Juicy burger topped with copycat TGI Friday’s Jack Daniel’s Sauce. The sauce is a great topper or dipping sauce for ribs, chicken, or shrimp.
This sauce is so good, you’ll want to have some in the fridge to put on other recipes. Make some extra to add as the sauce to my BBQ Pork Chops, BBQ Chicken Wings, or Easy Tri-Tip.
Sabrina’s TGI Friday’s Inspired Jack Daniel’s Bacon Cheeseburger Recipe
I went off to college and my friends introduced me to the world of TGI Friday’s. Every time we went I would order something from the Jack Daniel’s menu. The sauce is sticky and sweet, but still a bit spicy. It works so well on ribs, chicken and shrimp but as a broke college kid, you have to go with the burger. That sauce was addicting, we would dip everything in it.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1/3 pound bacon , thick cut, cooked
- 4 slices sharp cheddar cheese , thick cut
- 4 Hawaiian Buns (white or wheat are fine too)
- 1 1/3 pound ground beef (I used fresh ground chuck)
- kosher salt (to taste)
- coarse ground black pepper (to taste)
Sauce Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 1/2 cup Jack Daniels
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 tsp Better than Bouillon Beef Base (you can also use two beef bouillon cubes)
- 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Put all the sauce ingredients into a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sauce coats the back of a spoon and stays in place if you run your finger through it, about 20 minutes.
- Shape the ground beef into patties weighing about ⅓ of a pound each.
- Season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Cook in a cast iron skillet, on high, 4 minutes on each side.
- Place cheese on cooked side to melt after first flip.
- Assemble burger with sauce and cooked bacon, and eat!
Nutrition
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About this Recipe
The sauce couldn’t really be any easier. Put the ingredients in a saucepan for 20 minutes on medium heat and you’re ready to go. I always use fresh ground chuck from my butcher and season liberally on both sides of each patty. Then I cook in a cast iron skillet because it really gives a nice sear on the beef. Place on your choice of bun, then added the burger, bacon, and some sharp cheddar cheese. When you go to top it with that dippy, sticky, spicy, and sweet sauce you can use as much or as little as you please!
What to Pair With
Use my homemade Hawaiian Buns to serve this juicy burger on. Pair these delicious burgers with Steak Fries or Sweet Crispy Potato Fries to complete the meal. Don’t forget to whip up some Fry Sauce to go with the fries!
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Wow – that sauce is amazing!! My son raves about TGI’s JD sauce, can’t wait to find out what he thinks of it. Its delicious!! I did adapt it slightly and used less garlic and onion powder, I also used a famous yeast extract spread instead of beef as my guests don’t eat beef.
Thanks for the suggestion. So glad you enjoyed it!
I can not wait to try this! I’m still using your recipe for the Copycat Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp, so I know this one will be a hit too! You do not disappoint, so glad I’m an email subscriber. Thanks for sharing can’t wait to see what’s next.
So glad you love the site and all of the recipes!
Way too much Jack Daniel’s. Didnt taste like the Restauran’ts version at all in my opinion. Myself and 3 other people only liked it after the taste was diluted from putting it on the burger (and only in a small amount). But tasting it separately, all 4 of us agreed, it was very over powering and strong. There was also a bit of grittiness. My guess it had too much brown sugar and not enough liquids to dissolve in. Looks great in picture but this nothing like the original in my opinion.
Great!
How much Jack Daniels? My screen says “1?2 cup.” What does that mean?
It’s 1/2 cup. Thanks for catching the error, it’s been fixed!
Looks so yummy! But I’m wondering, can you use Jack Daniel’s Honey Whiskey with the same recipe or would I need to tweak it?
Thanks! You should be able to use the honey whiskey without any other changes to the recipe. The whiskey cooks down enough that the flavor difference should be minimal.
This recipe has been chosen to be part of our Burgers, Sliders, and Dogs Recipe Roundup – we hope you will help us spread the word by sharing, pinning, and tweeting! All links go directly to your recipes and we hope you get lots of traffic! Kelli and Holli at Yum Goggle
Thanks so much Kelli and Holli! I will promote it on social media this weekend!
So that sauce dripping off the side isn’t even fair. Mouth watering goodness!
