I was lazy when I made this dish and was (deservedly) punished for it. Since I make my own smoked and dry-cured bacon, I have to slice it into thin slices myself. I was in a bit of a hurry and didn't want to bring out my slicer, so I sliced my bacon with a knife. Unfortunately, it's impossible to get them as thin as when I use the slicer.

This meant that my bacon was not as crispy as I wanted.

The bacon was placed in a pan and cooked over medium-high heat until it was as crispy as I could get it.

The cooked bacon was placed on paper towels to drain and the heat was turned up.

It's always a good idea to make sure the meat is taken out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking. This raises the temperature of the meat and decreases the chance of it "boiling" instead of frying.

The meat should not be shaped, so the ground meat should just be divided into 4 parts and rolled into balls.

The meat doesn't need additional fat since the fat content is at 10% and the meat is cooked in the bacon fat.

Turn up the heat on the pan so it's very hot and place the 4 balls in the pan - remember to keep some space between them as they will be pressed flat.

If you have 2 pans of the same size, you can place one pan on top of the meat and put something heavy in it (it must be able to withstand the heat).

I was lucky enough to have a large ovenproof dish that fit perfectly over my pan. Although it worked well, I still think I'll go out and invest in a burger press at some point.

Since the patties are pressed very thin, they don't need to cook for very long. Cook them for 2 minutes on one side and then flip them.

Turn down the heat a bit and cook them for 2 minutes on the other side.

Season with salt and pepper and place a slice of cheddar cheese on each patty.

They need to rest for 2 minutes before being served. If you have a gas torch, you can use it to melt the cheese a bit. If not, the patty should slowly melt it on its own.

Whether you use homemade burger buns or store-bought ones, it's always a good idea to slice them in half and toast the inside. This makes the burger less soggy overall.

I usually give them 2-3 minutes in my toaster.

Spread ketchup on the bottom bun and place a few slices of lettuce on top.

Then add sliced tomato and cucumbers on top.

Place the patty with the cheese on top and then the pickled red onions and bacon.

Spread the top bun with your preferred dressing - it can be burger dressing, thousand island dressing, or mayo.

Your bacon cheese burger is now ready.

Bon appétit.