Tasty Beer Can Burgers Wrapped With Bacon Recipe

Beer can burgers are on my menu at least once or twice a month. Because they taste great but also because they are easy to make and take not much prepping.

One of the other reasons that I grill them is that you can vary the filling ingredients with anything you prefer or have handy.

Preparation

To start you can use any type of grill. A charcoal grill, pellet grill, and Kamado grill all work fine.

The only thing you must be able to do is set up the grill for indirect heat grilling. This means that the heat source is on one side and the beer can burgers are on the opposite side of the grill.

Hamburger Meat

I use about 2 pounds of hamburger meat and in my experience, the 80/20 ratio works fine.

Seasoning

For the season I use a mix of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and (optional) Cumin.

• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp cumin

Mix the hamburger meat and the seasoning mix in a large bowl.

Bacon

I like the thick sliced bacon but platered thin bacon works just as well.

You need one slice for each of the beer can burgers. So, in this case, you need 4 slices.

Filling

Here you can get as creative as you like to be. Here is the filling I usually make.

• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 cup diced green or red peppers. Or a mix of both.
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 4 slices chees sliced in small pieces.

Saute the diced onion in a skillet and add the green peppers and mushrooms. Now heat this but do not get it too hot.

After a while add the diced tomatoes and cook the mixture for a while.

Tip: I cook the ingredients separately and then mix them together to avoid under or over-cooking them

I stir the sliced cheese in the mixture. This makes the end result a little easier to work with.

Take it off the fire and let it cool down.

Tip: you can do this also the day before you are planning on cooking beer can burgers.

Topping

For the topping, I use a cup of shredded cheese. I like the sharp cheddar

Putting It All Together

Now you have all the ingredients ready it is time to form our beer can hamburger cup and put it all together and ready for the grill.

Form The Beer Can Cup

There are several ways you can do this but after having a hard time I found the way that works for me.

I divided the 2-pound hamburger into 4 balls of the same size first.

Now I flatten each ball into a 1/2 inch thick.

Add some olive oil to the bottom of the beer can and place the can in the middle of the flattened hamburger meat.

Now, fold the rest of the hamburger around the beer can and try to make the walls even in thickness.

Wrap the sliced bacon around it and secure it with a toothpick.

All that rest to do now is remove the beer can and repeat the process for the other 3.

Filling The Hamburger Cup

The next step is to fill the beer can cup with the filling you prepared.

Fill them up as much as you can and if you used the amount I suggested here you should have not much of the filling left.

Grilling Beer Can Hamburgers

While I am prepping all the ingredients I also have the grill heat up and I use a 350 degrees Fahrenheit indirect grilling method.

Indirect grilling means that the hot coals are on one side and the meat on the opposite side.

Make sure that your grill is at the right temperature and has the time to heat up.

Place the beer can burgers on the cool side of the grill and shut the lid.

I rotate and turn the beer can burgers every 15 minutes in the way the other side of them now is facing the hot coals.

This prevents one side of the bacon from being crispy and the other side still soft. It also cooks the hamburger meat and filling more evenly.

I use a handheld digital thermometer to check the internal temperature and, what is more important, the temperature of the ground beef.

When it all reaches 165 to 170 degrees Fahrenheit it is, in my experience, done and ready to take off the grill.

But just before that I add the shredded cheese topping and let that melt.

I prefer to let the beer can burgers rest for 5 minutes to let them cool off a little bit.

Bacon Wrapped Beer Can Burger Recipe

Beer Can Burgers On A Pellet Grills

This recipe can be cooked on any type of pellet grill, and all you have to do is set the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

I have seen videos and read recipes for Traeger, Pit Boss

Beer Can Burgers On A Kamado Grill

A kamado grill is perfect for making these beer-can burgers. Just make sure that you use a divider plate to keep the meat end the heat separated and indirect.

Beer Can Burgers In The Oven

I can imagine that when it pours rain or snows outside you don’t feel like going outside and firing up the grill. Not everybody is as crazy as I am!

In that case, you can also cook them in the oven. You only miss out on that charcoal taste.

Here you can see how my bacon-wrapped beer can burgers look on my plate.

Beer Can Burgers – My Experience

What I like is that they are easy to cook and very forgiving of temperature mistakes.

The number of variations is only limited by your imagination and you can use ground pork, turkey, or chicken if you like to keep it a little more lean.

The same goes for the filling and seasoning. I have made beer can bacon burgers with Squash and Zucchini fresh from my garden and used many spices and different mixtures.

You can make them as pretty as you like and use all types of cans or jars to form the ground beef cup in every size you want.

Let me know if you made this easy grill recipe and how you liked it.

Eddie van Aken

Eddie van Aken brings years of experience from running a full-service restaurant, where he honed his skills with all types of kitchen equipment. His expertise extends to mastering the art of outdoor cooking, utilizing the right recipes to enhance flavors on grills and smokers. Eddie’s in-depth knowledge allows him to provide comprehensive grill reviews and valuable outdoor cooking tips, helping enthusiasts make the most of their grilling adventures. You can read more on the About page for Eddie van Aken