Spicy Blackened Cajun Burger

Directions

1. Take your beef and make 4 8. oz burgers. You don;t have to make them as big 6 oz will work too. Shape the burgers into patties that are larger than the diameter of the bun by about ½ inch all the way around. They will shrink when they cook and this will make them finish up the perfect size for the bun. Coat the burgers on both sides with Cayenne Cajun Blackening, cover, and set on the counter while you prep the rest of the ingredients for the burger.

2. Make your caramelized onions. Toast your buns if you like, and cook your bacon and set it aside on a paper towel to drain. Mix a squeeze of lemon juice into the arugula stir and set aside in a cool area.

3. In a well ventilated area, heat a cast iron skillet until nice and hot. About 400 degrees minimum. Place a pat of butter in the pan and if it immediately starts to sizzle and brown your pan is probably hot enough. If it just melts, wipe it out with a paper towel and give it some more time to heat up. You want it hot enough for water to bead on the surface of the pan. You can do this on a griddle too if you’ve got one. Place a pat of butter down and set the burger on the pat of butter. Our goal here is to toast up those spices on the outside of the burger. Flip the burger after a few minutes and after the spices are nice and toasty. The fat from the burger should have rendered enough oil to not need more butter but if it looks dry in the pan add a bit more butter to the uncooked side of the burger right before you flip it so that it can help toast the spices on the other side. Add your cheese a minute or two after you flip the burger and they are ready to come off the heat once the cheese is nice and melted. You can put a top on the pan if you want to speed up the cheese melting.

4. It’s finally time to assemble the burger. I do this by starting with the bottom bun, add mayo, the arugula with the lemon juice, the burger patty with cheese, the bacon, and the caramalized onions, and the top of the bun with a bit more mayo and there you have it.