The best cheese for burgers

GoodBridge

I've used cheesy singles, various cheddars, gouda (smoked and unsmoked), blue, even mozzarella which all great in their own right but I've never found a really good american-style melting cheese.

I've read great things about the American burger-joints "5 guys" and "in-n-out" and they have burgers like this: http://i.imgur.com/lxkSZ.jpg and I want to make similar.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Faith

God that picture looks amazing.

I have an unhealthy obsession with double cheeseburgers from McDonalds because I love the flavour of the cheese they use, but I've also been unable to replicate it. To be fair, it probably doesn't contain any actual cheese.

GoodBridge

Yeah, me too. Double cheeseburgers all the way.

I actually worked in McDonalds when I was in school and I remember the cheese was surprisingly robust. It looked more like the packaged slices of Dubliner than a cheesy single which might be more what you'd expect. Next time you're in, ask for a cold slice so you can cut it up for your toddler or something like that and you'll see (if I remember correctly, that used to happen every now and then the customer would be given it foc or charged 20c or so).

Anyway... yeah, I'm on a mission to create these. I'm following this: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/07/in-n-outs-double-double-animal-style-burger-recipe.html but, alas, can't find "deli-cut American Cheese".

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

rubadub

The irish mcdonalds used to have the ingredients listed. Can't see it now. I found them to be very open about what was in their food.

This is the US one, the regular burgers use the first cheese listed here

http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/getnutrition/ingredientslist.pdf

PASTEURIZED PROCESS AMERICAN CHEESE:
Milk, Cream, Water, Cheese Culture, Sodium Citrate, Contains 2% or Less of: Salt, Citric Acid, Sodium Phosphate, Sorbic Acid (Preservative), Lactic Acid, Acetic
Acid, Enzymes, Sodium Pyrophosphate, Natural Flavor (Dairy Source), Color Added, Soy Lecithin (Added for Slice Separation)

Natural Swiss Cheese:
Swiss cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), powdered cellulose and potato starch (prevent caking), natamycin (natural mold inhibitor).
CONTAINS: MILK

PASTEURIZED PROCESS WHITE CHEDDAR CHEESE:
Milk, Water, Cheese Culture, Cream, Sodium Citrate, Contains 2% or less of: Salt, Citric Acid, Sorbic Acid (Preservative), May Contain One or More of: Sodium
Phosphate, Sodium Pyrophosphate, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Enzymes, Acetic Acid, Soy Lecithin (Added for Slice Separation).

Its not like you are going to make it, but can compare the ingredients to supermarket brands. They are listed in order of greatest first.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheeseburger

In fast food restaurants, the cheese used is typically processed cheese, but there are variations, such as cheddar, Swiss cheese, mozzarella, blue cheese and pepper jack.

Tree

What you need is sodium citrate, wheatbeer, and the cheese you'd like to turn into the melting cheese slice. I've been hanging to try the recipe in modernist cuisine at home for the l ast year, but keep forgetting to look for sodium citrate when im in town (i'd imagine stock or the like should have it).

Mellor

GoodBridge wrote: »

I've read great things about the American burger-joints "5 guys" and "in-n-out" and they have burgers like this: http://i.imgur.com/lxkSZ.jpg and I want to make similar.

In-N-Out (I think thats the place in the pic) uses american cheese.
Which is closest easi-singles really. I think biggest difference is colour. Probably thicker too.

My choice for burgers is a slice each of good cheddar (flavour) and processsed cheese (melt)

challengemaster

Mostly it's not about the cheese used, it's the technique in cooking to melt it. Obviously there are some cheeses that just don't want to melt, like brie.

Here's what to do:

Cook your burger normally until it's just about done
Have your selected cheese sliced and ready to go
While the burger is still on the pan at reasonably high heat, put the cheese on top
Add a small amount of water to the pan, and quickly put a lid on the pan for a minute. The steam created melts the cheese.
Enjoy your lovely melty cheesy burger

mathepac

GoodBridge wrote: »

I've used cheesy singles, various cheddars, gouda (smoked and unsmoked), blue, even mozzarella which all great in their own right but I've never found a really good american-style melting cheese. ...
Does anyone have any recommendations?

