Pineapple Bacon Burgers

This is the kind of meal you build around real flavor. The pineapple and the bacon carry the whole thing, no sauce required. You season, you stack, you bake. 25 minutes in the oven and the house smells like dinner.

Beef, or bison if you prefer it, is a source of zinc, vitamin B12, and iron, all involved in energy and tissue repair, the quiet groundwork your body is doing while you give it cleaner fuel. The pineapple brings a little vitamin C and bromelain to the plate. This is real food, and real food is a fair place to start.

Choose meat and bacon from a source you trust, and let that care be part of the meal. A pig and a cow gave what is on this plate, and cooking them well, without waste, honors that. A baking sheet, 4 neat stacks, the smell of bacon crisping. Eat it warm, without rushing.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef or bison
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 4 pineapple rings, about 1/2 inch thick
• 8 strips bacon

Note: This recipe is fully AIP as written. No swaps are needed. Choose a clean-label bacon with no excluded spices or additives, and verify the label.

Method

• Heat the oven to 425F.
• Mix the cinnamon, garlic powder, sea salt, and ginger into the ground meat. Shape 4 patties and set them on a baking sheet.
• Lay a pineapple ring on top of each patty.
• Cross two strips of bacon over each one in an X, tucking the ends underneath.
• Bake about 25 minutes, until the bacon crisps and the meat is cooked through.

Air fryer variation

These stack neatly in an air fryer basket. Set it to about 400F and cook 15 to 18 minutes, until the bacon crisps and the patty is done. No flip is needed because of the pineapple and bacon on top. Machines vary, so check for doneness and kitchen-test before relying on the time.

*Adapted from acleanplate.com*