Super Gooey Cheese Burger
Impress with these homemade burgers smothered in a gooey, silky cheese sauce and topped with crispy bacon.
Ingredients
For the Burger
For the Cheese Sauce
Method
To make the burger patties put the minced beef/ground beef in a large bowl with the yolk of 1 egg and a little salt and pepper. Bring together with your hands and divide into 4 equal sized balls around 1/4 lb (115g), then squash each ball down to create the classic burger patty shape. Cover and place in the fridge until ready to use
The egg is required for lean beef mince/ground beef, if you have good quality 20% fat beef you won't need the egg yolk
To make your cheese sauce melt the butter in a pan, then gradually stir in the flour with a wooden spoon to make a roux. Keep stirring for a further minute then gradually pour in the milk while continuously stirring; switch to a whisk when your sauce starts to become fluid.
For best results you should use warm milk to avoid getting clumps in your roux
Tear in the cheese slices into pieces and stir them a few pieces at a time allowing them to melt, once melted stir in the cheddar cheese and season with salt and pepper. Keep the cheese sauce over the lowest heat your stove will allow while you cook your burgers, giving it a stir every so often. If you see the sauce getting too thick, add a splash more milk.
Cheese slices contain sodium citrate which prevents the cheese from separating, helping create a silky smooth sauce
Heat a bbq/grill or griddle pan and cook your beef patties on the first side for around 4-5 minutes until nicely browned - sprinkling a little salt and pepper over the top - turn and cook the other side, once again season with salt and pepper.
While your beef patties are cooking, fry your bacon until nice and crispy and in the same pan, fry the onions coat them in the bacon fat.
Once your burgers are cooked remove them from the bbq/grill/griddle pan and cover while you toast your buns. To do this, brush the inside of each bun with a little olive oil, then place on the bbq/grill/griddle pan until golden brown, we're now ready to build our burgers!
Place the bottom of each bun on a plate and top with a couple of gem lettuce leaves; this provides a barrier to prevent the bun from becoming soggy, then top with the beef patty. Spoon over the cheese sauce until it begins to drip down the side of the burger, then top with a few onions, a rasher of the crispy bacon broken in half and a couple of halved cornichons or a few gherkin/pickle slices.
Add the top of the bun and serve - you can use any left over cheese sauce as a dip for fries or onion rings.
About these Super Gooey Cheese Burgers
I love cheeseburgers, so am always looking for ways to take them to the next level. Rather than slapping on more cheese slices, I've gone for a full on cheese sauce which involves creating a béchamel then melting cheese into it. I've used cheese slices which act as a stabilising agent for the sauce as they contain sodium citrate, essentially it means your cheese sauce won't split into a greasy mess. Then cheddar is then added for flavour.
For building the burger I've used sturdy, cup-shaped gem lettuce leaves that won't wilt and can act as a barrier to the brioche bun so it doesn't go soggy - any similar lettuce leaves will also work. I've then added a few onions and some crispy bacon and cornichons (small French pickles/gherkins) for a bit of added texture. The sauce is quite thick and will actually 'set' on the burger, so these aren't as messy to eat as you might think; but you still might want to keep a few napkins nearby just in case!
These burgers will go great with my Beer Battered Onion Rings
How to Make Burger Patties
Put the minced beef/ground beef in mixing bowl along with the yolk of 1 egg and a little salt and pepper.
Gently bring the beef mince/ground beef together with you making sure you mix through the egg and salt and pepper and form into a ball.
Divide the patty mixture into 3 (for third-pounders) or 4 (for quarter-pounders) balls then flatten down to form the patty shape. You can press in a little round the edges if they look like they might break.
Place your completed beef patties on a plate of baking tray and put in the fridge until ready to cook. You will want to remove them around 20-30 minutes before you are ready to cook them.
Place your patties on a heated grill BBQ, season with salt and pepper and cook for around 4-5 minutes before turning
Turn the patties over, season with salt and pepper again and cook for a further 4-5 minutes until cooked through.
How to Make the Gooey Cheese Sauce
Start by melt the butter in a small saucepan
Gradually mix in the flour stirring continuously with a wooden spoon
Once all the flour has been added and your roux has been formed cook for a further minute, stirring continuously, to allow the raw flour taste to cook out.
Over a medium-low heat, gradually stir in the milk using a wooden spoon.
Once your sauce becomes liquid switch to a whisk to help remove any lumps and cook until the sauce has thickened stirring continuously.
Once your sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon and pull a line through it remove from the heat. For this recipe you can let it get a little thicker than a standard béchamel so it doesn't run out of the burger when you try to eat it.
Tear in the cheese slices one at a time and mix until melted. This should be done by off the heat, but you can leave a hob on and move the sauce over the heat for a few seconds as you stir, before removing back off the heat to help the cheese melt. Repeat this process until all the cheese slices have been added and melted into the sauce.
Using the same on-heat, off-heat method, gradually whisk in the cheddar cheese until fully melted.
Once all the cheese has melted and you have a silky smooth sauce season with salt and pepper. You now want to keep you cheese sauce warm until it's ready to be poured over the burgers. You can do this by keeping over a low heat on the hob and stirring every so often, topping up with a little more milk if it becomes too thick.
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