Buy the cheapest plasticky easi-singles type cheese you can find and slap 2 of them on each burger patty.

The burger itself should be loaded with bacon-fat and preservatives (for flavour) and cereal / breadcrumbs (for binding). It should also have high levels of growth hormone and anti-biotics. There you have it folks, a jen-yew-wine Amurrhican burger.

GoodBridge

challengemaster wrote: »

Here's what to do:

Cook your burger normally until it's just about done
Have your selected cheese sliced and ready to go
While the burger is still on the pan at reasonably high heat, put the cheese on top
Add a small amount of water to the pan, and quickly put a lid on the pan for a minute. The steam created melts the cheese.
Enjoy your lovely melty cheesy burger

Sounds good but I think it's a little more complex than it needs to be. Do what the experts who make millions a day do! i.e.:

Have your bun toasted and dressed and sitting on a square of baking paper (cheese n all). When burger is ready, lift it straight onto bun. Wrap it up in the greaseproof paper and leave in a warm place. C'est ça.

The meat rests, the cheese melts, the bun steams, the flavours mingle, the deliciousness intensifies, the stars align...so on and so forth. It also looks kinda good. I think people like unwrapping it on the plate and the lovely aromas that arise when it's opened.

The less labour and additional resting time buys you a bit of time too so means you can do a small gang of burgers and have all served at the same time.

GoodBridge

Tree wrote: »

What you need is sodium citrate, wheatbeer, and the cheese you'd like to turn into the melting cheese slice. I've been hanging to try the recipe in modernist cuisine at home for the l ast year, but keep forgetting to look for sodium citrate when im in town (i'd imagine stock or the like should have it).

Interesting. I don't have the Modernist Cuisine -nor likely to ever have it- but same recipe seems to be here: http://www.chow.com/recipes/30493-perfectly-melting-cheese. Looks damn good. I've no sodium nitrate to hand though. There is a recipe even for that here but I don't think it's worth ending up on a govt. watch list over a cheeseburger obsession.

I think I'll try a Gruyère + cheesy single combo next and see how it goes.

GoodBridge

mathepac wrote: »

Buy the cheapest plasticky easi-singles type cheese you can find and slap 2 of them on each burger patty.

The burger itself should be loaded with bacon-fat and preservatives (for flavour) and cereal / breadcrumbs (for binding). It should also have high levels of growth hormone and anti-biotics. There you have it folks, a jen-yew-wine Amurrhican burger.

We'll have none of that, thank you very much. There's none in any of the best burgers I've ever had. Also, I've seen Heston Blumenthal do burgers and he just uses salt and puts the meat through a mincer. As it comes out he tries to leave the strands intact and wraps them into a sort of sausage with cling film. He slices this then. The idea being that the meat doesn't get all compressed etc and bites away easily. Actually, here's the recipe: http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/heston-blumenthal/beef-burgers-recipe. Can probably catch the vid of it 4OD.

vicwatson

Monterey Jack is really good on a burger but I've found it hard to find.

In-n-our burger = nomnomnomnom. Love their burgers

Honey-ec

GoodBridge wrote: »

We'll have none of that, thank you very much. There's none in any of the best burgers I've ever had. Also, I've seen Heston Blumenthal do burgers and he just uses salt and puts the meat through a mincer. As it comes out he tries to leave the strands intact and wraps them into a sort of sausage with cling film. He slices this then. The idea being that the meat doesn't get all compressed etc and bites away easily. Actually, here's the recipe: http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/heston-blumenthal/beef-burgers-recipe. Can probably catch the vid of it 4OD.

