Cheeseburger 101

Not much beats a really well made classic cheeseburger in a great Diner. They are tricky to recreate at home but with a few tips and tricks you can be making proper diner-style burgers yourself.

First up - the meat. You should be using minced beef with a meat to fat ratio of 80:20. If you have the kit, you’ll take your burgers to the next level by grinding your own meat and mixing a few cuts together. Equal parts sirloin, rib and brisket makes amazing burgers. But shop bought is absolutely fine.

Using your kitchen scales with a bit of greaseproof on top, divide your meat into 140g portions and roll each one gently into a ball. Not too compact.

Do not season at this point.

Heat up pan or a flat cast iron plate on your BBQ (or a heavy bottomed shallow pan) and wipe with oil using a bit of kitchen roll.

Put the burger ball on the flat top and press down as thin as you can with the back of your spatula or the bottom of a pan. About 1cm or slightly thinner.

Now season with either just salt and pepper or whatever beef rub you have.

Give it 2-3 mins and flip.

Give it 1 more minute then add a couple of cheese slices to each patty

Squirt around (not on) the burger with a splash of water and cover with a cloche or metal bowl to steam.

After 1 more minute, add the burger lid, splash more water and cloche a second time.

15 seconds later scoop the whole pile off the grill with a spatula and onto the bun base that has been prepared with burger sauce, lettuce, onions etc.