The Elvis Smash Burger (peanut butter, bacon, banana)

Name: The Elvis Smash Burger
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 brioche buns; 2 tbsp unsalted butter; 4 each 1/4 lb Creekstone Farms Brisket Blend Burger Patties; Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub; 4 slices white American cheese; 2 medium sized bananas, sliced into 1/4” slices; 1/2 cup smoked peanut butter; 6 slices bacon

May 07, 2024 • Tom Jackson

Introducing our mouthwatering Elvis Burger recipe, designed to rock your taste buds with a harmonious blend of flavors. Crafted around Creekstone Farms Brisket Blend Burger Patties seasoned to perfection using Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub, each patty promises an explosion of taste sensations. But this burger isn't just about the meat; it's a culinary concert featuring crispy bacon and creamy white American cheese collaborating to create a delightful texture symphony. Adding to the melody are caramelized bananas and smoked peanut butter, infusing a sweet and smoky note that'll have you singing praises. Amplify the experience with toasted brioche buns generously slathered in butter, providing the ultimate stage for this flavor extravaganza. Don't miss out on this culinary performance; grab your spatula and get ready to rock and roll in the kitchen!

WHAT YOU'LL LOVE

Caramelizing the bananas in bacon fat is the technique that makes the sweet-savory concept actually work: Plain sliced banana on a burger is just sweet and soft — banana fried in rendered bacon fat until golden brown develops caramelized sugars on the cut face while absorbing a subtle savory depth from the fat. It's a different ingredient entirely from what you started with.
Smoked peanut butter is worth making from scratch for this recipe: Cold-smoking peanut butter for 30–45 minutes adds a faint wood smoke character that bridges the gap between the sweet banana and savory bacon elements — it's the ingredient that makes the Elvis combination taste like it was designed rather than accidental. The ATBBQ Smoked Peanut Butter recipe is linked below.
Double seasoning — before and after the flip — builds the crust that earns this burger its price of admission: Lone Star Brisket Rub applied immediately after smashing seasons the raw top of the patty while the bottom sears; a second application after flipping goes directly onto the freshly developed crust. The result is seasoning integrated into both crust faces rather than sitting only on one.
Steam-melting the cheese rather than lid-melting it produces a cleaner, more cohesive result: Two tablespoons of water added to the hot griddle surface just before closing the lid creates a burst of steam that melts the American cheese completely and evenly in under 60 seconds — no partially melted corners, no waiting for radiant heat to work down from the lid.

The Elvis Smash Burger

Tom Jackson

Rated 5.0 stars by 3 users

Cuisine

American

Servings

8

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Calories

947

Get ready to rock and roll with our Elvis Burger, a culinary masterpiece that's as bold as a guitar solo! Preheat your Le Griddle over low heat, setting the stage for this epic performance. Cook bacon until it's crisp and sizzling, then caramelize bananas in that rockin' bacon fat. Smash Creekstone Farms Brisket Blend Burger Patties onto the griddle, seasoned with Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub for a flavor explosion. Top with white American cheese, melting to perfection under a steamy groove. Toast brioche buns in rich, golden butter, adding a crunchy riff to this burger symphony. Assemble with smoked peanut butter, bacon, the smokin' patty, and caramelized bananas. Get ready to take a flavorful journey with every bite, where every element hits the right note and rocks your taste buds!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

4 brioche buns
2 tbsp unsalted butter
4 each 1/4 lb Creekstone Farms Brisket Blend Burger Patties
Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub
4 slices white American cheese
2 medium sized bananas, sliced into 1/4” slices
1/2 cup smoked peanut butter
6 slices bacon

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Directions

Preheat your Le Griddle over low heat. Cook the bacon on the griddle until browned and slightly crispy.
Slice the bananas and fry in the bacon fat until browned on both sides, but not mushy.
To cook the burgers, place the patties on the griddle. Cover each with a sheet of parchment and smash with a grill press.
Season the smashed patties with Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub and cook until browned. Flip, then season again before topping each with a slice of cheese.
Add a couple of tablespoons of water to the griddle surface, then close the lid and let the steam melt the cheese, then remove the patties from the griddle.
Toast the buns in the butter until golden brown.
To build the burgers, start by spreading about two tablespoons of peanut butter on the bottom bun. Top with one and a half slices of bacon, then the smashed patty, then about 6 slices of caramelized banana. Top with the bun.