I think you may have missed his point.

vicwatson

GoodBridge wrote: »

We'll have none of that, thank you very much. There's none in any of the best burgers I've ever had. Also, I've seen Heston Blumenthal do burgers and he just uses salt and puts the meat through a mincer. As it comes out he tries to leave the strands intact and wraps them into a sort of sausage with cling film. He slices this then. The idea being that the meat doesn't get all compressed etc and bites away easily. Actually, here's the recipe: http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/heston-blumenthal/beef-burgers-recipe. Can probably catch the vid of it 4OD.

I agree. I've tried egg and breadcrumbs and both were yack.

Press and shape the burger gently together and it will stay together, no need for binding imo

Honey-ec

vicwatson wrote: »

I agree. I've tried egg and breadcrumbs and both were yack.

Press and shape the burger gently together and it will stay together, no need for binding imo

He was being sarcastic!

vicwatson

Honey-ec wrote: »

I think you may have missed his point.

I don't think the poster has. Nearly every recipe you see has egg or breadcrumbs mentioned in it for binding the meat. I think them both unnecessary.

Hoop66

Right, pay attention.

500g beef mince - NOT steak mince, it's too lean.
1 small red chilli, de-seeded, finely chopped.
1 small onion, finely chopped.
1 clove garlic, finely chopped.
1 tbsp steak seasoning, or if you can fine the Fiddes Payne barbecue spices use that.

Sweat the onion and garlic until soft, don't really want it to colour.
Mix the cooked onion/garlic with the minced beef and mix in the chilli and steak seasoning.
Form your mixture into pattie - it will stick together easy enough. If you need to keep them for a while before cooking put the individual burgers between sandwich bags or the like to stop them sticking together.
Next, buy a decent barbecue...
Patties on the barbecue - lid on, cook for 4 mins, then turn and cook for 5 mins, turn again and put your cheese (emmental is great for the melty american look) on the patties, lid back on and cook for 1 or 2 mins.
Done

Now I'm hungry

GoodBridge

Honey-ec wrote: »

I think you may have missed his point.

I don't think so (though I may have). I know he was taking the mick a bit with the typical over-processed, thisiswhyyourefat.com burgers - that's grand. Quite funny actually. I was only referring to the binders he mentioned and, seeing as we're on the topic of burgers I thought I'd mention why it's unnecessary and Heston's fantastic idea.

Anyway, sorry if any offence was caused there, mathepac. None intended!

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

Honey-ec

vicwatson wrote: »

I don't think the poster has. Nearly every recipe you see has egg or breadcrumbs mentioned in it for binding the meat. I think them both unnecessary.

GoodBridge wrote: »

I don't think so (though I may have).

Mmm hmm, so he must have been serious about the bacon fat, preservatives, growth hormones and antibiotics too?

The entire post was a sarcastic pop at the quality of US burger-chain burgers.

rubadub

Last burgers I made had rashers in them. I have a good scissors and cut the rashers really finely so they were like mince and mixed 1/3 rasher mince with 2/3 high fat beef mince. No need for more salt as the rashers have enough.

In the UK I got a cheese burger in a chipper and was pissed off to find they left off the cheese, then I bit into it and found the cheese was IN the burger pattie, perfectly melted.



I have done this myself, I pressed out mince really thinly on tinfoil to make 2 patties, then put a slice of cheese on one and sandwiched them both together. Then I put the tinfoil directly on the pan, so it cooks away on the tinfoil and binds itself so it is easy to flip.

I also use this method on BBQs to make thin fast cooking patties which fill those large superbundy buns you get nowadays. Nothing worse than a giant meatball of a pattie rolling around on a dinner plate size bun. You put the tinfoil on the BBQ, when it comes to flip it put the spatula thing under the tinfoil and flip, now leave hte tinfoil on a short while, it sort of steams the buger, and then slowly peel it off.

Instead of "sloppy joes" (loose mince, onions, tomato sauce in a burger bun), I make "sloppy dogs" in hot dog buns, which are not sloppy at all as the meat doesn't fall out everywhere, like this pic but no hotdog.

