Irish Car Bomb Burger

An All American beef patty with Guinness Battered Onion rings, Jameson BBQ sauce and Candied Baileys Bacon, this Irish Car Bomb Burger is literally a flavor bomb!

Yes, I’ve done it again, named a recipe with “Irish Car Bomb”  Let me first clear the air and let you know I am not meaning to desensitize what happened in Ireland. I am simply calling them “Car Bombs” as they feature what us, as Americans, created as a cocktail featuring Guinness, Baileys and Jameson.  Therefore, if you are offended in any way, I apologize.  This is my American take on the cocktail turned burger.

Whew, now that we’ve got that out in the open let’s keep rolling right along with St. Patrick’s Day inspired recipes. The “green beer” holiday is in one week.  How is it already the middle of March?  One thing is for sure, the weather has been nice enough for me to break out the flip-flops and that’s all I care about.  The kids are spending the afternoons outside soaking up all the fresh air and I’m one happy mama.  How’s the weather in your area?  I know just as soon as I get all giddy about how nice it’s been, it’ll snow and I’ll be cussing myself out.  I’m also super excited about grilling season.  Yes, I can grill outside when it’s below zero but I ain’t that dedicated.  That’s why I own a grill pan!

Anyways, so let’s talk about this burger.  I fell in love with my Irish Car Bomb Brownies and wondered how I could turn those 3 flavors into a delicious burger.  Truth be told, it took me a little while as I had no idea how to incorporate the Baileys without being disgusting.  Then I remembered people candy bacon.  I’ve never done that before and I ran it by my husband who quickly said, “No, just no.  Leave the bacon alone.” But you know me, I couldn’t do that. I figured with the sweet and chocolaty undertones of Baileys, candying the bacon with it would be my best bet of incorporating it into the burger.

So I started by making a Baileys reduction that I slathered on the bacon before, during and at the end of baking.  The aroma in the house was intoxicating-literally.  It smelled so good, I couldn’t wait for it to come out of the oven. And it was delicious!  I was thankful it worked because I didn’t ruin an entire package of bacon and prove my husband right, LOL!

Next, I made the BBQ sauce which was super simple.  I just took a regular BBQ sauce recipe I love and added Jameson to it.  It turned out fantastic and to be honest, might have been my favorite part of the burger.  It was tangy, and little sweet and had a great kick of flavor from the Jameson.  We didn’t end up using all of it and I was so glad to have leftovers in the fridge the next day for dipping alongside french fries for dinner.

Last and probably the most time-consuming were the Guinness Battered onion rings.  And I only say time-consuming because this part is all hands on.  The rest of the stuff you sort of set it and forget it while only keeping an eye on them.  We love onion rings but I have never made them.  Hell, I rarely ever deep fry in my house but everything in moderation, right?!

So I started by making a regular beer batter but instead of a light beer, I obviously used Guinness.  Now you want to choose a sweet onion when making onion rings as they lend a tender flavor and not a punch you in the face sharp flavor.  I sliced the onions into rings, set my oil over medium heat and waited until it registered 350 degrees, dipped my onions in the batter and added a few to my hot oil.  These puppies cook up fast so watch them and make sure you turn them after a minute, so they get golden brown on each side.  I’ve had beer battered onion rings before but I couldn’t really taste that they had been battered in beer but these were not the case.  The onions rings tasted like a dark, roasted beer and let me tell you dipped in the Jameson BBQ sauce…amazing!

When thinking about constructing this burger, and I realize it has a lot of components, I had no idea when I was going to fit in cooking the burger patties.  So what I did is, while my BBQ sauce was simmering on the stove, I made the patties and grilled them, in my grill pan, for a few minutes on each side and then transferred them to the oven.  WHAT!  Yeah, I know.  I had never done this before but it worked out perfectly.  The burgers cooked while I made the onion rings so that when everything was finished, I could assemble and serve while still having each part remain hot.  I also placed the cheese on top of the burgers and placed them back into the oven to melt for a minute.

To my Irish Car Bomb Burger I also added the classics, tomato and lettuce and then…I put an egg on it.  Yeah, that happened.  Everything is better with an egg on it.  I quickly cooked an egg, over easy, or if you are like my husband and don’t like a runny yolk, a fried egg will be just fine, but I’m all about the runny goodness, personally.

