The Classic Backyard Grilled Cheeseburger
Thick, juicy patties of 85 percent lean beef with a dent in the center so they grill flat, topped with American cheese and stacked on soft buns with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, ketchup and mustard.
Wikipedia credits the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair with giving the hamburger national exposure; the New York Tribune called it "the innovation of a food vendor on the pike". By 1930, Wikipedia's Hamburg steak article says, the Hamburg steak was usually served in a sandwich called a hamburger, and the meat became a patty. Chains did the rest: White Castle in Wichita in 1921, Big Boy's double-decker in 1937, McDonald's in San Bernardino in 1940.
This is the version most Americans make at home in summer: a thick patty, a slice of melting cheese, a soft bun and the toppings everyone argues about. It is the clearest Americanized line in the hub. Germany's Frikadelle (our German Frikadellen recipe) is bread, onion and two meats on a plate; America's backyard burger is nearly all beef, on a bun, over fire.
🇺🇸 This one is American
Thick, juicy patties of 85 percent lean beef with a dent in the center so they grill flat, topped with American cheese and stacked on soft buns with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, ketchup and mustard.
🇩🇪 The original
Germany's Frikadellen are pan-fried patties of beef and pork with a soaked roll, onion and parsley, eaten with mustard and potato salad, with no bun. The burger's name points to Hamburg, though how it got there is disputed. See the German Frikadellen (Hamburg-Style Meat Patties) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
The divot
The edges of a patty shrink as they cook and push the middle up into a dome; ATK's shallow dent in the center leaves you with a flat burger that holds its toppings.
85 percent lean and a light touch
Enough fat to stay juicy at 160°F, and gentle shaping keeps the meat loose and tender instead of dense.
Step by step
- Step 1
Heat the grill: for charcoal, light a large chimney (about 6 quarts) of briquettes, and when the top coals are partly covered with ash, spread them evenly, set the grate in place, cover and heat 5 minutes; for gas, turn all burners to high, cover and heat 15 minutes.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, divide the beef into 4 portions and gently shape each into a 3/4-inch-thick patty. Press the center with your fingertips to about 1/2 inch to make a shallow divot.
- Step 3
Clean and oil the grate. Season the patties with the salt and pepper and set them on the grill divot side up. Cook 2 to 4 minutes, until well browned on the first side; don't press them.
- Step 4
Flip the patties and cook 3 minutes, then lay a slice of cheese on each and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, until the cheese melts and the center reads 160°F.
- Step 5
In the last minute, toast the cut sides of the buns at the edge of the grill, about 1 minute.
- Step 6
Move the burgers to a clean platter and rest 5 minutes. Build each on a bun: ketchup and mustard, lettuce, burger, tomato, onion and pickles.
The Classic Backyard Grilled Cheeseburger
Serves 4 · 4 cheeseburgers · 40 min total
Burgers
- 1 1/2 lb ground beef (85% lean)
- 1/2 tsp table salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- Vegetable oil, for the grate
- 4 slices American cheese (4 oz)
- 4 hamburger buns
Toppings
- 4 leaves iceberg lettuce
- 4 slices ripe tomato
- 4 thin slices onion
- 12 dill pickle chips
- 4 tbsp ketchup
- 4 tsp yellow mustard
Method
- Heat the grill: for charcoal, light a large chimney (about 6 quarts) of briquettes, and when the top coals are partly covered with ash, spread them evenly, set the grate in place, cover and heat 5 minutes; for gas, turn all burners to high, cover and heat 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, divide the beef into 4 portions and gently shape each into a 3/4-inch-thick patty. Press the center with your fingertips to about 1/2 inch to make a shallow divot.
- Clean and oil the grate. Season the patties with the salt and pepper and set them on the grill divot side up. Cook 2 to 4 minutes, until well browned on the first side; don't press them.
- Flip the patties and cook 3 minutes, then lay a slice of cheese on each and cook 2 to 3 minutes more, until the cheese melts and the center reads 160°F.
- In the last minute, toast the cut sides of the buns at the edge of the grill, about 1 minute.
