In Absolute Best Tests, Ella Quittner destroys the sanctity of her home kitchen in the name of the truth. She's boiled dozens of eggs, mashed a concerning number of potatoes, and seared more Porterhouse steaks than she cares to recall. Today, she tackles cheeseburgers.
At 1500 West Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, Calif. — an otherwise unassuming corner — if you look down at your feet, you might be surprised to find a plaque that reads as follows:
"On this site in 1924, sixteen year-old Lionel Sternberger first put cheese on a hamburger and served it to a customer, thereby inventing the cheeseburger."
The corner is known as the "Rite Spot" after a now-defunct business where Sternberger flipped patties and constructed towers of bread and sliced deli meat. As the story goes, the teen was working at the sandwich joint when, one day, he decided to get experimental with a hamburger by way of a cheese slice. Other accounts purport that Sternberger was using the cheese to cover an incorrectly cooked patty.
Whatever the truth, it's been nearly 100 years since that fateful first cheeseburger. And in the ensuing century, countless renditions have emerged.
There are thick burgers, thin burgers, smash burgers, double-deckers, and hulking diner-style ones. They can be made of lamb, lentils, and anything in between. They come on potato rolls, sesame buns, English muffins, and swaddled in lettuce. Once, at an airport, I was served a cheeseburger on a single half-slice of toast!
However you cheeseburger, a few qualities are paramount: flavorful meat, melty-bubbly cheese, a bun that sops, and toppings that complement without stealing the show. So what's the best way to achieve that? Let's find out.
Equipment:
- Mixing bowl: Ideal for really gettin' in there with your hands (or a spoon, if you're into that).
- Cast-iron skillet: For that caramelized exterior.
- Slotted spatula or fish spatula: For the breeziest flips.
- Combination air fryer and toaster: We had to try it. We had to!
- Sheet pan: Honestly, same.
- Oven mitts: Grease splatters are no match.
Controls:
For each burger trial, I used 4 ounces of ground beef (20% fat), mixed with 3/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt and a hefty pinch of freshly ground black pepper. Each burger — except for the cheese-in-patty — was topped with American, and I used two slices per patty because I'm crazy, cool, and fun. Every burger was served nestled between a Martin's potato bun because even though I'm crazy, cool, and fun, I can also be classic.
Round One: Patties
The tests
Control: The method for all was the stovetop.
In these trials, I let meat in three different permutations battle it out head-to-head. I made a classic diner-style cheeseburger patty: thick and juicy. I tested a smash burger with thin double-decker patties. And I tested a patty that already had the cheese mixed into it.
The results only proved that patty style really is a choose-your-own-adventure. Personally, I preferred the smash burger, because the crispness makes up for the lack of juicy center, and there's no ambiguity around the cook time, or fussing with a meat thermometer to avoid freezing centers.
But the diner burger had solid merits, like textural contrast between the browned outside and the juicy inside. It was satisfying to bite into and made me feel like someone in a commercial for burgers, with the juices dripping down my chin.
So, too, did the cheese-in-patty (the brainchild of my editor, Emma, who one day decided to riff on a Juicy Lucy). It got frizzly edges as well as melty spots throughout the meat, not unlike the way chocolate chips distribute themselves throughout a thick cookie. The only downside was that there was no single area of concentrated cheese. If I were to make it again, there'd be nothing stopping me from adding cheese on top as well.
The recipes
Diner-Style
Adapted from Food52.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces ground beef chuck
- Heaping 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 slices melty cheese, such as American
- 1 potato bun
Directions
-
Add the beef, salt, and pepper to a bowl and gently combine by hand until incorporated. Form a single patty about the width of your bun.
-
Place a large cast-iron skillet over high heat for 2 minutes. Add the butter, then add the patty. Sear until caramelized on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Flip, top with the cheese, and keep cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part shows 145°F for medium-rare.
-
Immediately remove from the pan and transfer to the bun.
Smashed Double-Decker
Adapted from Food52.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces ground beef chuck
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Heaping 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 2 slices melty cheese, such as American
- 1 potato bun
Directions
-
Divide the beef into two 2-ounce balls.
-
Heat a large stainless-steel sauté pan or skillet over high heat for 2 minutes. Add the butter. Place the beef balls in the pan, then smash down with a stiff metal spatula, using a second spatula if needed to add pressure. (The smashed patties should be slightly wider than the bun.) Season with salt and pepper and allow to cook until well browned and the top is beginning to turn pale pink and gray in spots, about 45 seconds.
-
Using a bench scraper or the back side of a stiff metal spatula, scrape the patties from the pan, making sure to get all of the browned bits, then flip. Immediately place a slice of cheese over each patty. Cook for about 1 minute, then stack one over the other.
-
Remove from the pan and transfer to the bun.
Cheese-In-Patty
Adapted from Food52.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces ground beef chuck
- 1 1/2 ounces sharp cheddar, grated (about 1/2 cup)
- Heaping 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 potato bun
Directions
-
Divide the beef into two 2-ounce balls.
