To outsiders, Minneapolis is known as the home of the Gophers, the setting for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and ground zero for some of the bone-chillingest winters this side of Alaska.
But to many natives, it’s the birthplace of the Jucy Lucy (fanatics insist on dropping that i), a cheese-impregnated hamburger famous for being served at temperatures so hot they’re irresponsible. August’s Cook’s Country has detailed instructions on how to replicate one of these things in the safety of your own kitchen.
A combination of a panade (a paste of milk and bread) mashed into the ground beef and a double-cocoon technique of meat molding creates a burger that holds onto its molten cheese core without getting all dry and nasty. All in all, an impressive pile of craftiness for what is, after all, a cheeseburger.
a cheeseburger by any other name… still tastes like a cheeseburger
Not so! Normal cheeseburgers don’t come with napalm centres. That’s how you can tell a true Minneapaulitan from a tourist — the tourist bites straight into the middle and scorches his palate on the molten cheese… and the grease mixed with the cheese inside gives it a different taste midway through.
Oh man, yes.. looooooove the Jucy Lucy. They are quite responsible about their cheese temperatures, though! In my experience, they always remembered to warn people. :)
man, i haven’t had one of these in forever! the original is almost impossible to beat, even if it’s largely due to matt’s general ambience (or lack thereof). and yes, the last time i went there they did indeed warn me.
I love matt´s. No dishes, great flavor, and no.. it is far better than a cheeseburger. I think they add a bit of bacon fat, right? After my friend and I boasted to our coworkers about eating a big fat juicy lucy, they informed us what it really meant. hehehe