- Move the burgers to a clean platter and rest 5 minutes. Build each on a bun: ketchup and mustard, lettuce, burger, tomato, onion and pickles.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, "Classic Beef Burgers" (published June 16, 2020). As written for 4: 1 1/2 lb 85 percent lean beef, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 3/4-inch patties with a center divot, a hot charcoal or gas grill, 2 to 4 minutes on the first side, then cheese and 3 to 5 minutes on the second. ATK stops at 120°F to 135°F (medium-rare to medium); our longer second side reaches 160°F. American cheese and the topping list are our picks for the classic build; ATK leaves cheese optional. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Salt the outside just before grilling, not the meat mixture, so the patties stay tender.
- Don't press burgers with the spatula; it squeezes the juice into the fire.
- Keep the raw-meat platter away from the cooked burgers; use a clean plate.
- ATK's other grilled cheeseburger mixes shredded cheddar into the meat itself.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Ketchup on a burger. Folklore: a matter of taste. Louis' Lunch bans it (our Louis' Lunch Hamburger on Toast recipe); Cheryl Alters Jamison says mayo should be an equal player with ketchup (our New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger recipe).
- Cook burgers medium-rare. Disputed: ATK's recipe stops at 120°F to 135°F; USDA says ground beef needs 160°F. We use 160°F.
- Press a dimple into the patty. Documented (ATK).
- Flip only once. Folklore: common advice; ATK's recipe flips once, but no source we read shows it matters.
- The 1904 World's Fair made the hamburger famous. Documented as Wikipedia's account, citing the New York Tribune.
Every other burger
German Frikadellen (Hamburg-Style Meat Patties)
Germany's pan-fried meat patties, made with half beef and half pork, a stale roll soaked in milk, sweated onion and parsley, then fried slowly to a deep brown crust and served with mustard.
Japanese Hambagu (Hamburg Steak with Red Wine Sauce)
Tender oval patties of beef and pork bound with panko, milk and sautéed onion, steamed in red wine and finished with a glossy pan sauce of butter, ketchup and tonkatsu sauce.
The Louis' Lunch Hamburger on Toast (New Haven)
A square patty of ground chuck and sirloin with an onion slice pressed into it, cooked over a hot fire and served the New Haven way: between two slices of white toast with tomato, onion and a sharp cheese sauce, and no ketchup.
The Smash Burger
Two small balls of beef chuck smashed paper-thin onto a screaming-hot pan, scraped up with every bit of brown crust, and stacked with a slice of American cheese melting between them.
The Oklahoma Fried Onion Burger
A small ball of beef smashed thin on a hot skillet with a mound of paper-thin onions pressed into it, flipped so the onions fry and caramelize, then topped with American cheese and a bun steamed right over the onions.
The Juicy Lucy (Minneapolis Cheese-Stuffed Burger)
Two thin beef patties sealed around rounds of American cheese, seared in a cast-iron skillet until the cheese inside turns molten, and served on a potato roll with buttery onions and pickles.
The Wisconsin Butter Burger
Lean ground sirloin enriched with cold butter seasoned with a little soy sauce, seared in a hot skillet and topped with a thick pat of the same butter and a spoonful of soft stewed onions, so the butter melts down into the bun.
The New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger
Thick ground-chuck burgers grilled over a two-level fire, topped with melted cheese and a heap of freshly roasted, peeled and chopped New Mexico green chiles, on soft buns with tomato and lettuce.
The Australian Burger with the Lot
A seasoned beef patty with onion, garlic and parsley, piled into a toasted roll with barbecue sauce, lettuce, cheese, canned beetroot, a pineapple ring, tomato, a fried egg, bacon and red onion.
Vada Pav (Mumbai's Potato Fritter "Burger")
A spiced mashed potato patty dipped in chickpea batter and deep-fried, tucked into a soft white roll with green chutney and a crunchy dry garlic, coconut and peanut chutney.
30-Minute Weeknight Skillet Burgers with Onions and Horseradish Sauce
Garlicky burgers seared in one skillet, then onions browned in the drippings, with a quick sour cream and horseradish sauce, on the table in 30 minutes with no grill.
Double-Double Style Burger, Animal Style, Inspired by In-N-Out
Inspired by, not official: two thin mustard-seared patties with American cheese, deeply caramelized onions, pickles, tomato, lettuce and a pink Thousand Island-style spread on a toasted bun.
Meatballs of the World
Italian-American Meatballs
Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.