-
Add the beef, cheddar, salt, and pepper to a bowl and gently combine by hand until they're incorporated. Form a single patty about the width of your bun.
-
Place a large cast-iron skillet over high heat for 2 minutes. Add the butter, then add the patty. Sear until good and caramelized on the bottom. Flip and cook on the second side until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part shows 145°F for medium-rare.
-
Remove from the pan and transfer to the bun.
Round Two: Methods
The tests
For this next series of tests, I cooked diner-style patties five different ways. The results:
The baked burger bummed me out. In theory, I was intrigued by a method that could produce burgers en masse without charcoal or greasing up my stovetop. But the baked specimen didn't brown in the oven, and the cook method lent the meat no extra flavor. The patty was also the least juicy of the bunch.
The air-fried burger was interesting, which is an adjective I'm using to put a positive spin on the fact that it seized up and spit out its fatty juices. But it did also gain a delicious cheese layer that puffed up and browned more than any other method, almost like an extremely thin burnt Basque cheesecake.
The broiled burger was, as my grease-mottled notes say, "wildcard delicious!" I can't pretend it had the most even cook of the bunch, but what it lacked in uniformity, it made up for in a beautifully browned exterior. And the cheese melted almost immediately, so extra points for efficiency.
The main offering of the grilled burger was of course its flavor. When it comes to a cheeseburger, it's tough to beat those nostalgic charcoal notes. The slight indents that occur when you grill a patty directly on the grates also offers a certain something, a textural intrigue. It was just a bit drier than the stovetop burger, though, and of course required more setup and cleanup.
The stovetop burger won. It was no-nonsense and quick, produced a browned yet juicy boy, and allowed me to live out my wildest dreams of adding butter into the mix. I could see myself doing double duty next time, while the meat cooks, by tossing in some onions and mushrooms to brown in the fat.
The recipes
Stovetop-Seared
Ingredients
- 4 ounces ground beef chuck
- Heaping 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 slices melty cheese, such as American
- 1 potato bun
Directions
-
Add the beef, salt, and pepper to a bowl and gently combine by hand until they're incorporated. Form a single patty about the width of your bun.
-
Place a large cast-iron skillet over high heat for 2 minutes. Add the butter, then add the patty. Sear until good and caramelized on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Flip, cover the top with cheese, and keep cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part shows 145°F for medium-rare.
-
Remove from the pan and transfer to the bun.
Grilled
Adapted from Food52 and Olive and Mango.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces ground beef chuck
- Heaping 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 2 slices melty cheese, such as American
- 1 potato bun
Directions
-
Heat the grill to medium-high.
-
Add the beef, salt, and pepper to a bowl and gently combine by hand until they're totally incorporated. Form a single patty about the width of your bun.
-
Grill for about 4 minutes, until the bottom is charred and browned, then flip and immediately top with cheese. Grill for another 2 to 4 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part shows 145°F for medium-rare.
-
Transfer to the bun.
Baked
Adapted from Food52 and Simply Whisked.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces ground beef chuck
- Heaping 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 2 slices melty cheese, such as American
- 1 potato bun
Directions
-
Heat the oven to 425°F.
-
Add the beef, salt, and pepper to a bowl and gently combine by hand until they're incorporated. Form a single patty about the width of your bun.
-
Place the patty on a wire rimmed tray that fits into a sheet pan and bake for about 15 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part shows 145°F for medium-rare. About 3 to 4 minutes before it's ready, top with cheese to melt.
-
Transfer to the bun.
Broiled
Adapted from The Cookie Rookie.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces ground beef chuck
- Heaping 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 2 slices melty cheese, such as American
- 1 potato bun
Directions
-
Turn on the broiler and set an oven rack roughly 6 inches below it.
-
Add the beef, salt, and pepper to a bowl and gently combine by hand until they're incorporated. Form a single patty about the width of your bun.
-
Place patty in a skillet or on a sheet pan and cook beneath the broiler for 4 to 5 minutes, until browned on top. Flip, then top with cheese. Cook for another 2 minutes or so, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part shows 145°F for medium-rare. (Note: If you need to cook longer but don't want the cheese to burn, move to a lower rack in the oven to finish.)
-
Transfer to the bun.
Air-Fried
Adapted from Delish and Spend With Pennies.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces ground beef chuck
- Heaping 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 2 slices melty cheese, such as American
- 1 potato bun
Directions
-
Heat an air fryer to 370°F.
-
Add the beef, salt, and pepper to a bowl and gently combine by hand until they're incorporated. Form a single patty about the width of your bun.
-
Cook in the air fryer for 5 to 6 minutes, until browned on top. Flip, top with cheese, and cook another 2 minutes or so, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part shows 145°F for medium-rare.
-
Transfer to the bun.
Conclusions (AKA TL;DR)
If you're after crisp, make a double-decker smashed burger. If you're a sucker for frizzled cheesy bits, the cheese-in-patty is for you. A classic diner burger will never disappoint, assuming you don't bake it — opt instead for the grill, stovetop, or, in a pinch, the broiler.
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