Peanut Butter and Jelly Bacon Cheeseburger

Start by gently forming your ground chuck into a ball. Season with half of the salt.

Heat a large cast iron skillet on medium to medium high heat. Add the reserved bacon grease and let that come up to a light smoke.

Add the ball of ground chuck, salt side down, and let that get nice and hot. Cook it for about 3 minutes, and don’t touch it.

During this time, spread the butter onto the cut sides of each bun half and toast in another skillet over medium heat. Once toasted, remove it from the skillet and set it to the side.

After three minutes, use a large, sturdy burger spatula and smash the ball of beef. Literally smash it down, spreading it out if you have to, but try not breaking up the ground chuck. Let this cook for another minute or so, sprinkle with the remaining salt, then flip. You will end up with some great caramelization on the patty. Cook another few minutes until the other side is nice and browned, then top with the cooked bacon, and top that with the cheddar cheese. Lower the heat.

While the steam and fat melt that cheese, spread the grape jelly on the cut side of the bottom bun. Spread the peanut butter on the cut side of the top bun.

Use the spatula to remove the burger from the skillet, gently tilting to remove any residual burger grease. Lay this onto the jelly, and top with the peanut butter bun. Gently push down so that the peanut butter begins to melt.

Take a picture, do whatever, but get excited. Get very excited, then take a bite. Again, call me crazy, but this burger had everything I ever wanted in a burger. You get that creamy, warm peanut butter that gets perfectly balanced by the smoky bacon and salty cheese. Then, kabaam! You get this awesome, perfect sweetness from the jelly. This has that sweet, savory combination that one would only want, and expect in a great burger.