The Baconator

Name: The Baconator
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 3
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 burger buns; 6 (1/4 lb each) Creekstone Farms 81/19 Brisket Blend Burger Patties; Meat Church Blanco Seasoning; 6 slices bacon; 3 tbsp Big Rick’s Chipotle Ketchup; ½ lb classic cut bacon, minced; 1/2 - 3/4 cup avocado oil, as needed; 1 egg yolks; 1/2 tbsp Kozlik’s Deli Mustard; 1/2 tbsp Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub; 1 tsp lemon juice; 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar, to taste; 1/4 cup cooked bacon meat, minced; 1 tbsp fresh chives, minced

Jun 18, 2024 • Tom Jackson

Our Baconator burger, an indulgent and flavor-packed burger, features perfectly seasoned Creekstone Farms 81/19 Brisket Blend Burger Patties, complemented by crispy bacon and rich Big Rick’s Chipotle Ketchup. To make the Baconnaise, a decadent bacon-infused mayonnaise, you’ll need classic cut bacon, avocado oil, egg yolk, Kozlik’s Deli Mustard, Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and fresh chives. Start by cooking minced bacon until crispy, then blend the rendered fat with avocado oil to create a silky base for the Baconnaise. Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 425ºF and grill the burger patties on a cast iron griddle until perfectly seared, topping each with cheese. Crisp the bacon and toast the buns, then assemble your Baconator with layers of baconnaise, chipotle ketchup, cheesy patties, and bacon for a mouthwatering burger experience. Ideal for grill enthusiasts, this Baconator recipe levels up the classic burger with premium ingredients and a smoky, savory flavor profile.

WHAT YOU'LL LOVE

The Baconnaise is the real star of this recipe: Rendering raw bacon, combining the fat with avocado oil, and emulsifying it with egg yolk into a homemade mayo produces a condiment so good it has its own dedicated yield — 12 servings — and keeps for two weeks. This single component elevates the burger from good to genuinely memorable.
Square smash patties on a cast iron griddle, not a round grill: Pressing the brisket blend into square patties and chilling them before cooking creates a flat, even surface that maximizes contact with the griddle for full Maillard crust coverage — the same logic as a classic smash burger, but scaled up to a double-patty format.
Bacon goes on a wire rack over a sheet pan on the grill: Cooking the bacon elevated on a rack rather than flat on the griddle allows the rendered fat to drip away rather than pooling, resulting in crispier, more evenly cooked strips without the flare-ups or uneven browning of flat-grill bacon.
Big Rick's Chipotle Ketchup cuts through the richness: The smoky, spicy chipotle ketchup provides the only acidic, heat-forward note in a burger otherwise built entirely on richness — baconnaise, beef fat, bacon, melted cheese — and it's doing essential balancing work.

The Baconator

Tom Jackson

Rated 4.8 stars by 4 users

Cuisine

American

Servings

3

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

45 minutes

Calories

947

Introducing the Gourmet Baconator burger, a sophisticated twist on Wendy's classic burger that will tantalize your taste buds. This recipe elevates the traditional Baconator with premium Creekstone Farms 81/19 Brisket Blend patties, seasoned with Meat Church Blanco Seasoning, and topped with smoky, crispy bacon. The pièce de résistance is our luxurious Baconnaise, a homemade bacon-infused mayonnaise that adds an indulgent layer of flavor. Grilled to perfection on a Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill and finished with Big Rick’s Chipotle Ketchup, this gourmet burger redefines fast food with a rich, smoky, and savory profile, perfect for any gourmet burger aficionado.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

3 burger buns
6 (1/4 lb each) Creekstone Farms 81/19 Brisket Blend Burger Patties
Meat Church Blanco Seasoning
6 slices bacon
3 tbsp Big Rick’s Chipotle Ketchup

Baconnaise: 12 servings

½ lb classic cut bacon, minced
1/2 - 3/4 cup avocado oil, as needed
1 egg yolks
1/2 tbsp Kozlik’s Deli Mustard
1/2 tbsp Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar, to taste
1/4 cup cooked bacon meat, minced
1 tbsp fresh chives, minced

