Best, Fast, Easy- The Best Burger
History
Thoughts
I really love a good cheeseburger. I have passed through a number of different eras of this love. From early fast food fandom, through the bigger than a ½ lb gourmet style. For a time I was dead set on ½ lb, cooked medium with cheddar and grilled onions. I also loved, and still love, the mushroom onion swiss. This “steak house” style burger is still darned good and often I’d rather have a burger at a steakhouse than a steak. (It is a satisfaction per dollar ratio for me.) There is a place south of Denver that serves a burger that is a wad of fat dripping beef, steamed on a grocery store bun. There are 2 items on the menu: Hamburger and Cheeseburger. It is served with a personal bag of Lay’s potato chips and, if you ask, pickle chips and thick slabs of white onion. It is simple and perfect. Over the years I have realized, that some things can’t be made better by doing more. Fancy cheeses, relishes, and for goodness sake truffle anything, don’t make a burger better. So, the best cheese on a burger is american cheese food. I will get it sliced at the deli count extra thick for this recipe. I still love grilled onions and the more sticky and sweet the better. Then I go for a thinner patty because then you get more salt and crust when you double it up. For me, this is perfection. This is get your shirt dirty food. Here’e how I make ‘em.
Ingredients
2 lbs 85/15 or fattier beef. Don’t use the brick for this, use fresh ground from the counter.
Brioche buns- I like them because they are a little sweet but still hold up
4 tbs neutral oil
8 slices american cheese preferably from the deli counter and sliced thick
1 sweet onion-sliced in ¼ inch strips from pole to pole
1 Red onion- sliced in rounds
2 Ripe tomatoes- sliced in rounds
8 leaves of romaine lettuce-Washed and dried and shredded
Pickle chips
Instructions
Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
Heat grill to medium-high.
Divide the Ground beef into 8 equal portions but don’t smoush or mix. Leave the grain of the grind loose and intact.
When you create your patties, be as gentle as possible. Don’t pack them into dense balls and flatten. Take a crumbly piece of the loose ground beef and bring it together into a 4” patty. Do as little as possible to get it to hold together. Your goal is to leave as much of the grind intact as you can. This creates a good texture for the burger but also leaves air pocket for juices and fat to collect.
Arrange the patties on the paper towel on the sheet pan and cover with another layer of paper towel. Gently press the towel over the patties and let sit for 15 minutes.
Heat 2 tbs oil over medium low heat. Add sliced sweet onion and salt and pepper to taste. Stir occasionally until onions are soft and browned. This can take a while and can be done ahead.
Remove paper towels.
Coat burger patties in oil.
Use remaining oil to soak a clean kitchen towel or paper towel. Set aside.
Sprinkle each patty liberally with salt and pepper. Flip patties and repeat. Let sit 15 minutes. You may find that a patty breaks. Just smoush it back to together.
Use your grill brush to scrape debris from the grill. Wipe oiled towel over grill grates using long metal tongs. Move it quickly so that it doesn’t catch fire.
Add patties to the grill. Turn heat down to medium. Grill for 3 minutes or until patties easily release from the grill grate.
Flip and grill another 2-3 minutes or until patties release from grates.
Remove to a clean baking sheet.
Build burgers however you see fit. I like lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, grilled onion, ketchup, mustard and sometimes mayo. Put the Mayo, lettuce and onion of the bottom bun to help keep it from getting soggy.