Food & Drink

The Ultimate Hamburger (with Cheese Sauce!)

We’re serving up Steven Raichlen‘s classic recipes (with a twist!) for this Fourth of July. Try The Ultimate Hamburger (recipe below), and mix up your traditional fare with cheese sauce instead of a slice!

For another twist on a classic, check out “Hot” Dogs (stuffed with jalapeños) from How to Grill!

From BBQ USA: For historic continuity, ferociously loyal community support, and an atmosphere that you could spread with a knife, you can’t beat the hamburger joint Louis’ Lunch, in New Haven, Connecticut. Since 1898, the Lassen family has been grinding its own beef daily, hand shaping patties to order, and grilling burgers on antique cast-iron broilers in front of live flames…. And as any regional American culinary landmark should be, Louis’ Lunch is sufficiently quirky to allow melted processed cheese but militantly prohibit ketchup and mustard as accompaniments to its signature burgers. Here, then, is the granddaddy of all burgers; it’s the next best thing to elbowing your way up to the counter at Louis’.

The Ultimate Hamburger (with Cheese Sauce!)

Makes 8 Burgers

INGREDIENTS

1¼ pounds ground chuck
1¼ pounds ground sirloin
Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper
½ medium-size onion, cut into 8 thin wedges
16 slices sandwich bread
3 tablespoons butter, melted (optional)
1 large or 2 medium-size gorgeous, luscious, ripe red tomatoes, thinly sliced
8 Boston lettuce leaves or iceberg lettuce slices
Cheese Sauce (optional; see below)

INSTRUCTIONS

Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high.
Place the chuck and sirloin in a large mixing bowl and mix with a wooden spoon, or mix the meat in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. If possible, avoid mixing the meat with your hands so your fingers don’t warm it.
Wet your hands with cold water and divide the meat into 8 equal portions. Working quickly and with a light touch, pat each portion into a ½-inch-thick squarish patty. Generously season each patty on both sides with salt and pepper. Press an onion wedge into one side of each patty so that it’s flush with the meat.
Lightly brush the bread slices with the butter, if using. Arrange the tomatoes and lettuce leaves on an attractive serving platter.
When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. Place the burgers on the hot grate, onion side down. Grill the burgers until cooked to taste, 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. To test for doneness, insert an instant-read meat thermometer through the side of a burger into the center. The internal temperature should be about 145°F for medium-rare or, if using commercial ground beef, cook it to at least medium, 160°F.
Meanwhile, place the bread slices on the hot grate and grill until lightly toasted, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
To serve, place a lettuce leaf on top of a slice of toast. Top with a burger, tomato slice, and Cheese Sauce, if using. Slap a piece of toast on top and serve at once.

Cheese Sauce

Makes about 1¼ cups

INGREDIENTS:

½ clove garlic
1 cup beer
2 cups (about 8 ounces) coarsely grated Colby cheese or orange cheddar cheese
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Rub the bottom and side of a heavy saucepan with the cut garlic. Place the garlic clove in the pan, add the beer, and bring to a boil over high heat.
Meanwhile, place the cheese and cornstarch in a bowl and toss to mix. Sprinkle the cheese into the boiling beer, stirring it with a wooden spoon. Let the sauce come back to a boil; it will thicken.
Reduce the heat slightly, stir in the mustard, and season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Let the sauce simmer gently until smooth and rich-tasting, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring steadily with the wooden spoon. The purist can fish out and discard the garlic clove; otherwise, one lucky person will get to eat it.

TIP: To make a light cheese sauce, use an inexpensive lager–style mass-marketed canned beer. For a darker, richer sauce with a pleasantly bitter edge, use a dark beer.

In 450 recipes covering every state as well as Canada and Puerto Rico, BBQ USA celebrates the best of regional live-fire cooking. Finger-lickin’ or highfalutin; smoked, rubbed, mopped, or pulled; cooked in minutes or slaved over all through the night, American barbecue is where fire meets obsession.

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