Best Cheeseburger

A good cheeseburger has been a top favorite food of mine for my entire life. I think almost everyone loves a good cheeseburger, it’s like pizza- universally loved. I don’t like a lot of toppings on mine, and I enjoy a lot of sauce- which is obvious in the picture above.

Burger Ingredients

3 lbs ground beef 20/80 is ideal
Caramelized onions (below)
Dill pickle chips
Homemade Mayonnaise (below)
American cheese- 12 slices for 2 slices per burger
Potato or Brioche hamburger buns, pan-fried in butter
Butter
Salt & pepper

Caramelized Onions

4 large onions, sliced
6 tablespoons salted butter

Melt butter in large pan on medium heat
Add onions and toss in butter & oil
Cook on medium heat tossing occasionally- will take about an hour or more to get a really great jammy onion. DO NOT RUSH

Homemade Mayonnaise

1 large egg at room temperature
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 medium garlic clove, grated
2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup neutral flavored oil, grape seed, safflower or canola are best
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste

In a container wide enough to fit an immersion blender, add the egg, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic clove, and salt and then pour the safflower oil in the container and let it sit for a minute or two to settle. Then, stick your immersion blender at the bottom of the container and turn it on and leave it at the bottom until it starts to emulsify and then slowly move the blender up & down until it’s creamy.

Burger Preparation

Heat grill to medium-high heat to get the grill hot while you form the patties. You don’t want to overwork the meat because this will make the burger patties tough- so with as little handling as you can, form the patties into disks that are about 1 inch high with a little indention in the middle of the patty. Season with salt & pepper (or whatever you’re into) and place the patties back in the fridge while your grill finishes heating up.

Place the patties on a well-cleaned & oiled grill and cook until your desired done-ness, about 2 minutes before the burgers are done, add your cheese.

While burgers are grilling, butter your buns and stick them on a medium pan on the stove to get a nice little luxurious crunch. Spread a gluttonous amount of mayo on the top and bottom of the buns, add your pickles, add the burger with cheese, and then top with a big helping of caramelized onions and prepare yourself for the best burger of your LIFE.