Juicy burgers topped with copycat TGI Fridays Jack Daniels Sauce. The sauce is a perfect topper or dipping sauce for ribs, chicken, or shrimp too!
I think TGI Friday’s is a restaurant we all have memories of as young adults. You probably had a date there, or watched games at the bar there. I went off to college and my friends introduced me to the world of TGI Friday’s, the only restaurant that would serve us alcoholic Cookies and Cream shakes when we were freshman. Looking back it is hard to believe I got all the way to college before discovering it, especially since it became a second home for our group of friends in pretty short order. 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. Ten dollars instead of the twenty dollar ribs, it still had many of the same flavors. That sauce was addicting, we would dip everything in it. So as summer rolled around, and as many parents of small children can relate to, I wanted to recreate that meal at home instead of going out to get it.
Turns out the sauce is a huge hit on the internet and many copycat recipes exist. I tried 3 of them before deciding this one was the way to go. 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.
It all happens as we are making the burger anyway. I always use fresh ground chuck from my butcher and season liberally on both sides with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. Then I cook it in a cast iron skillet. To be honest, I cook anything and everything I can in my cast iron cookware I love it so much.
Next cook up some bacon.
I made the burgers with homemade Hawaiian buns (recipe coming soon) then added the burger and some sharp cheddar cheese (I’m a sucker for a sharp cheddar).
Then I topped it with the glorious sauce. That dippy, sticky, spicy and sweet sauce.
Not sure there is anything left to say. Talking pretty much stopped once our mouths were full of burgers.
Ingredients
- 1/3 pound thick bacon
- 4 thick slices of sharp cheddar cheese
- 4 Hawaiian Buns (white or wheat are fine too)
- 1 1/3 pound fresh ground chuck
- kosher salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
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 kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Cook in a cast iron skillet, on high, 4 minutes on each side.
- Assemble burger and eat!
Notes
Nutrition
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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 😉