Mushroom-Bacon-Pecan Burgers

I dreamed this recipe up on our long drive home from Cleveland after my nephew Jordan's wedding. Anything with bacon is, of course, phenominal. And this burger doesn't disappoint. It came together quickly and tasted great on a bed of arugula and cucumber tossed with oil and vinegar. I made 8 burgers so we would have leftovers for mixing in with eggs in the morning and for lunch the next day.

Makes 8 burgers.

Ingredients
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 cup pecan halves, toasted
1 8 oz container mushrooms, sliced (I used baby bellas.)
2 pounds grass-fed ground beef
8 slices bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
freshly ground black pepper
good quality balsamic vinegar
1 egg
1 large bunch arugula
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
olive oil

Preparation

1. Saute bacon, onion, and mushrooms in a large skillet over medium-high heat until bacon is cooked through and onions and mushrooms are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool  for 5 minutes. 
2. In the meantime, combine ground beef, egg, and vinegar in a large mixing bowl.
3. Transfer cooled bacon mixture to the bowl of a food processor. Add pecans and process until finely chopped. Add to ground beef mixture.
4. Use your hands to combine all of the ingredients. Form into 8 patties. Season lightly with salt and generously with pepper. Place a piece of heavy duty foil coated with coconut or olive oil on the grill grate. Place burgers on the foil and grill for 5 minutes on each side or until the burgers reach your desired degree of doneness.
5. While burgers cook, toss arugula and cucumber with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Divide evenly among plates.
6. Serve burgers on top of arugula. Drizzle with additional balsamic, if desired.