Burger King Steakhouse King Copycat Recipe

Want to know the secret that takes a good burger up to the level of a great burger? Smoke. And sure, that can mean a painstakingly slow cooking process that lets wood smoke infuse the meat over time, or it can come in the form of a half teaspoon of liquid smoke stirred into the sauce. Plan B sounds like the better plan, no? So grab your liquid smoke and all the other ingredients listed below and get ready to make one truly great burger. 

Just make sure you're hungry when you set out to cook this one, because this is no mere morsel. "It was huge," says chef and recipe developer Angela Latimer of Bake it with Love. And to be sure, you can take that to mean huge in size, huge in flavor, and also huge in calories: the real Burger King Steakhouse King Double burger clocks in at more than 1,160 calories, so do make this an occasional treat, not a go-to for lunch. That said, "treat" is definitely a good word to describe this mighty meal, so go ahead and enjoy it. "I love this burger with skinny fries or curly fries," says Latimer, and so will you.

To create this regal Burger King copycat in your own home, you'll need a sesame seed burger bun, 2 (large) beef patties, 2 slices of American cheese, bacon, fried onions, BBQ sauce, mayonnaise, and of course, that all-important liquid smoke. And don't skimp on the ingredients!

"Use a good quality mayo like Hellman's — which I think is [known as] Best Foods on the West Coast — or Duke's," says Latimer. "And use a good quality BBQ sauce," she adds. And as for the fried onions, we're talking about pre-cooked, store bought onions, for the record. "The convenience of fried onions makes this a snap," Latimer says, and also, they taste amazing.

To make your favorite BBQ sauce perfectly smoky, add a half teaspoon of liquid smoke to 2 tablespoons of the sauce. Combine the two sauces in a small bowl and mix until the liquid smoke is well combined into the sauce, then set it aside. This step can be your little secret if you'd like.

Next, cut bacon slices in half and bring a skillet or non-stick pan to medium heat, then add the bacon into the heated pan, cooking for 3 minutes or until browned on the first side. Flip and cook an additional two minutes, or until browned, then remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set it aside.

Burger King burgers are flame-grilled — you know that from their commercials and from how much the brand is always talking about it. So ideally you can cook yours on an actual grill, but if you don't have the option of grilling your burgers, use a grill pan or cast iron pan for best results, and ideally one with some texture to the surface.

Cook both burgers patties over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes per side, or until they reach your desired level of doneness. (For reference, 4 minutes per side is usually medium-rare and 5 minutes per side should be medium-well.) Top each patty with a slice of American cheese once the second side is close to being done cooking, allow the cheese to melt slightly, and then remove the patties from heat and assemble the burger.

Open a sesame seed bun and spread the mayonnaise and smoky barbecue sauce on both the top and bottom bun halves — you can mix the sauces together ahead of time, but the optics will be better if you spread on the mayo then put the BBQ sauce (and liquid smoke) over that. 

Build the burger upward from the bottom bun, layering first the two burger patties with cheese, then the bacon slices, and then the fried onions. Close the burger up with the top section of bun and then enjoy, ideally with some fries and a soft drink (or seltzer or a beer) and without plans to eat again for multiple hours.