Recipe Note

Recipe FAQ

What is the connection between Elvis Presley and this flavor combination?
Elvis Presley was well-documented to have a fondness for peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwiches — a combination his cook at Graceland, Mary Jenkins, reportedly prepared regularly. The "Fool's Gold Loaf," a hollowed-out bread loaf filled with an entire jar of peanut butter, a jar of jelly, and a pound of bacon, is another well-documented Elvis indulgence. The Elvis Burger takes that same flavor trio — peanut butter, banana, bacon — and applies it to a smash burger format, grounding a pop culture reference in a genuinely tested flavor combination.

What is smoked peanut butter and how do I make it?
Smoked peanut butter is standard creamy peanut butter cold-smoked for 30–45 minutes on a pellet grill set as low as possible (ideally under 90°F to prevent the oils from separating). The smoke penetrates the fat in the peanut butter and adds a subtle wood-smoke character that contrasts with the sweetness of the banana and bridges toward the savory bacon. The ATBBQ Smoked Peanut Butter recipe walks through the full process — see Recommended Recipes below.

How ripe should the bananas be?
Use bananas that are just ripe — yellow with minimal browning spots. Underripe bananas won't caramelize well because they lack the developed sugars needed for browning. Overripe bananas (heavily spotted or soft) will become mushy in the bacon fat rather than holding their shape with caramelized cut faces. The directions specify cooking until browned on both sides but not mushy — this balance is easier to achieve with a just-ripe banana.

Can I use regular peanut butter if I don't have a smoker?
Yes — the burger works with regular creamy peanut butter. What you lose is the smoke note that bridges the sweet and savory elements. To approximate it without a smoker, stir a small amount of smoked paprika or a drop of liquid smoke into the peanut butter before spreading — it won't replicate cold-smoking but adds a faint smoky character.

Why does the recipe yield 8 servings from 4 burgers?
The nutrition information is calculated at half a burger per serving — each burger is substantial enough at 947 calories per half that this is a reasonable portion size. If serving as a full burger, the recipe makes 4 servings. The ingredient quantities (4 patties, 4 buns) confirm 4 complete burgers.

Can I make this indoors?
4 out of 5 — Great in the kitchen, better on the grill. A cast iron skillet handles the bacon, banana caramelization, and smash technique equally well. What you trade is the Le Griddle's large flat surface that allows all components to cook simultaneously — indoors you'll need to work in stages across the skillet.

Recipe Highlights

Cook the bacon first — the fat is the cooking medium for everything else: Directions Step 1 specifies cooking the bacon before anything else. The rendered bacon fat left on the griddle is what the bananas are caramelized in (Step 2) and what the patties are smashed into (Step 3). Each component builds on the flavor left behind by the previous one — starting with the burgers would skip the bacon fat base entirely and produce a completely different result.
Don't rush the banana caramelization — medium-low heat produces the right texture: Directions Step 2 specifies frying until browned on both sides but not mushy. High heat browns the surface quickly but steams the interior, producing soft collapsed banana rather than a slice with caramelized faces and structural integrity. Medium-low heat in bacon fat gives the cut faces time to develop golden color while the interior stays firm enough to hold its shape on the burger.
Smash immediately on contact — don't wait: Directions Step 3 specifies placing the patties on the griddle and smashing immediately with parchment paper and a grill press. Waiting even 30 seconds allows the exterior protein to begin setting, which resists the smash and produces an uneven, thicker patty rather than a thin, lacy-edged smash burger. Place and smash in one motion.
Build bottom-up: peanut butter, bacon, patty, banana — in that order: Directions Step 7 specifies this assembly sequence. Peanut butter on the bottom bun anchors everything and prevents sliding. Bacon on the peanut butter creates a savory base layer. The cheesy patty goes next, and the caramelized bananas go on top of the patty where their heat and moisture don't soften the bottom bun. The top bun goes on last. Reversing the order places the wet banana against the bun, which softens it before the first bite.