That pic is like abras taco dogs

Honey-ec

rubadub wrote: »

In the UK I got a cheese burger in a chipper and was pissed off to find they left off the cheese, then I bit into it and found the cheese was IN the burger pattie, perfectly melted.

Also known as a "Joosy Loosey". I make them every so often but you need a really sharp cheese in order to get any real kind of cheesy hit, I find. I prefer a traditional cheese-on-top burger, you get a better cheese-to-meat ratio

Anyway, the closest thing I've ever found to American Cheese (which I don't actually like as there's virtually no taste at all off it) is a 20-pack of processed cheese slices in Aldi. They come in a blue & white plastic resealable pack and are both thicker and firmer than cheese singles. Not quite sure why people are so keen to top their burgers with plasticky, tasteless muck, but clearly a lot are, and that stuff is probably your best bet.

rubadub

Honey-ec wrote: »

I prefer a traditional cheese-on-top burger, you get a better cheese-to-meat ratio

Yes, the cheese can ooze out onto the pan if you put too much in. Also it has to be more towards the centre.

My next plan was to mix grated cheese in with the beef and bake the burger. So it is spread evenly throughout and exposed bits will bake and get that nice toasted cheese taste like on pizza. Probably can be a bit lower % fat for this.

Honey-ec

rubadub wrote: »

My next plan was to mix grated cheese in with the beef and bake the burger. So it is spread evenly throughout and exposed bits will bake and get that nice toasted cheese taste like on pizza. Probably can be a bit lower % fat for this.

I do this with parmesan in meatloaf. It definitely adds to the overall flavour but you won't get any actual taste of cheese off it doing it that way.

Actually, Aldi do Irish Angus burgers with Dubliner cheese mixed in. They're very tasty burgers, but definitely not cheesy.

GoodBridge

Honey-ec wrote: »

Mmm hmm, so he must have been serious about the bacon fat, preservatives, growth hormones and antibiotics too?

The entire post was a sarcastic pop at the quality of US burger-chain burgers.

I already said I got the joke. It was a good un but... it wasn't so subtle or sophisticated that it needed identification and explaining.

I just wanted to talk about binding agents. Onwards and upwards!

fondue

vicwatson wrote: »

Monterey Jack is really good on a burger but I've found it hard to find.

In-n-our burger = nomnomnomnom. Love their burgers

Does anyone know where you would get Monterey Jack? I've looked for it in a good few places but I have yet to find it.

Syllabus

Cheddar

/thread

FTA69

A popular thing in many of the gourmet burger gaffs over here is to use a thick slab of smoked applewood cheese. It's actually fantastic.

GoodBridge

Found an interesting article here incase anyones interested: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/09/the-burger-lab-how-to-make-super-melty-cheese-slices-like-american.html

Still a fair bit of trouble to go to but... at least it's attainable. I'll give it a lash and report back for posterity.

vicwatson

fondue wrote: »

Does anyone know where you would get Monterey Jack? I've looked for it in a good few places but I have yet to find it.

I'd seen it in Superquinn before but not all stores seem to stock it.

Uncle_moe

follow this to make the ultimate double double animal style. It's pretty close to the real thing but not quite as good obviously.

http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/07/the-burger-lab-how-to-make-an-in-n-out-double-double-animal-style.html?ref=search

Seaneh

Just on the topic of binding agents and fillers in burgers.

Don't you bloody dare put egg or bread crumb in a burger.

All you need in a burger is beef, salt and pepper. Maybe a small amount of grated onion or some chilli paste or minced garlic or a little cheese if you're feeling fancy.

Take your meat out of the fridge, season it well with salt and pepper, mix it a little with your hands and then just leave it alone for 20 minutes, the meat comes up to room temp, the salt pulls some of the moisture out of the meat and this brings the natural proteins with it, those proteins are all you need to make your burgers bind perfectly.

