Bacon Cheeseburger - for FOUR

So I was thinking of food - big surprise - and missing the great places that have gone on to that restaurant retirement in the sky. One of the San Antonio greats was Little Hipp's Gimmedraw Parlor, home of Shypoke eggs, mega-sized cheeseburgers, and Willard the turtle. Just down the street from Hipp's Bubble Room, located on the corner and possessing a criminally undersized parking lot, it was impossible to have a bad time there.

Back to the burgers. They had these giant burgers you had to cut like a pizza to eat, but beside being huge, they were mighty tasty. So I figured what the heck, even though I don't own a flat top or have access to those giant buns, I'd try and crank one out to honor the old place. So in tribute to the Hipp family, I present the Bacon Cheeseburger for Four.

First, I readied eight slices of Buckboard bacon,made from pork shoulder rather than bellies. It's much leaner and more flavorful. This was made them into a weave, pre-cooked on a comal, drained and set aside for later.


Next I took 1.5 lbs of ground chuck, and added my seasonings to the meat. You never want to mix fresh ground meat too much, as it will make it tough. This I divided into two very large but thin patties. I trimmed my bacon weave to a bout an inch smaller than the burger meat, and placed it on one patty.


These two patties were then stacked and had the edges crimped together securely. A final round of seasoning, and off to the Weber it went.


Once done, it was topped with sliced cheese and peeled Hatch peppers. The bun was split and grilled as well for a bit of crunchiness. Adding a little catsup & mayo, sliced onion and cilantro, and we were ready to roll!

Note: That little dot on the plate below is a quarter, just for an idea of scale.


Here's the presentation pic - with a clear view of all the goodies and the hidden bacon. The bread loaf I chose for this effort was a multi-grain one, and was a little chewy and heavy. Probably a home made pan frances type of loaf would make a better bun.