Sandwiches & Burgers

military_tech Why This Recipe Stands Out

• Repeat Worthy: People who make this tend to come back and make it again.

grocery Ingredients

• 12 slice Thick-cut bacon
• 1 cup Mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp Freshly ground black pepper
• 12 slice White Pullman loaf or sourdough bread, sliced 1/2 inch thick (or sourdough bread)
• 6 tbsp Salted butter, room temperature
• 6 oz (170g) Aged Gruyere (or Comte cheese)
• 6 oz (170g) Extra-sharp Cheddar

book_ribbon Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Arrange the bacon in a single layer on a baking rack set over a sheet pan and roast for 20 to 30 minutes, until nicely browned.
3. Drain the bacon on a plate lined with paper towels and cut into 1-inch pieces.
4. Combine the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Parmesan cheese, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
5. Lay the 12 slices of bread on a board and spread each slice lightly with butter; flip so the butter is on the outside of the sandwich.
6. Spread the inside of each butter-flipped slice generously with the mayonnaiseu2013Dijonu2013Parmesan mixture.
7. Grate the Gruyere and Cheddar in a food processor fitted with the largest grating disk and combine the grated cheeses.
8. Place the roasted bacon evenly on half of the bread slices, then pile 1/3 cup grated cheese evenly on top of the bacon for each sandwich; top with the remaining bread slices, sauce side down.
9. Heat an electric panini press (or, if using a sautu00e9 pan, heat the pan) and cook the sandwiches in batches for 3 to 5 minutes, until the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted; if using a sautu00e9 pan, cook like a classic grilled cheese.
10. Allow the cooked sandwiches to rest for 2 minutes, cut in half, and serve warm.

crowdsource Community Insights

This recipe comes together quickly, and people who made it noticed a few small things that actually mattered. The main trouble was overworking the patties, people who packed or squeezed the meat too hard ended up with dense burgers, so lightly pack each patty and avoid squeezing the air out. Also, people who put butter in the pan while cooking found it helped. If you want a firmer, crunchier bun instead of a steamy soft one, some cooks toasted their buns instead of steaming them and liked how that finished the sandwich.

military_tech Why This Recipe Stands Out

• Repeat Worthy: People who make this tend to come back and make it again.

grocery Ingredients

• Ground beef, shaped into balls
• Potato bun
• Pickles, thinly sliced and minced
• Mayonnaise
• Honey
• Dijon mustard (or any mustard)
• Ketchup
• Smoked paprika
• Onion powder
• Garlic powder
• Salt, to taste
• Fresh cracked black pepper, freshly cracked
• Lemon, squeezed (or pickle juice)
• Oil
• American cheese, sliced
• Cheddar cheese, sliced

book_ribbon Instructions

1. Form portions of ground beef into balls about the size of between a golf ball and a mandarin orange; wear gloves if desired and toss the balls between your hands to remove air bubbles, then place them on a sheet pan and refrigerate while you prep other ingredients.
2. Thinly slice some pickles for topping and mince the remaining pickles finely into a relish for the sauce.
3. In a bowl, combine the minced pickles, mayonnaise, honey, Dijon mustard, ketchup, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper; finish with a squeeze of lemon (pickle juice may be used instead if desired) and transfer the sauce to a squeeze bottle if you like.
4. Preheat cast iron pans.
5. Place the potato buns in the preheating pans to toast while the patties cook so the inside of the top bun and the top side of the bottom bun steam during cooking.
6. Prepare three slices of cheese per burger (triple stack) using American cheese and cheddar, sliced and ready.
7. Have salt and freshly cracked pepper at the ready for seasoning the patties.
8. Oil the bottom of the burger smasher and oil the cooking surface as needed so the patties do not stick.
9. Place a beef ball on the hot pan, then press it down firmly with the oiled smasher to make a thin patty; push around the edges of the smasher as you smash to create laced, crispy edges. Repeat for the remaining patties.
10. Immediately season each smashed patty with a bit of freshly cracked black pepper and a sprinkle of salt.
11. Scrape under each patty to collect the laced crispy bits, then flip the patties.
12. Place cheese on the patties right after flipping so it melts and holds the layers together.
13. When the cheese has melted and held the patties together, stack three patties on the toasted bottom bun, draining off excess oil carefully.
14. Finish each stacked burger with thin pickle slices, a swirl of the special sauce, a swirl of mustard, and a bit of classic ketchup.
15. Serve the assembled burgers immediately.

crowdsource Community Insights

This one makes a tasty burger, but people who made it ran into two practical choices. First, most found the griddle needs to be hot, about 450°F, so the patties get that quick crust. Second, smashing the burgers is what gives the texture people liked. The only real split was onions: some cooks smashed the meat down onto the onions (or smashed the onion on top of the patty) for more melded flavor, while others cooked the onions separately or put them beside the burgers so the patties don't steam. Both approaches worked for different reasons.

military_tech Why This Recipe Stands Out

• Repeat Worthy: People who make this tend to come back and make it again.

