grass-fed beef burgers topped with pastured bacon*

Bacon and burgers go great together, especially when you have pastured pork and grass-fed beef. To make your bacon burgers extra healthy, serve them on a bed of lettuce with a side of parsnip oven chips.

ingredients (for 4-6 people)

1 lb grass-fed ground beef
8-12 strips of bacon
1 bunch of lettuce
2 tablespoons of vinaigrette dressing
4-6 large parsnips
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons rosemary (optional)
1/4 cup olive oil

tools

1 large cast iron or nonstick pan
1 cookie tray

prep and cook

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 2: Cook your bacon in your pan. Set it aside. Leave the bacon grease in the pan.

Step 3: Chop parsnips cross-wise into thin chips. Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, cumin, and rosemary until they’re all coated.

Step 4: Lightly coat your cooking sheet with olive oil. Arrange your parsnip chips on the sheet. (If your parsnips were big, you may need a second sheet!) Cook in the oven for 8-10 minutes, flip the chips, and cook for another 8-10 minutes.

Step 5: Divide your ground beef into 4, 5, or 6 evenly sized balls. Press them into patties. Place them in your pan with the bacon grease. Put the pan on the stovetop and cook on Medium for about 5 minutes, using a spatula to press down on the patties. Then flip your patties and cook the other side, again for about 5 minutes. Your burgers are done when the outsides are a dark brown and the insides are light pink.

Step 6: Assembly! Put lettuce on plates with vinaigrette to taste. Place burgers on top of the lettuce, and bacon on top of the burgers. Pile parsnip chips on the side.

Altogether, this surprisingly healthful dish shouldn’t take more than about 20-30 minutes to prepare. Extra bonus: It’s one of the few meals both our kids will eat!