Bacon Smash Burger Pizza

Name: Bacon Smash Burger Pizza
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 each (1/4 lb) Creekstone Farms Brisket Blend Burger Pucks; Yoder Smokers Beef Rub; 1/2 lb bacon, diced; 12 oz yellow onion, sliced thin; 1 tsp Jacobsen Salt Co. Kosher Sea Salt; 1/2 batch pizza dough; KC Canning Co. Dilly Pickles; 8 oz Low Moisture Mozzarella, grated; 2 slices (5 oz) American cheese; 1/2 cup mayonnaise; 1 tbsp Kozlik’s Market Mustard; 1 tbsp Bear &amp; Burton’s The W Sauce (Worcestershire); 1 tsp Heat Maverick’s Anti Gravity Hot Sauce

Jul 09, 2024 • Tom Jackson

This inventive pizza marries crispy bacon, cheesy smash-burger goodness, and tangy San Marzano tomato sauce for a flavor combo you didn't know you needed — until now. Start by smashing burger pucks into thin, caramelized patties, topping them with melted American cheese and crisp onion. Scatter chopped patties and crispy bacon atop a base of crushed San Marzano tomatoes, layer on mozzarella, and bake it until the crust is golden and the cheese bubbles with savory perfection.

WHAT YOU'LL LOVE

Smash burgers become the pizza topping: Instead of just using raw ground beef, this recipe smashes the burger pucks in the same cast iron, caramelizes the onion directly on top of the patty, melts American cheese onto it, then chops the whole thing into pizza-ready pieces — you get fully developed burger flavor on every slice.
Bacon fat as the cooking medium: Rendering the bacon first and cooking the burger pucks in that collected fat means every component picks up bacon flavor before the pizza is even assembled.
The Fry Sauce does what plain pizza sauce can't: Drizzling a mayonnaise-Worcestershire-hot sauce fry sauce over the finished pizza after it comes out of the oven is the detail that makes this taste like a burger and a pizza simultaneously rather than just one or the other.
The whole thing bakes in about five minutes at 500°F: With the Wood Fired Oven accessory preheated and ready, the assembled pizza bakes in roughly the same time as a Neapolitan-style pie — the elevated temperature is what produces the blistered crust without overcooking the already-cooked burger topping.

Bacon Smash Burger Pizza

Tom Jackson

Rated 5.0 stars by 4 users

Cuisine

American

Servings

8

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Calories

281

Welcome to a delightful culinary adventure with our Bacon Smash Burger Pizza, a perfect blend of two classic favorites that will surely bring a smile to your face. Imagine the cozy, smoky aroma filling the air as you prepare this unique dish on your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill. This recipe combines the irresistible flavors of crispy bacon, juicy brisket blend burgers, and sweet caramelized onions, all nestled on a golden, homemade pizza crust. It's a heartwarming treat that’s perfect for sharing with friends and family, whether it's a weekend barbecue or a casual dinner gathering. Gather around, enjoy the delicious fusion of flavors, and create lasting memories with this comforting hearty dish.

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Ingredients

2 each (1/4 lb) Creekstone Farms Brisket Blend Burger Pucks
Yoder Smokers Beef Rub
1/2 lb bacon, diced
12 oz yellow onion, sliced thin
1 tsp Jacobsen Salt Co. Kosher Sea Salt
1/2 batch pizza dough
KC Canning Co. Dilly Pickles
8 oz Low Moisture Mozzarella, grated
2 slices (5 oz) American cheese

Fry Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp Kozlik’s Market Mustard
1 tbsp Bear & Burton’s The W Sauce (Worcestershire)
1 tsp Heat Maverick’s Anti Gravity Hot Sauce