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Directions

To make the Baconnaise, place the minced raw bacon in a Lodge 10” Steel Skillet. Cook over medium heat until the bacon is crispy and you’ve rendered out as much fat as possible. Strain the bacon from the fat. Chop the bacon into very fine bacon bits.
Place the bacon fat in a measuring cup or mason jar. Add enough avocado oil to bring the mixture up to 3/4 cup of bacon fat/avocado oil. Let cool to room temperature.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the egg yolk, Kozlik’s Deli Mustard, Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub and lemon juice and whisk well to combine.
Slowly begin to drizzle in a few drops and then a thin stream of the fat/oil mixture while constantly whisking. Continue drizzling and whisking until all of the fat/oil is incorporated. Add a splash of vinegar, to taste. Feel free to add water to thin further, if desired. Mix in the one quarter cup bacon bits and the chives. Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 425ºF, set up for direct grilling with the Yoder Smokers Cast Iron Griddle installed over the fire box.
For the burger patties, smash each patty thin with a burger press. Form into a square shape with a bench scraper. Place on a piece of parchment paper for easy transfer to the grill. Refrigerate for half an hour to firm up (depending on ambient temperature).
While the patties chill, cook the bacon slices. Place them on a wire rack over a sheet pan and place them on the grill to cook until crispy, about 20 minutes, then remove and slice each piece in half.
Season the exposed side with Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub.
Place the burger patties on the griddle and cook until seared, about 5 minutes, with the lid open. Flip then top each patty with a slice of cheese and cook until the burger is seared and the cheese is melted, then remove.
Toast the cut side of the buns on the griddle unit golden brown.
To build the burgers, spread the top and bottom buns with the baconnaise. Add ketchup to taste. Place one cheesy patty on the bottom bun. Top with two pieces of bacon, then repeat for a double patty. Finish with the top bun.

Recipe Note

Recipe FAQ

What's the history behind the Baconator?
Wendy's introduced the Baconator in 2007 as part of an effort to revitalize their menu with a more indulgent offering. It featured two beef patties, six strips of bacon, American cheese, ketchup, and mayonnaise — designed to deliver maximum bacon impact in a single burger. This ATBBQ version takes that same concept and rebuilds it from scratch with premium Creekstone Farms brisket blend patties, house-made Baconnaise, and chipotle ketchup, keeping the spirit of the original while replacing everything with better ingredients.

What is Baconnaise and how long does it keep?
Baconnaise is a homemade bacon-infused mayonnaise made by rendering bacon fat, combining it with avocado oil, and emulsifying it with egg yolk, mustard, and lemon juice using the same technique as classic mayo. The recipe intentionally makes a large batch (12 servings) because it keeps well refrigerated for up to two weeks — far more than you need for 3 burgers, but worth making in full since it works on sandwiches, dipping sauces, and as a spread for virtually anything.

Why chill the patties before grilling?
Refrigerating the smashed and shaped patties for at least 30 minutes helps them firm up and hold their square shape when they hit the hot griddle. Patties that go straight from forming to the grill can lose their shape, especially in warm ambient temperatures. The chilling step is what ensures clean edges and even thickness for consistent cooking.

What cheese works best on this burger?
American cheese is the natural choice — it melts almost instantly on a hot patty and creates the glossy, unified cheese coverage that a smash-style burger requires. Sharper cheeses like cheddar or provolone have their place, but American's fast melt is specifically what you want here given the quick cook time on the griddle.

Can I make this indoors?
4 out of 5 — Great in the kitchen, better on the grill. The Baconnaise is entirely stovetop regardless. A cast iron skillet over high heat produces the same sear and crust on the patties as the outdoor griddle setup. What you lose slightly is the ambient smoke character and the outdoor cooking experience, but the burger itself translates almost perfectly indoors.

Recipe Highlights

Drizzle the fat into the egg yolk mixture in a thin, slow stream: The emulsification only works if the fat is incorporated gradually — a few drops first, then a thin stream while constantly whisking. Pouring too much fat in at once breaks the emulsion before it forms, producing separated oil rather than creamy Baconnaise. Patience in this step is what determines whether you get mayo or a mess.
Form the patties into squares using a bench scraper, not your hands: A bench scraper produces sharp, even square edges that maximize griddle contact and create uniform cooking across every inch of the patty surface. Hand-formed patties have rounded, irregular edges that lift off the griddle and cook unevenly.
Cook the bacon on a wire rack on the grill, not flat on the griddle: Elevating the bacon strips on a rack over a sheet pan allows the fat to render and drip away continuously rather than pooling around the strips. The result is crispier, more consistently cooked bacon without the flare-up risk of direct fat contact with the hot cooking surface.
Add cheese immediately after flipping, not before: The cheese goes on after the flip so it melts during the final minute of cook time while the second side sears. Adding cheese too early — or before flipping — means it slides off or melts unevenly before the patty has fully developed its crust on both sides.