Form into patties, thinner and wider is always better than thicker. A thick burger will be over cooked most of the way through by the time the centre is cooked, it makes for a ****e burger. A thinner burger can be cooked at a higher heat in a shorter time and still be moist in the middle while achieving really a good millard reaction on the surface, giving you a more flavoursome burger.

If I wanted a 1/2 lb burger I'd always make two thinner 1/4;b patties rather than one fat 1/2 lb patty, they difference is extremely noticeable. The "best" burger places in the US all have one common denominator, they use thin patties.

IN-n-Out, 5 guys, whattaburger, steak and shake, Culvers, etc, they all use thinner 1/2 lb patties than you'd get in the "gourmet" burger places, and to be honest, I'd take a 5 guys or Steak and Shake burger over GBC or any Irish "specialist" burger bar any day.

GoodBridge

Correctamundo. So called "gourmet" burger joints give you a mince ball as if it's a good thing. It's a terrible thing. It sabotages the burger in the same as too many toppings sabotage a pizza (it becomes an open-top pie with mostly steamed toppings... ugh).

I've had fancy burgers in gastro-pubs and even restaurants that were very disappointing even though top-quality ingredients were used. You end up with a big horrible mince ball burger and/or too much bread in a "generously" sized bun and/or too much/little condiments. A burger is about balance. Get it right and it becomes much more than the sum of it's parts. Get it wrong and it's just a plate of stuff.

the beer revolu

Hate burgers that are too thick too.
I reckon no cheese is the best on a burger, though I occasionally go for a bacon cheese burger. Less is more!!

Brian?

In n Out, uses terrible American cheese. I.e. easy singles. I love in n out, it's the place I miss most from the states.

5 guys use the same.

My personal favourite is to melt Provolone on a burger.

GoodBridge

Uncle_moe wrote: »

follow this to make the ultimate double double animal style. It's pretty close to the real thing but not quite as good obviously.

http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/07/the-burger-lab-how-to-make-an-in-n-out-double-double-animal-style.html?ref=search

This is a great article. I think my favourite part is how he comes up with the sauce:

According to the In-N-Out nutrition guideline, replacing the Spread with ketchup results in a decrease of 80 calories per sandwich. I know that ketchup has about 15 calories per tablespoon, so If we estimate that an average sandwich has about 2 tablespoons of sauce on it (that's the amount that's inside a single packet), then we can calculate that the Spread has got about 55 calories per tablespoon (110 calories in two tablespoons of Spread minus 30 calories in 2 tablespoons of ketchup = 80 calories difference in the sandwich). With me so far?

It just so happens that relish has about the same caloric density as ketchup (15 calories per tablespoon), and that mayonnaise has a caloric density of 80 calories per tablespoon. Using all of this information and a bit of 7th grade algebra, I was able to quickly*** calculate that the composition of the Spread is roughly 62 percent mayo, and 38 percent ketchup/relish blend

To calculate the ratio of relish to ketchup, I washed two tablespoons of Spread through a fine mesh strainer, which got rid of the mayo and ketchup, but kept the pickle particles. Two tablespoons of rinsed Spread resulted in 1 teaspoon of strained pickle relish.

So the final Spread formula (rounded to the nearest convenient measure) was: 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons mayonnaise (62 percent), 1 tablespoon ketchup (23 percent), and 2 teaspoons pickle relish (15 percent). Damning the math, I also decided to add a tiny splash of vinegar and pinch of sugar to round out the flavors before moving on to the next phase of the operation.

Bravo

imitation

Seaneh wrote: »

Form into patties, thinner and wider is always better than thicker. A thick burger will be over cooked most of the way through by the time the centre is cooked, it makes for a ****e burger. A thinner burger can be cooked at a higher heat in a shorter time and still be moist in the middle while achieving really a good millard reaction on the surface, giving you a more flavoursome burger.

