How to Make The Wendy’s® Baconator® at Home

With two 1/4 lb. all beef patties, six strips of Applewood Smoked Bacon, and three slices of cheese; the Wendy’s® Baconator® is a dream come true for meat lovers.  Thanks to Wendy’s® for sponsoring this post.

Y’all know that I love what I do; I love talking about food, playing with food, photographing food, recipe testing, and sharing food with others.  Which makes the fact that I blog about food, a perfect fit; getting to do recipe development and photography for brands, is the icing on the cake, the cherry on the sundae, the cheese on the hamburger ~ heh.

When Wendy’s® asked me to recreate their Baconator® at home and share my thoughts and tips with y’all; I think there was a collective sigh of joy from the guys on my street.  Nathan, in particular; we’re pretty big on burgers and grilling around here, as y’all might know.

Wendy’s® Baconator® starts with fresh, juicy beef raised close so that it never needs to see a freezer.  It’s topped with real, fresh bacon, cooked properly so that it’s crisp, never soggy.  The Baconator® starts with two 1/4lb patties of 100% pure fresh beef, then topped with six strips of Applewood Bacon, three slices of cheese, Wendy’s® signature mayonnaise and ketchup combo, all tucked between two bakery style buns.

The stars of the Baconator® are the bacon, bacon, bacon duh, and of course, the two juicy 1/4 lb. patties.  To ensure that my patties were exactly 1/4 lb each, I pulled out Gran’s kitchen scale, and weighed the hamburger meat.  It’s important to have equal size burger patties so they cook evenly

Wendy’s® is known for their square patties, so I put the burger meat in between two pieces of parchment paper and squished it flat with my hand.  I squished the edges around to make the patties as square-ish as I was able. A good burger press would definitely come in handy here.

• Tip 1 – if you have a square sandwich cutter, you know the ones that just remove the crust, you could form the patties in that.  
• Tip 2: press down on the center of the patty to make an indent – this will keep your burger from doming up in the middle while cooking.

BACON BACON BACON!

I do have a flat top grill outside, similar to the one that Wendy’s® uses, but I don’t have their really neat custom burger scooper.  I thought they might have noticed me trying to smuggle that out of the building in my bag…. hmmmm maybe that’s why we had to leave our bags at reception…. 🙂

Seriously, y’all, how cool is that burger scooper!

Whatever grill set-up you have – heat it up and make sure you clean it!  I heat mine, scrape it, and then use half an onion to season and clean it before cooking anything on it.  Plus, the smell of the onion on the grill is delicious!

Once the burger is on the grill, only flip it ONCE!!

Resist the urge to continually flip the meat, press on the meat, or mess with it in any way.  For the juiciest burgers – only flip one time!

Right before the burgers are fully cooked, I toast the buns, and add the cheese and bacon

Note the unique Baconator Set-Up 

• Bottom bun topped with cheese
• Patty 1 topped with cheese and 3 strips of bacon
• Patty 2 topped with cheese and 3 strips of bacon

Step 1: Melted Cheese Bun + Patty 1 with Melted Cheese and 3 crisp strips of bacon

Step 2: Place the other cheesy bacon topped patty on top of the other one

Cheese and meat and bacon and bacon and cheese and meat!!

Are you drooling yet? 

MMMMMMM Meat.

Step 3:  If you want to go straight Wendy’s® style make a W on the top bun with the Ketchup and Mayonnaise

Isn’t that the cutest?? I used squeeze bottles just like in the restaurants!

Step 4: Place the ketchup and mayonnaise W bun on top of the cheesy, bacon-y, and meaty goodness.

Congratulations! You’ve made a Baconator® of your very own at home!

You’re now ready to wow your friends and family, or keep it all to yourself… whatever, I won’t judge.

Okay, if you’ve been around here for more than a minute you know that I love a good burger, but I like mine with a bit more pizazz, so I also made a Rachel Style Baconator® To the Original Wendy’s® Baconator® I added mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, and jalapeños. (I think the next time I make these I’m going to add grilled jalapenos and onions!!)

The Rachel Style Baconator®

I shared a Rachel Style Baconator® with my neighbor and his teenage son, and they actually argued over who got to eat it, but not before they sent a picture of it to another one of the teenage boys on the street – basically a nah nah nah nah nah – 🙂   It’s nice to be appreciated.

This was SO much fun, y’all!

Wendy's® Baconator® at Home

The ultimate juicy meaty burger - The Baconator® has TWO 1/4 lb patties, SIX crispy strips of bacon, and THREE slices of cheese between a premium bakery style bun.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. fresh hamburger meat divided
• Six strips Applewood Smoked Bacon
• 3 Slices Cheddar Cheese
• 1 Premium Bakery Style Hamburger Bun
• Mayonnaise and Ketchup

Instructions

• Cook the bacon to crisp - I recommend baking it in the oven*
• Divide the burger meat into two 1/4 lb. patties
• Heat the grill to medium high heat
• Cook the burger patties, flipping once.
• Heat the buns on the grill.
• Top the bottom bun, and both patties with cheese and allow to melt. Top the melted cheese topped patties with 3 strips of bacon eac.
• Build the Baconator: Cheesy bottom bun, burger patty 1, burger patty 2
• Make a W with the ketchup and mayonnaise on the top bun and place that on top

To make a Rachel Style Baconator®

• Top the original Baconator® with jalapeños, tomatoes, lettuce, and mustard

Notes

To cook the bacon in the oven: preheat oven to 400°F, lay the bacon on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet and bake until crisp. 15 - 20 minutes. Dry with paper towel
This Baconator® is so easy to re-create at home, and can easily be customized with different cheeses and toppings.

Cuisine: American

Servings: 1

Author: Rachel - A Southern Fairytale

If you like this recipe, please pin it!

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by Wendy’s. All opinions expressed are my own. Sponsored posts help me pay for the costs associated with this blog (like the groceries…so very many groceries,y’all), and help support me as I follow my dreams of recipe development and food photography. All opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the brands and companies that support A Southern Fairytale.