Perfect Cheeseburger Recipe
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Calling it the Perfect Cheeseburger is pretty bold, but we stand by it. Our burger is big, juicy, and seasoned right. Just a few rules to remember:
1. Gently pack the meat; if you overwork it, it can get dense and tough.
2. Meat shrinks when cooked, so form patties larger than the size of your buns.
3. Make a slight indentation in the middle of each patty to ensure that the burgers stay flat as they cook.
4. Never press down on the patties while they’re cooking. You want those juices in the burger, not on the grill.
5. Be generous with the salt and pepper.
What to buy: Fat equals flavor and moisture, so buy high-quality chuck with a fat content of 15 to 20 percent.
This recipe was featured as part of our Tailgating recipe slideshow.
INGREDIENTS
For the burgers:
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chuck (15 to 20 percent fat content)
- Vegetable oil, for oiling the grill
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 8 slices American, cheddar, or Swiss cheese (about 6 ounces)
- 4 (4-inch) hamburger buns, split
For garnishes:
- Iceberg lettuce
- Sliced tomato
- Sliced pickles
- Ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard
INSTRUCTIONS
- Divide the meat into 4 equal portions. Shape each portion into an even 1/2-inch-thick patty that is about 1 inch wider in diameter than the hamburger buns. Using your thumb, make a shallow 1-1/2-inch wide indentation in the center of each patty. Transfer the patties to a plate and refrigerate while you prepare the grill.
- Heat a grill pan or outdoor grill to 600°F to 800°F. When the grill is ready, use tongs to rub the grate with several layers of paper towels dipped in vegetable oil.
- Season the hamburger patties generously on both sides so that you can see a thin layer of salt and pepper. Place the patties on the grill indentation-side up, cover the grill, and cook the patties undisturbed (do not press down on them) until grill marks appear on the bottom, about 3 to 4 minutes. Using a spatula, flip and cook for about 2 minutes more. Place 2 slices of cheese on each patty, cover the grill, and continue cooking until the patties are just slightly pink in the center for medium, about 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove to a clean plate and let rest in a warm place or tent loosely with foil.
- While the patties are resting, place the bun halves cut-side down on the grill and toast until golden brown, about 1 minute. Remove the buns to a clean serving plate, place a patty on each bun bottom, garnish as desired, and cover with a bun top.
I like using a little Extra Virgin olive oil on the greens and coating the meat pattie before going on the griller. This trick helps lift on your palate the fresh tastes of the tomato and the lettuce as well as highlight the meats texture and taste. Trust an Aussie he knows how to gril & barbeque. Note 'sick" extra virgin olive oil smokes at less than 350degree F whilst the real extra virgin olive oils that are not adulterated (a mixture of oils) or rancid (the oil has started decomposing because of its exposure to light, a range of temperatures above 25degrees C and air) which just about includes most oils on the shelf at most places.
lol chefdanielbreen!
what do you think is going to happen when you put that oil soaked paper towel to that 800 degree open flame outdoor grill
Not really a recipe, more a Perfect Hamburger users guide. Print up the five rules and read them every spring.
What's so special about this burger? Nothing.
Once ground course rib eye has been the hit at my house, 25 years of the same process and not one complaint. Searing the burger on high heat 700F to 900F on both sides and moving it to a 375F heat to finish makes it juicy, just my humble observations.
Fat does add flavor to meat. It adds a different flavor than lean meat does. They are both flavors, they're just different flavors. Ass far as the juice coming from blood and lymph... simply, no. First off, you should be buying meat from credible butchers who grind it on spot anyway but commercial butchers are so strictly regulated by the USDA that there is no blood or lymph in ground beef.
I think everyone is too critical, just be happy with the burger you make. If you love the way it taste then you've done well. Doing it yourself, doing it better and not spending ridicules amounts of a cash at a fast food chain and or restaurant is the idea. The best home cooking occurs when you take a good idea and make it your own because the end result makes you feel good.
Agree with the bit about processed american cheese... lost me with everything else.
It surely won't be a perfect burger if you put Pasutrized Processed American Cheese Food on it. I am personally baffled by the notion of "juicy" burgers- the choices for juice would seem to be melted fat, blood, lymph or added water, all of which I can do without. Parenthetically, the widespread notion that the flavor in meat comes from the fat is plain nonsense, lean beef tends to have much more flavor.
I bought a stand mixer for my brother last Xmas. We have the grinder attachment for it, and we've found that grinding your own chuck at home, and freshly forming the patties is both fun, and delicious.
...but if your butcher leaves your view to gring that Chuck Roast, be very suspect of what's delivered into your hand.
Buy a chuck roast and have your butcher grind the meat for you.