Heart-stopping? Canadian restaurant chain debuts Reese's Peanut Butter Cups-stuffed burger

Matthew Diebel | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Take a bite out of the Reese Peanut Butter Burger The WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro is announcing new limited time burgers including one called the Reese PBC with, you guessed it Resse Peanut Butter Cups candy inside.

Remember that story on Monday linking processed and red meats to cancer? OK, get ready for another dose of meat mayhem.

The Reese PBC burger.

Yes, a Canadian restaurant chain has introduced a hefty half-pound patty topped with bacon, crispy onion strings and, er, crumbled Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

And that's not all: The burger itself is stuffed with Peanut Butter Cups before it is cooked!

The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro, which has 26 restaurants scattered across Ontario, is known for its over-the-top burger creations – it also sells the Crappy Tire (pineapple and brie) and the Elk on a Beech (elk meat, avocado, Beechhouse sauce, sundried tomato and feta) – but the Reese's rendition may be its most wacky yet.

Foodie website Delish.com certainly thinks so, saying "this burger leaves a strange taste in our mouths." And Food and Wine, a high-end gourmet magazine, sniffs that the creation could be "the scariest Halloween trick of all."

But on the Works' Facebook page, reaction was overwhelmingly enthusiastic for the $15.98 (Canadian) item, which comes with a choice of eight sides.

"It's so wrong that it's right," said one excited poster.

And on Twitter, one sampler declared that it was, "Definitely worth it!! Chocolate & peanut butter on a burger = strange but delicious!!"

Definitely worth it!! Chocolate & peanut butter on a burger = strange but delicious!! @pennesthoughts @WORKSBURGER pic.twitter.com/fJSbXA8xD0 — Jenn Pinspired (@YouPinspireMe) October 24, 2015

And another Facebooker, having tasted the crazy creation, pronounced: "This was seriously amazing! Hubby and I both loved it!"

Meanwhile, the Works itself, which started in 2001 with a single restaurant in the nation's capital, Ottawa, claimed on Facebook that "people are loving it!"

Bruce Miller, one of three co-owners of the eateries – 22 of which are franchised and four company-operated – says the Reese PBC burger has been a huge hit. "Our guests have been voting with their mouths already, making these three burgers our top sellers," he told USA TODAY. (The chain also debuted the Loaded Lucy – stuffed with melted cheese – and the Burgeroni, which is stuffed with chorizo sausage.)

It's not a fluke or a mere stunt, says Miller, who says the chain's new dishes are taste-tested with focus groups and initially introduced at only a couple of restaurants.

Publicity around the new creation comes as the World Health Organization's cancer agency warned that eating hot dogs, ham and other processed meat can cause cancer. The group said that each 50-gram portion — about two strips of bacon — of processed meat eaten daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%. Consuming red meat was also linked to colorectal, pancreatic and prostate cancer, but the link was not as strong, the agency said.

Still want to get your hands on one? Bad news: The chocaholic treat, which is on menus for limited time, is only available until Jan. 10 (though continued strong sales could presumably make it a permanent fixture).

There's good news, too: Miller says the Works' burgers may soon be coming to the United States, reporting high interest among potential franchisees at a recent trade show.