There are many, many things that go well with peanut butter; the creamy nuttiness provides a balance to other flavors. Where would we be without peanut butter to go with our chocolate, after all? You're forgiven, though, if you didn't know that a peanut butter burger is actually a thing. Peanuts are frequently used in savory dishes, so it's not that uncommon a flavor combo. For example, a peanut sauce often accompanies beef dishes in other cuisines (think Thai satay).
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Summer is a time when you should get out of your food comfort zone and try something new, so let us suggest mashing up your favorite sandwiches and making a peanut butter burger. Whether you're grilling with friends or looking to mix it up at a new restaurant, adding creamy peanut butter to your burger recipe makes for the best burger around.
Crispy bacon, jalapenos, perfectly cooked hamburger patties, all topped with peanut butter.
The Bacon Peanut Butter Burger
If you're ready to try a peanut butter burger at home, there are two ways to add the PB. You can mix it right into the ground beef, or you can add it like a condiment.
When you mix peanut butter with the ground beef, you build that creamy texture right into the burger patty. As it cooks, the peanut butter gets melty and the fat helps the burger get crispy on the outside while staying juicy on the inside.
To treat the PB as a condiment, toast up your hamburger buns and slather the peanut butter on. Up to you if it goes on the bottom bun, the top bun, or both. You can also make a peanut butter sauce by mixing peanut butter and a dollop of maple syrup into a small microwave-safe bowl and heating it for 20 seconds or so.
There's really no end to what you can add to a peanut buttery burger. Pickles may sound strange, but they work. Make it a peanut butter bacon burger by adding applewood bacon (and try the maple syrup and peanut butter with this one). Nice sharp cheddar cheese is good, too.
If you're not sure about making these burgers at home, you can try them at restaurants around the country. Harlem Public Bar in New York City has been making them (and selling a lot of them) since they opened in 2012. Or there's the Jiffy Burger at The Blue Door Pub in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Bearden's Peanutburger in Cleveland.