To assemble the Irish Burgers, I started by placing the lettuce on the bottom of the bun.  This ensures your bread will hold together and not get all soggy cuz ain’t no one got time for a soggy bun.  Then I topped it with a tomato slice, the burger patty with delicious sharp Irish cheddar, Jameson BBQ sauce, Baileys Candied Bacon, Guinness Battered Onion rings, egg and then the top bun.  Whew!  That’s a mouthful and really, it is.  I quickly flashed back to an episode of Triple D where Guy describes how he has to position himself to take a bite of this gigantic burger. He explains how he spreads his feet apart, lunges over the table, elbows up and goes in for the bite.  Please don’t picture me trying to do this, it’s not pretty.  But this Irish Car Bomb Burger, yeah it’s pretty and delicious!

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Irish Car Bomb Burger

Prep 30 mins

Cook 1 hour

Total 1 hour, 30 mins

Author Strawberry Blondie Kitchen

Yield 4

An All American beef patty with Guinness Battered Onion rings, Jameson BBQ sauce and Candied Baileys Bacon, this Irish Car Bomb Burger is literally a flavor bomb!

Ingredients

• Baileys Candied Bacon
• 8 slices thick cut bacon
• 2/3 cup Baileys Irish Cream
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• a pinch each of black pepper and cayenne pepper
• Jameson BBQ Sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup Jameson whiskey
• 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Worchestershire Sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• Guinness Battered Onion Rings
• Oil for frying (peanut, grapeseed, canola)
• 1 Sweet onion, cut into 1/4" rings
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup corn starch
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• pinch of salt and black pepper
• 1 cup Guinness
• Burger Patties
• 1 1/2 pounds ground chuck (6 ounce burgers)
• Sprinkle of Seasoned Salt and pepper.
• 4 slices (4 ounces) Cheddar Cheese, I used Kerrygold Dubliner Cheese
• 4 Hamburger buns
• Additional toppings: lettuce, tomato, fried egg, over easy egg, pickles.

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack on top sprayed with cooking spray.
3. Lay out your strips of bacon
4. Baileys Candied Bacon
5. In a small sauce pan over medium high heat, combine remaining ingredients for Baileys Candied Bacon. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened.
6. Once thickened, brush on a layer of mixture on top of your strips of bacon, repeating twice.
7. Place in t oven and cook for 10 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and brush them again with Baileys mixture
9. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
10. Jameson BBQ Sauce
11. While the bacon is cooking, start your BBQ Sauce
12. Whisk all ingredients into a medium sauce pan over medium high heat and bring to a boil.
13. Boil gently for 25 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture is reduced by half.
14. Burger Patties
15. Divide the mixture into 4 equal patties and sprinkle with seasoned salt and pepper.
16. In a grill pan over medium high heat, place burgers, seasoned side down, into pan.
17. Season the other side with seasoned salt and pepper.
18. Grill patties on each side for 3-4 minutes or until charred, then transferred to the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the meat reads 145 degrees for medium.
19. Place a slice of cheese onto each patty and return to the oven for 1 minute or until melted. Remove from oven and set aside.
20. Guinness Battered Onion Rings
21. Line a cookie sheet with paper towels.
22. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan and allow to come up to 350 degrees
23. In a medium bowl, combine flour through Guinness, whisking until smooth.
24. When the oil comes up to temperature, dip each onion ring into the batter and carefully drop into the hot oil, a few at a time. You do not want to crowd the pan.
25. Cook each side until golden brown.
26. To Assemble
27. On the bottom of your hamburger bun, place a piece of lettuce, followed by a slice of tomato, cheeseburger patty, healthy dollop of Jameson BBQ sauce, 2 slices of Candied Bailey Bacon, 2 Guiness Battered Onion Rings, an over easy egg* and finally the top bun. Assume the position and dig in! Sláinte!

Notes

*To fry an over easy egg, simply heat a small nonstick saute pan over medium heat, drop in your egg and reduce the heat to low. Cook over low heat for 1 or 2 minutes just until the egg whites are firm. Carefully flip over and cook the other side for 1 minute.Beer Batter Slighty Adapted from Beer-Battered Fries

Courses Burger

The layers upon layers in this burger work so well together.  And feel free to take any of the components off to make your own take on this monster.  If you aren’t fond of an egg, don’t put it on there.  You’ll still get the same amazing taste without it.

As for the onion rings, I cut up one and it made a ton so I served the rest of them alongside the burger with extra BBQ sauce for dipping.  They wonderful side dish so keep em in your arsenal for the upcoming grilling season!

Be sure to check out a few more St. Patrick’s Day recipes I’ve posted recently on the blog:

Irish Car Bomb Brownies

Slow Cooker Corned Beef with Cabbage and Potatoes

Shamrock Shake Popsicles

Enjoy and if you make this recipe, please share a photo on social media and hashtag it #strawberryblondiekitchen I love to see what you cook up!