I agree 100%, one of my favorite burgers is actually a McDonalds Single or double cheese burger, and one of my most maligned and hated is a McDonalds Quarter pounder. I doubt somehow they use different meat in either. I love the peppered flavor you get. I always ask for plain though, the Ketchup is like pure sugar and generally they can be sitting out for up to 20-30 min, but if you ask for plain you get a nice fresh one.

Likewise I hate the impossible to eat giant meat ball you sometimes get in an expensive restaurant, although the larger burgers are much more digestible than the McDs variety.

When I went america I was pretty disappointed with the general quality of junk food, it was awful ! The likes of McDs was bland, salty, very greasy compared to our stuff. Even a high end restaurant had the same problem.

Kevin the Kid

Provolone is an outstanding choice.....great with ranch dressing - counter burger with the shoestring onion rings nom nom nom

Never press a burger when cooking..... it will dry it out and the tasty juice will be lost....... forever.

LoganRice

I think aged cheddar cheese is really tasty on a burger

SweetSand

I always mix beef and pork mince for juiciness and mature cheddar cheese on top, a bit of chopped onions in the mix, just delicious

Kevin the Kid

I was in Bunsen the other night to try their burgers.
It is like a hipsters in-and-out burger- menu is the same. i.e very short - single or double plain or cheeseburger.
The meat was excellent, the cheese was excellent (like american), the bun was excellent - (brioche).

They asked how I liked it cooked. Medium I asked. It came out very rare. - It happens.
The reason I say this is that I have asked for my burger to be cooked medium in many restaurants in Ireland only to be told that "all our burgers are cook 'well done' which is a requirement by European law to protect the consumer". Is this true?

Anyway I'll give it top marks. Its well worth checking out.
I am now torn between bunsen and two other burger makers.

Dial Hard

Kevin the Kid wrote: »

They asked how I liked it cooked. Medium I asked. It came out very rare. - It happens.
The reason I say this is that I have asked for my burger to be cooked medium in many restaurants in Ireland only to be told that "all our burgers are cook 'well done' which is a requirement by European law to protect the consumer". Is this true?

Old thread, but anyway, there's been continual jousting between the likes of Jo'Burger and the HSE for serving burgers cooked anything other than well done. I'm not sure what the specific piece of legislation is, but there's certainly provision there for action to be taken against restaurants serving burgers cooked to order.

kylith

I seem to remember seeing a sign in Eddie Rocket's that all their burgers were cooked medium, and to ask if you wanted it another way.

x43r0

Don't know if it's sold in Ireland but I use this stuff on my burgers and it's magic

Usually make two thin patties and put this in between to melt

StripedBoxers

Whenever I cook cheese burgers, just as soon as the burger is cooked, I take it out, and slice it in half and place a slice of easi-singles cheese and a bit of onion in between the "slices" of burger and then put the two slices of burger back together and put them into the grill for 2-4 minutes and the cheese comes out nice and melted and delicious. Its not the same as the burgers from McDonalds etc. but its lovely all the same.

I don't make the burger mixture myself, I get them from the butchers so I haven't a notion of what goes into them, sorry.

unklerosco

Going a bit OT but I got a mincer attachment for my mixer today with the goal of mincing my own beef for burgers, anybody got any recommendations for cuts of beef that are readily available in decent butchers?

And to keep slightly on topic, a likes a bit of mature cheddar on me burgers.. Aldi Brioche buns, God bless em... burgers haven't been the same since!

GoodBridge

I found a nice melty cheese.



89c in lidl:



it's awesome

GoodBridge

Good news!

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/dermot-desmond-s-sons-to-bring-five-guys-to-ireland-1.2081479

Markcheese

GoodBridge wrote: »

Good news!

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/dermot-desmond-s-sons-to-bring-five-guys-to-ireland-1.2081479

Woohoo burgers for sale in Ireland.. I haven't been this thrilled since I got brought to burger land in cork - aged 4 -

+1 on the pork and beef .dutch Emmental or jarlsberg cheese for your burger -(what the Americans call Swiss)

cookie75

Blue cheese in the burger mixture,only way to go !