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Bacon fat is good but beef fat is vital for a tasty burger, you ideally want both.

 Corpsesarefun wrote:
Bacon fat is good but beef fat is vital for a tasty burger, you ideally want both.

Obviously you'll want both. The 100% comment was just because I was too lay to do the actual research and math on fat contents of meats. But if your overall fat content is too high or too low you end up with problems. Grilling burgers is mix of art, science, and holy calling. Finding/making the perfect one is a quest of theory and experimentation.

Yeah, I was just thinking like ... Sirloin is lean, but bacon is fatty, so that can make up most of the fat part.

Guess I could use chuck instead, but chuck can be fatty and then I might end up with too much fat.

Can you not find leaner bacon?

Yes but why would you?

To get the bacon flavour so you can use it with a fattier cut of beef without making the burger too fatty.

Bacon is far leaner in the UK than the US anyway.

But the fat is where the flavor is.

 Corpsesarefun wrote:
Can you not find leaner bacon?

That depends on your local butcher, and how much you are willing to pay. I know my local supermarket has plenty of the high fat pre-packaged bacon. There are a handful of specialty/gourmet cuts, which have a much better meat:fat ratio (plus things like applewood smoked, etc.) There are a few honest to goodness butcher/specialty meat shops in the area, where I could go and pick up something a bit more quality. And pay a corresponding price.

If you were willing to pay for it, you could use top end cuts from specialty butchers and make an awesome burger. From a practical standpoint, I think it would be better to see what could be done with readily available cuts. This way, once you find a blend you like, you can continue to make them without breaking the bank. And that means using low quality, high fat, bacon for the most part.

Obviously this is my take on the subject. But I have champagne tastes and a beer budget. But with a little work, skill, and experimentation, it's amazing what can be done with some very basic ingredients...

I'm pretty much just limited to what my supermarket has, no real butcher shops around here unless I want to drive into philly, and no burger is worth that headache

So I'm stuck with pre-packaged but they do have some nicer looking brands. Some places have slab bacon at the deli counter that you can have sliced, but even that is still mostly generic. I don't think it would be any different than the prepackaged that's a little cheaper. I'll probably go with one of the thick cut brands that looks good. I was going to use a ribeye last time for the beef part, but it was a lot more expensive than sirloin.

You could try quarter bacon, quarter chuck and half sirloin?