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BBQ Pulled Pork Burger

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This juicy, restaurant-style BBQ pulled pork burger features a 50/50 patty piled high with savory pulled pork, crispy bacon, and melty cheddar cheese.

A closeup of a saucy bbq pulled pork burger with melted cheddar cheese.

Do you ever go to a restaurant, see a burger piled high with toppings and think “who would ever eat that?” Well if you have, then you should go check out one of our other unique loaded burger recipes, because this big pig pulled pork burgeris one of those burgers.

Okay for everyone still left, this burger will leave you stuffed and probably a little sweaty, if we’re being honest. Between the bacon, pulled pork, and a 50/50 ground pork and ground beef patty that absolutely melts in your mouth, you’ll find you have the perfect homemade recreation of that monstrous restaurant-style burger. Pair it with some onion rings and a cold beer, and you have all the best parts of a restaurant right in the comfort of your home.

What To Expect

  • Great for: Decadent, restaurant-style burger nights at home, kicking off the grilling season, or showing off your grill and your smoker!
  • Ready in: 45 minutes
  • Makes: 3 burgers, but can easily be scaled.
  • Flavor profile: Smokey, sweet, tangy, and savory. The perfect combination of BBQ pork and a hearty cheeseburger.
  • How to make it: Make the beef/pork patty blend, shape and grill the patties, warm the pulled pork with BBQ sauce if needed, toast the buns, and assemble the loaded burgers.

We hope you love this recipe!

If you give it a try, please let us know what you think by leaving a rating and review. We read and reply to every single comment!

Why We Love This Recipe

Pulled pork piled high on a cheeseburger and doused in a good, rich BBQ sauce is my favorite specialty burger. I’m always happy to find them at restaurants, but nothing beats making it at home.

– Alex

Ingredients

In order to pack this burger with great pork flavors, we made sure to use pork three different ways. Ground pork is packed into the burger patty and then topped with pulled pork and bacon. So there is no lack of savory flavor to pair with the sweet brioche bun, sharp cheddar cheese, and smoky barbecue sauce.

Beef and Pork Burger Patty

To properly feature pork in our pulled pork burger, we wanted to make sure you could taste it in every component. That’s why we use a homemade burger patty made with beef and pork.

  • Meat – We use a 50/50 blend of ground beef and ground pork.
  • Wet seasonings – BBQ sauce, worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke.
  • Dry seasonings – Onion powder, garlic powder, salt.

BBQ Pulled Pork Burger Toppings

  • Pulled pork – Use premade store-bought pulled pork, or make your own at home with our crock pot pulled pork recipe.
  • Bacon – Because you can never have enough pork on your pulled pork burger!
  • Sharp cheddar cheese – Cheddar is our go-to when it comes to pairing cheese with BBQ pulled pork, but feel free to use your favorite here.
  • BBQ sauce – Of the common store bought BBQ sauces, we prefer Sweet Baby Ray’s.
  • Brioche buns – A little added sweetness to the bun both compliments and stands up to all the other flavors going on.
Two pulled pork burgers dripping with a sweet BBQ sauce and topped with bacon.

How to Make Pulled Pork Burgers

Here’s everything you need to know for making this decadent restaurant-style burger at home.

  1. Prep the patties – Combine the patty ingredients and mix until well incorporated. Separate the mixture into ⅓ pound balls and then press into patties. 
  2. Reheat the pulled pork – Mix the BBQ sauce into the pulled pork and reheat on the stove, in the microwave, or even in a foil tray on the grill.
  3. Grill – Grill the patties until well done. Since there’s pork in the burger you’ll want to cook it until it hits 160 degrees F. Add the cheese a minute or two before the burgers are done to let it melt. 
  4. Toast the buns – Toast the buns on the grill or in the oven.
  5. Assemble the burgers – Transfer the patties to the bun, then top with crispy bacon, a pile of pulled pork, and an extra drizzle of BBQ sauce!
  6. Enjoy with some fries and a cold beer!

Expert Tips

  • If you are cooking the burgers on the grill you can easily prep all the other toppings on the grill as well. Toast the buns quickly, just make sure to keep an eye on them. And reheat the pulled pork on the grill in an aluminum foil tray. 
  • If you don’t have a grill to cook on at home, get yourself a cast iron grill pan so you can get beautiful grill-like results on the stove. You’ll then want to toast buns in the oven, and reheat the pork on the stove in a separate pan. 
  • With many toppings and parts to prep, it can be difficult to make sure the timing works out and everything is finished at the same time. To help with that, we like to prepare what we can ahead of time and either keep it warm, or quickly reheat it if needed. For instance, the bacon can be made earlier in the day, or even a day or two prior, just throw it in the pan before or after heating the pork to warm it up.
  • If you have any leftover pulled pork after you make these burgers, use it for our BBQ pulled pork nachos!

Serving Suggestions

With a heavy burger like this, you want to pair it with something that can compliment it well, but more importantly stand up to all the flavors and not get lost. To best go along with the barbecue theme, onion rings are our go-to, check out our 3 ingredient onion rings recipe here. But if you prefer a potato product, our recommendation are some air fryer twice baked potatoes! And of course, a burger isn’t complete without a great cold beer to go with it. 

A barbecue pulled pork burger with bacon and cheese being held like it's about to be eaten.

