Quick Diner-Style Cheeseburgers

Posted by: Nicole Dula on Feb 16 2016

We’ve been making these quick burgers for a year now and I’m always impressed with how quickly they come together and with so little effort. Ah, my favorite kind of recipe. Most of us probably have a favorite burger dive or the proximity to a Five Guys, Shake Shack or In-N-Out, but sometimes you just want to eat really good, messy, burgers at home in comfy pants.

I first heard about this recipe from Sarah Jessica Parker, of all people, when she tweeted that her family loves them. I don’t follow SJP on Twitter, but someone else mentioned the tweet. SJP eats burgers, you guys. And good ones.

You barely touch the meat, simply using the side of your hand to divide the beef into quarters. Then you simply smash each patty into a hot skillet until caramelized and flip. Marc has become an excellent burger smasher. In about 5 minutes you have diner-style burgers to be proud of.

Print Recipe

Quick Diner-Style Cheeseburgers

Recipe from NYT Cooking

Not all 80/20 mixes of beef are created equal. I find that the chuck at whole foods yields a juicy and tasty burger, but our local butcher makes his chuck leaner. The amount of fat will have a huge affect on the flavor of the burger, purchase at least 20% fat ground beef.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon neutral oil or ghee or butter
4 soft hamburger buns
1 pound ground chuck beef, 20% fat at least, kept cold
kosher or sea salt + pepper to taste
4 slices American or cheddar cheese
ketchup, mustard, lettuce, onion, tomato, your choice

Instructions

Add 1 tablespoon of butter or ghee to a 12 inch cast iron skillet and heat on medium heat. When butter melts and pan is hot, toast the inside part of all 4 hamburger buns. Set aside on plates.
Add 1 teaspoon of neutral oil or butter or ghee to the skillet and increase heat to high.
Using your hands, gently divide the ground beef into four sections and gently gather into four balls.
Add four balls of beef to the skillet. Sprinkle with a good pinch of salt and a few cranks of fresh pepper. Use sturdy metal spatula to flatten each ball into a patty in one good press. You want them to be around 4 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick.
Cook, without moving, for about 2 minutes (a minute or 2 longer for well-done), until the bottom of the patty caramelizes. Use the sturdy spatula to quickly scoop each patty in one swift movement and turn each one over. Add cheese slices to each patty and cook for an additional 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
Transfer patties to the bottom of the toasted buns and top as you wish.

4 Notes Leave a Note

Cindy said on February 16, 2016 at 1:00 pm :

These are what dreams are made of! I mean, burgers and fast and comfy pants!

Reply
- Nicole Dula said on February 16, 2016 at 1:11 pm :
  
  Sometimes it’s all you need in life! Thanks, girl!
  
  Reply
Mariana said on February 17, 2016 at 5:38 am :

Simple and full of flavour. Plus you know exactly what’s going in them! My kinda burger

Reply
- Nicole Dula said on February 17, 2016 at 10:03 am :
  
  That’s a good point, Mariana! I definitely want to know exactly what’s in my burger, too!
  
  Reply