Thanks!
Definitely pinning this to make this summer. It looks SOOOO good, I kinda want one right now!
I know, it is so wrong for bathing suit season but so right anyway!
Oh, wow. That looks amazing. That crispy bacon just seals the deal!
Thanks!
YUM! This looks so delicious. Love all your recipes!
Oh my, this looks amazing! Is it bad my mouth is watering just looking at it?
Haha I wholeheartedly support that!
That one sounds good. I am excited to try that.
This looks so delicious! I love a good burger recipe. I will have to try this on the weekend for my BBQ.
Wonderful!!
Everything is better with bacon, right? I love this time of year. It’s the perfect time for grilling and serving up burgers with family and friends.
Yes! Everything!
Oh man. This looks amazing. I haven’t had a nice juicy burger in so long. This makes me need one asap! It looks amazing!
Thanks!
My husband is a huge fan of bacon cheddar cheeseburgers. We don’t eat at TGIFridays often because its a bit of a drive from home. This would solve that!
Awesome! We have a Friday’s close to our house, I just can’t muster the energy to go out to it with the young kids!
I haven’t been to TGI Fridays in ages but I always loved that jack daniels sauce! I totally want to try this!
That burger looks like it is literally dripping with goodness! I love TGIFridays I havent been in a while but this looks great!
Thanks! It has been a while since I went to the restaurant to have one, haha.
The Jack Daniel’s sauce is so good! I like to dip my french fries in the sauce. This is a delicious meal!
Yup! Me too!
Thank you for the recipe! I’m sure my husband and his friends will enjoy eating these.
My pleasure!
That is the most delicious burger EVER! Woah!
Thanks!
This looks so amazing! I love how big it is!
Yep, it was a monster! Annnnnnnnd….delicious!
MM this looks good! I bet its delicious.
I just can’t take it….This burger is so beyond irresistible! The flavors sound like perfection. It is the most alluring burger I think I’ve ever seen. Fantastic.
That is so sweet of you! Thank you 🙂
That ultra thick patty and Jack sauce looks outstanding. Nothing in the world trumps a good burger for me!
I like your style!
I’ve made a similar sauce and it’s divine; I’ve now got a new bottle of Jack Daniel’s Honey Whiskey on the counter; thinking I might have to try it with that. I can’t tell you how much I am dying for a hamburger right now. DYING!!
Yum! Wish I could join in on that! I’ll make the burgers!
OH I am SO excited to try this! I LOVE the Jack Daniel’s line at TGIFridays! I think I will make this for my dad for Father’s Day because he loves it too!
YAY! Awesome! I hope your dad loves it!
Oh that looks mouth-watering delicious! Thanks for the idea and recipe!! YUM.
Thanks! I hope you love it!
This looks so perfect. I’d love to make a few of these the next time we’re out grilling. We do like the TGIF burgers.
I hope you love it! If you do try it, come back and let me know what you think!
That burger looks thick and juicy, just how I like them! What a deliciously inspired burger for the season!
Thanks! We don’t skimp a whole lot around here
This looks delicious! I may have to go make one tonight for dinner.
Thanks! This sauce is so easy yet so addicting!
wow – that burger is huge! My bourbon loving husband would really get a kick out of all those flavors merging. I can see him ordering this off a menu.
yep, 6 oz patty!
I tell people homemade burgers are the best, and I bet I could definitely convince them with this recipe! Amazing! Keep up the great work!
Thanks Kacey! This blog has been a blast so far!
I used to love going to TGIFridays!! There’s not one close by now or I probably still would. This burger looks out of this world. I could use a bite right now!!
I wish it was easier to go out more to dinner. Young kids inspire me to cook because going out is such a production!
I want to try this SOO bad! This looks good from just looking at the picture! Thank you for sharing this recipe! I M Dying to try it!
Thanks! Having just had the last one for lunch just now, I can tell you that you should totally make it! The sauce is done in no time, so most of your time will be spent figuring out more things to put it on! ha.
Holy moly! That’s one of the best copy cat recipes I’ve seen in a long time. I can’t wait to try this.
Burgers are my all time favorite! OMG, I could eat 15 of these right now.
I like your style 😉