Try the award-winning recipes created for the World Food Championships!

• Over 250 recipes including burgers, buns, sauces, spreads, and toppings
• Component guide provides easy reference to every type of burger, bun, topping, and sauce found throughout the recipes, so you can mix-and-match your own delicious creations
• Winning secret recipes from the WFC are being shared for the first time ever, for home cooks and aspiring chefs to replicate in the kitchen
• Stunning photos of each finished recipe, taken just moments after final plate submissions from the kitchen arena
• Behind the scenes of the World Food Championships competition, its rules, an interview with WFC CEO Mike McCloud, QR codes to videos of intense kitchen arena cooking, chef bios, and more

Burgers & Bacon Cookbook from World Food Championships (WFC) features award-winning recipes created for the cutthroat world of food competitions!

At WFC, the best of the best — aspiring and established chefs, home chefs, and professional competition teams — compete for cash prizes and notoriety. For the first time, those winning secret recipes are shared in this amazing cookbook!

This is a must-have for home cooks, culinary students, backyard self-proclaimed grill masters, sous chefs, and food enthusiasts. Over 250 incredible recipes are featured, inspired by cooking practices and spice combinations of the competitors from all over the world — from burgers made with rich Wagyu beef and pork chorizo and a Surf and Turf burger that includes shrimp to tantalizing peaches and cream bacon cupcakes, Bacon Bliss Pizza, and a Thai inspired Bacon Udon.

You’ll also find a secondary table of contents that acts as a reference guide so you can pick and choose a different meat, bun, topping, and sauce combination if you want to create your own culinary masterpiece. Elevate your home creations with new ingredients, new methods of preparation, and new combinations!

The recipes provide family serving sizes as well as alternative ingredients, so every recipe can be affordable and possible for the home cook, even if you don’t have access to specialty ingredients. QR codes are also included, linking you to the excitement only found in the World Food Championships kitchen arena.

Create burgers and bacon recipes at home that won awards at the ultimate food sport event, with Burgers & Bacon Cookbook!

Back with a Vengeance Burger

This is a recipe that I initially came up with a few years ago. It has evolved quite a bit since then, with the only original element being the bourbon bacon jam. The most significant evolution of this dish probably occurred between the opening round and the final round at the 2022 World Food Championships. This burger begins with fresh ground ribeye, chuck, and short-rib patty infused with hickory smoked bacon on a fresh-baked brioche bun with lemon herb aioli and arugula.

Topped with bourbon bacon jam, Gruyère cheese, and a runny egg. Served with fresh-made pickles.

Cook Time: 1 Hour | Makes 4-6 Servings

FRESH-MADE PICKLES:

3 small cucumbers

½ cup vinegar

1 tablespoon dill

Dash of all-purpose seasoning (I used 2 Gringos Chupacabra Special Blend)

BOURBON BACON JAM:

1½ pounds bacon

2 cups shallots, finely chopped

1 cup sweet onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon paprika

½ cup bourbon

½ cup maple syrup

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

½ cup light brown sugar

LEMON HERB AIOLI:

¾ cup mayonnaise (Duke’s Mayonnaise)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon garlic, cooked

½ teaspoon rosemary

½ teaspoon parsley

RUNNY EGG:

1 egg, per burger

Dash of poultry seasoning (I used 2 Gringo’s Chupacabra Cluckalicious)

Dash of paprika

BURGERS:

8-ounce ribeye, chuck, and short-rib patty, per burger

Brisket rub, to taste (I used 2 Gringos Chupacabra Brisket Magic)1/8 cup arugula, per burger

1 slice Gruyère cheese, per burger

BUNS:

Brioche buns

1 stick butter

All-purpose seasoning (I used 2 Gringos Chupacabra Chop Haus Blend)

3 sprigs rosemary

2 cloves garlic, diced

FRESH-MADE PICKLES

1. Slice cucumbers into 1/8 -inch slices and place into a bowl.

2. Add garlic, dill, and a dash of all-purpose seasoning.

3. Pour vinegar over cucumbers. Stir.

4. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

BOURBON BACON JAM:

1. Cook the bacon in two frying pans to allow for room for it to crisp up properly. Cook over medium heat until it browns perfectly. You want the bacon a little crisper with as little visible fat as possible. Transfer to paper towels to drain excess fat.

2. Leave about 1 to 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in one of the pans.

3. Add finely chopped shallots and onion to the pan and cook over medium heat until they start to caramelize.

4. Add the garlic and cook for about one more minute.

5. Add the chili powder and paprika, stir to combine.

6. Increase heat to high and add the bourbon (carefully) and maple syrup. Bring to a boil, stir, and scrape the pan so all the little bacon bits come loose. Continue boiling for about 2 to 3 minutes.

7. Add vinegar and brown sugar and continue to boil for about 3 minutes.

8. Using a sharp knife, cut the bacon into small pieces

9. Toss the bacon into the pan, reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 10 minutes. The mixture will thicken and look jam-like in the process.

10. Turn off the stove top. Drain any excess fat off the bacon jam by pouring it through cheesecloth to drain it.

LEMON HERB AIOLI:

1. Place mayonnaise into bowl

2. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and mix.

3. Finely chop ½ teaspoon of rosemary, ½ teaspoon of parsley, and ½ teaspoon of cooked garlic. Stir into mixture.

RUNNY EGG:

1. Cook egg so the yolk is runny.

2. Lightly season and a dash of paprika for color.BURGERS:

1. Form 8-ounce patties using the beef mixture.

2. Season with brisket rub to taste.

3. Cook patties on a medium-high grill to sear.

4. Remove and finish in oven to 129°F.

5. Place one slice of Gruyère on each patty.

BUNS:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Slice buns in half and toast in oven.

3. Melt a stick of butter in pan.

4. Add rosemary, all-purpose seasoning, and 2 cloves of diced garlic.

5. Spread butter onto cut side of bun crown.

ASSEMBLY:

1. Spread 2 teaspoons of aioli onto cut side of bottom bun.

2. Layer 1/8 cup arugula on top of aioli.

3. Place patty with Gruyère on top of arugula.

4. Spread 2 tablespoons of bourbon bacon jam on top of Gruyère.

5. Put the runny egg on top of bourbon bacon jam.

6. Place crown of bun on top of egg.

7. Serve with fresh-made pickles.

Recipe reprinted with permission from Fox Chapel Publishing.