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Directions

Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 450ºF with the Yoder Smokers Wood Fired Oven installed.
Place the bacon in a Lodge Cast Iron Casserole Dish and place inside the oven. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon pieces are crispy, 10-15 minutes. Strain the bacon fat into a bowl. Return the dish to the oven to reheat.
Slice your onions, then place them in a bowl. Add the salt to the bowl and massage them into the onions. Let sit for 10-15 minutes, then place the onions in a thin cloth and wring out the liquid.
Add about two tablespoons of bacon fat to the casserole dish. Place your burger pucks on the cast iron. Cover the pucks with a piece of parchment paper, then smash thin with a grill press. Season with Yoder Smokers Beef Rub, then top with the onions.
When the bottom of the meat is browned, flip and cook the onion side. Place a slice of American cheese on top of each. When the onions are browned at the edges remove from the oven.
Turn the grill temperature up to 500ºF. Let the burgers cool slightly, then chop them up.
Strain the tomatoes. Discard the liquid. Crush the tomatoes by hand to desired consistency.
To build the pizza, stretch your dough thin. Place on a floured pizza peel. Top the dough with crushed tomatoes, then bacon, then mozzarella and finally the chopped smash burgers.
Transfer the pizza to the oven and bake until browned on the bottom and the cheese is melted on top, about five minutes.
While the pizza is baking whisk the mayonnaise, Kozlik’s Market Mustard, Bear & Burton’s The W Sauce and Heat Maverick’s Anti-Gravity Hot Sauce and transfer to a squeeze bottle.
Drizzle the fry sauce over the top of the pizza. Slice & Serve.

Recipe Note

Recipe FAQ

What is the history behind the smashburger technique?
The smashburger method dates to mid-20th century American diners and short-order cooks experimenting with the best way to cook a thin, fast hamburger on a flat-top griddle. Pressing a ball of ground beef down hard against a hot surface maximizes the Maillard reaction — the high-heat browning process that creates the flavorful, slightly crispy crust that defines a properly made smash patty. The technique saw a major resurgence starting in the 2010s, when both fast-casual chains and independent restaurants rediscovered it as a faster, more flavorful alternative to a thick grilled burger.

Why salt and massage the onions before cooking?
Salting the sliced onions and letting them sit draws out moisture through osmosis, then wringing out the liquid in a cloth removes that excess water before the onions hit the cast iron. Drier onions brown and caramelize more quickly on the hot surface — wet onions steam rather than caramelize, which takes significantly longer and produces a softer, less flavorful result.

What tomatoes should I use for this pizza?
The page description specifies San Marzano tomatoes, and the directions call for straining and hand-crushing canned tomatoes. A 28 oz can of whole San Marzano tomatoes, strained and crushed by hand to your preferred consistency, is the intended ingredient — and one of the most important swaps you can make for pizza sauce quality. Add them to the ingredient list if they're missing.

Where do the pickles go?
The KC Canning Co. Dilly Pickles listed in the ingredients are a finishing topping — scatter thin pickle slices over the pizza after the fry sauce drizzle, just before serving. They add a tangy, acidic contrast to the rich bacon, burger, and cheese combination that mirrors the pickles you'd find on an actual burger.

Can I make this indoors?
3 out of 5 — Works indoors with adjustments. The bacon render, burger smash, and onion caramelization are all cast iron stovetop steps that need no modification. The pizza bake is the limiting factor — a home oven preheated to 500°F with a pizza stone or steel for at least 30–45 minutes gets close to the Wood Fired Oven result, though the crust will take longer (8–10 minutes rather than 5) and develop slightly less char.

Recipe Highlights

Cook the bacon first, then save the fat: The rendered bacon fat is the cooking medium for the burger smash — using it instead of oil means the beef is picking up bacon flavor from the first second it hits the cast iron. Strain and reserve it carefully rather than discarding.
Smash firmly and hold pressure: The key to a proper smash patty is applying immediate, firm, sustained pressure the moment the puck hits the hot surface. The Maillard crust forms within the first 30–60 seconds of contact — hesitating or pressing gently produces a thicker patty without the full caramelized sear that makes this technique worthwhile.
Chop the smash burgers after they cool slightly, not immediately: Letting the patties rest briefly before chopping keeps the juices inside the pieces rather than running across the cutting board. Chopping hot patties immediately off the cast iron produces drier, drier pieces.
Build the pizza in this order — tomatoes, bacon, mozzarella, chopped burger: The layering sequence matters: tomatoes go directly on the dough to protect it, bacon goes under the cheese so the fat renders into the mozzarella, and the already-cooked burger pieces go on last so they don't overcook during the 5-minute bake.