Brunch Burger with BACON Marmalade!

Bacon marmalade?  The menu at Jerome Bettis Grill 36 said “Bacon Marmalade!!”  And it comes with a breakfast burger topped with mozzarella and an egg?  Yes, please!  Probably (if I were being accurate instead reporting what grabbed my eye and gravitated my entire head towards the Burger Section), it was a burger that came with the bacon marmalade, not the other way around. 

The order went in.  While I waited, I enjoyed quite a magnificent Bloody Mary…just to pass the time until brunch came, of course, and for no other reason. (wink)

And then that beautiful platter appeared.  A gorgeous sunnyside up egg perched prettily atop an oozing mozzarella coverlet atop a beautifully done medium burger.  The “atops” stopped there for me although it should have been open-face on a bun.  Gluten issue again.  Really, though, it didn’t need the bun. 

And the bacon marmalade?  The entire reason I ordered the burger?  There it was in its own little cup waiting to be dipped into or slathered over the burger.  All aquiver, I spooned into it.  Sweet, salty, smoky, orange-y and slightly tart exploded all at once.  Angels sang.  A momentary out-of-body experience may have occurred.  It. Was. Heavenly.  The Bus KNOWS how to build a burger!

I began to plan how I would do it at home.  Bacon marmalade?  I’m sure it was jarred orange marmalade with finely processed crisp bacon and some other ingredients.  A snap to duplicate, really. 

The burger was a burger.  Could I make it a better brunch dish?  More breakfast-ish instead of lunch-ish?  Well, sure.  Instead of a beef burger, I went the breakfast sausage route, but made it just a little milder and a little lower in fat and calories by mixing sage sausage and ground chicken in equal parts.  To echo the orange of the bacon marmalade, I added the zest and juice of an orange, a healthy amount of freshly ground black pepper and a little onion. 

How was the finished dish?  Mark and I like it better than the original…and that’s saying something!  Hey, Bus, how about I make YOU a breakfast burger one of these days?!  And a Bloody Mary.  Just to pass the time while you’re waiting for the burger, of course. 

  Brunch Burger with BACON Marmalade!

Makes 4

• 1/4 cup orange marmalade
• 3 strips bacon, thick sliced, cooked crisp, chopped up finely in the food processor
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/2 lemon, juiced

• 1/2 pound sausage meat, sage kind
• 1/2 pound ground chicken
• 1 orange, zested first and then juiced
• 1/2 medium onion, very finely minced
• freshly ground black pepper, lots

• 2 English muffins, toasted (gluten-free muffins to make this GF)
• 4 slices provolone cheese
• 4 eggs, fried sunnyside up or how you like them best

Marmalade:  Melt the orange marmalade in a small pot.  When smooth, add the rest of the ingredients and let come to room temp.  Can be made ahead and refrigerated.
 

Burgers:  Let the sausage and the ground chicken come almost to room temperature before starting this...it makes them easier to mix together thoroughly.  In a large bowl, mix the sausage & chicken well.  Add the orange zest and juice, the onion and the black pepper and mix well again.  Form into 4 patties.
 

Heat a skillet and add a little butter.  Fry the patties on both sides, cooking through completely.  You don't want any raw chicken or sausage in the middle!
 

Assembly:  Put an English muffin half on a plate.  Top with the burger, a slice of cheese, a fried egg and drizzle bacon marmalade over the top of everything. 
 

Enjoy!