it. In a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat that takes 4 to 5 minutes a side. In the oven, bake the patties on a rack at 400°F for 15 to 18 minutes.

A sauce for crack burgers

Plain Chicken serves them with lettuce, tomato, mustard and mayonnaise. For a ranch sauce, stir 1/4 cup of mayonnaise with 1 tablespoon of sour cream, 1 teaspoon of ranch dressing mix and 1 teaspoon of pickle brine. The Stacker sauce on this site is a burger sauce in the Thousand Island style.

Other burgers on this site are the ghost pepper burger, for heat, and the Burger King bacon cheeseburger.