Pulled Pork Burger FAQs

Ground pork is on the fatty side, which creates an extra juicy burger that melts in your mouth and adds plenty of extra flavor. By creating a 50/50 beef and pork blend, the burger can showcase the great flavors without being overwhelmed by the salty meat piled high on top.

If you don’t have a grill at home, or don’t want to grill out in the rain, you need a cast iron grill pan. With a proper grill pan you can grill right on your stove just like you would on a regular grill. And thanks to the cast iron getting really hot and cooking evenly, along with the grill-like ridges, you’ll be able to get the beautiful char marks you expect from a grill.

Our favorite toppings to put on a pulled pork burger are cheddar cheese, BBQ sauce, and bacon. Along with pull pork of course!

Next time you are looking for a hearty restaurant-style burger, give this BBQ pulled pork burger a try! Let us know what you think by commenting, rating, and sharing below!

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We hope you enjoy this recipe! When you try it out, please leave a review and a star rating in the comments below. Happy cooking! – Nicole and Alex

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A burger topped with barbecue pulled pork and bacon.

BBQ Pulled Pork Burger

Nicole & Alex Langdon
This juicy, restaurant-style BBQ pulled pork burger features a 50/50 patty piled high with savory pulled pork, crispy bacon, and melty cheddar cheese.
5 from 3 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 3 burgers
Calories 928 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
 
 

The Patties

  • ½ pound ground beef 80% lean
  • ½ pound ground pork
  • 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • Dash liquid smoke
  • Pinch salt

The Toppings

  • 3 slices sharp cheddar cheese
  • ½ pound pulled pork
  • 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce plus extra for topping
  • 3 to 6 slices bacon cooked

The Buns

  • 3 brioche buns

Instructions
 

  • Prep the patties – Combine the patty ingredients and mix until well incorporated. Separate the mixture into ⅓ pound balls and then press into patties about 3 to 4 inches in diameter.
  • Reheat the pulled pork – Mix 2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce into the pulled pork and reheat on the stove, in the microwave, or even in a foil tray on the grill.
  • Grill – Grill the patties until well done. Since there’s pork in the burger you’ll want to cook it until it hits 160 degrees F. Add the cheese a minute or two before the burgers are done to let it melt.
  • Toast the buns – Toast the buns on the grill or broil in the oven. Keep an eye on the buns as they toast quickly.
  • Assemble the burgers – Transfer the patties to the bun, then top with crispy bacon, a pile of pulled pork, and an extra drizzle of BBQ sauce!
  • Serve with your favorite side, a cold beer, and enjoy!
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Notes

Pulled pork: It’s super easy to make delicious pulled pork at home with a slow cooker! Try our slow cooker pulled pork recipe here.
Serving suggestions: The Big Pig burger goes great with a side of crispy onion rings and some extra bbq sauce for dipping! We love making Alexia onion rings in our air fryer for burger nights.
On the grill: If you are cooking the burgers on the grill you can easily prep all the other toppings on the grill as well. Toast the buns quickly, just make sure to keep an eye on them. And reheat the pulled pork on the grill in an aluminum foil tray.
On the stove: If you don’t have a grill to cook on at home, get yourself a cast iron grill pan so you can get beautiful grill-like results on the stove. You’ll then want to toast buns in the oven, and reheat the pork on the stove in a separate pan.

Nutrition

Serving: 1burgerCalories: 928kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 60gFat: 56gSaturated Fat: 23gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 222mgSodium: 1019mgPotassium: 1048mgFiber: 3gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 349IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 292mgIron: 4mg
Like this recipe?Please leave a review below! We read and respond to every single comment.

If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.

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As a kid, Alex was deemed the pickiest eater ever. That was at least, until he learned how to cook. While he always enjoyed cooking and eating good food growing up, the definition of good food was just really limited. Alex’s world of food quickly expanded in college as a way to get to know new friends. Now he’s constantly looking forward to finding new recipes and cuisines to try.

Alex is a mechanical engineer by degree, but a food blogger by reality. Even though engineering isn’t his day to day anymore, Alex has carried over many lessons learned from the engineering world to The Candid Cooks. With a very detail oriented, analytical mind, Alex thrives in the amount of data, science, and experimenting that comes with both cooking and running a website.

When Alex isn’t cooking or working on the blog, his favorite hobbies include playing soccer, running, hiking, reading a good book, or getting lost in a video game. Alex loves baking bread of all sorts, which is probably why pizza is one of his favorite foods to both make and eat!

5 from 3 votes (1 rating without comment)

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Recipe Rating




 

3 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Pulled pork is probably my favorite burger topping, even if it makes for a super decadent dinner!

    Reply

  2. 5 stars
    I just had to comment on the Big Pig Burger.
    1) Delicious. If I were served this as a $15 restaurant burger, I would be completely satisfied. It lost nothing being made at home.
    2) I had the full version as a slightly decadent Father’s Day cookout treat. Full of flavor – a cross between a pork BBQ sandwich and a burger. Meatier and juicier at the same time.
    3) Tried the burger again the other day, without the pork BBQ to get a better appreciation for the pork/beef patty mix. Again, delicious. This time the bacon came through better. Juicy and tender, I might consider adding some pork regularly to other burger patty recipes!

    Thank you for this idea and recipe. Keep them coming!

    Reply