grocery Ingredients

• 1 lb (454g) ground beef, 80/20
• Onion, razor thin, mandolined
• Cooking oil
• Cooking spray
• Meat Church Gourmet Seasoned Salt, to taste (or Holy Cow seasoning, salt and pepper)
• 3 brioche buns
• 2 stick butter, melted
• Sharp cheddar cheese
• Mayonnaise (or mustard, ketchup)

book_ribbon Instructions

1. Preheat the Loco Griddle to 350 degrees.
2. Mandoline-slice the onions very thin (razor thin).
3. Put a little cooking oil on the griddle and lay the sliced onions on the griddle.
4. Form the 1 pound tube of 80/20 ground beef into balls.
5. Place the beef balls on the griddle on top of the onions, spray the burger smasher with cooking spray, and immediately smash each ball into a thin patty.
6. Season the top of each smashed patty with Meat Church Gourmet Seasoned Salt.
7. Cook the patties until ready to flip; when ready, flip the patties and place sharp cheddar cheese over each patty, allowing the cheese to melt.
8. While flipping the patties, brush or spread melted butter on the brioche buns and griddle the cut sides until toasted.
9. Pull the burgers and buns from the griddle and let the burgers cool briefly.
10. Spread mayonnaise on the buns, assemble the burgers with the melted cheese and griddled onions, and serve.

crowdsource Community Insights

This comes together fast, and people who've made it found two things cause the most trouble: the cheese and the pan. People who used firmer, non-melty cheese ended up with solid pockets instead of a melted center, so cooks who had success chose soft, melty slices. What trips people up next is temperature, starting on a cold pan or turning the heat too high makes things go wrong. The ones who preheated to moderate heat got even browning and melted cheese; flip only once the bread is nicely browned, or you'll risk burning it.

grocery Ingredients

• Romano cheese, long slices, rind removed
• Asiago cheese, long slices, rind removed
• Pepperberry
• Country bread, sliced, not too thin
• Butter
• Salt, to taste
• Kimchi, homemade
• Olive oil

book_ribbon Instructions

1. Cut long slices from the Romano and Asiago cheeses and remove the rinds; cut the slices in half lengthwise as desired.
2. Slice the country bread into slices not too thin.
3. Butter the outside of each bread slice heavily and season the outside with salt.
4. Layer the cheese on one slice of bread, fold a little homemade kimchi and add it on top of the cheese, then press the sandwich together.
5. Heat the cooking surface over the open fire with a touch of olive oil until it just starts to smoke.
6. Place the sandwich on the hot surface, press it down, and cook for two minutes on one side.
7. Flip the sandwich, cook for two minutes on the other side, then place the spatula on top and press down to help melt the cheese.
8. Remove the sandwich from the heat, cut in half, and serve.

crowdsource Community Insights

This comes together quickly, and people who made it found three things matter most. People who tossed uncooked ingredients near the raw meat ran into contamination headaches, while those who kept everything separate avoided that problem. Cooking the onions with the burger was another common move, cooks who did it liked how the onions blended into the flavor and texture. Finally, smashing is optional: some people smashed thinner for a crisped edge, others left patties thicker, so pick the feel you want before you start cooking.

grocery Ingredients

Burger

• 1 lb (454g) ground beef, around 20% fat (or pre-smashed ground beef, super-lean ground beef)
• Cooking oil
• Butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Black pepper
• Barbecue rub, to taste
• Cinnamon

Potato buns

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cup water
• 2 potatoes, smashed

Toppings & sauce

• Onion, thinly sliced
• Tomato, sliced
• Pickles, sliced
• Iceberg lettuce, shredded
• 2 slice cheese, sliced (or cheddar, American singles, Brie (wheel))
• Mayonnaise
• Hot sauce

book_ribbon Instructions

Make buns and prep

1. Combine 1 cup flour, 1/2 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon instant yeast, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 cups water, and 2 potatoes.
2. Grab the potatoes and smash them against a wall until they crack as described.
3. Slice the onion thinly, slice the tomato, slice the pickles, and shred the iceberg lettuce.
4. Peel off a couple slices of cheese.

Cook onions and toast buns

1. Heat a pan over medium heat, add some oil, then add the sliced onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked as shown.
2. Butter the buns and grill them in butter in the pan in advance until ready (uses the same process as a grilled butter sandwich).

Make sauce

1. Mix mayonnaise and hot sauce together to make the burger sauce.
2. Spread the sauce on both sides of each bun.

Cook burgers

1. Heat the cast iron griddle over medium; letting it heat for a full 10 minutes on medium will make it plenty hot.
2. Divide the ground beef into six roughly equal balls and place them on the hot griddle.
3. Using your smashing implement of choice, press each beef ball down hard to flatten it.
4. Season the flattened patties with salt, black pepper, and optionally barbecue rub or cinnamon.
5. Cook until most of the way through, then scrape under the patties (as described) to free them and develop a crust.
6. Top each patty with a slice of cheese to melt.

Assemble

1. Place the bottom bun sauced on a plate.
2. Put the cheeseburger patty on the bottom bun.
3. Top with the cooked onions, sliced tomato, shredded iceberg lettuce, and sliced pickles.
4. Place the top bun (sauced) on the assembled burger.