Black + Bleu
A blackened Angus patty with bacon, a bleu cheese crumble sauce, lettuce and tomato. The spiced, almost charred crust and the sharp blue cheese are a classic pairing, and here the sauce is creamy rather than chunky, so it spreads through every bite. If you do not like blue cheese, there is no hiding from it in this one.
The story
Blackening is a Louisiana technique with a known author. Paul Prudhomme, the chef who popularised Cajun food across America, dipped fish in melted butter, coated it in a spice mix and seared it in a very hot cast-iron skillet until the butter solids and spices formed a dark crust. His blackened redfish, served at K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans, which he opened in 1979, became so fashionable in the 1980s that commercial fishing for redfish had to be restricted. Fittingly for a burger, Prudhomme’s first restaurant, opened in Opelousas in 1957, was a hamburger stand.
What’s inside
- blackened Angus beef patty
- applewood-smoked bacon
- bleu cheese crumble sauce
- lettuce
- Roma tomato
- toasted brioche bun
Make it at home
There is no copycat of the Black + Bleu yet. Until there is, these recipes on the site come closest to it, judged by what goes into the bun.
- Shares beef, bacon and cheese
TOP 3McDonald's Big Tasty (Copycat) - Shares beef, bacon and cheesePeter’s Triple Bacon Burger
- Shares beef, bacon and cheese
Cheeseburger Wellington - Shares beef, bacon and cheeseJelly Doughnut Burger
Similar burgers at other chains
Built around the same things as the Black + Bleu.- Nation's Giant Hamburgers · beef, bacon and cheese
SignatureBacon Cheeseburger - Goody’s Burger House · beef, bacon and cheese
SignatureGolden - Wendy's · beef, bacon and cheese
Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger - Hungry Jack's · beef, bacon and cheese
Bacon Deluxe
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About Burger 21
Burger 21 comes from Tampa and from a family that already knew how to franchise a restaurant. Mark and Arlene Johnston were behind The Melting Pot, the fondue chain Mark and his brother Mike had grown from a single franchise in Tallahassee into a national brand, and in November 2009 they started a burger concept under the same management company, Front Burner Brands. The first restaurant opened in Tampa in 2010 and the first franchise deals, for Orlando, followed in 2012.
A small chain: restaurants around Tampa, in northern Virginia, Georgia, Charlotte and Albuquerque, plus airport branches and a food truck.
Not affiliated with Burger 21. Trademarks belong to their owners.