Okay so, I might’ve gotten a little carried away with the cheese here. But who doesn’t love a good cheeseburger?
In this case, I went with your classic cheeseburger. A classic done right. First off, you need some good ground beef. Has to be 20% fat. Not 5. Not 10. Not 15. 20% fat. If you don’t want to eat all that fat, just don’t eat a burger. Sorry… was that rude?
Next comes the cheese. I’m not at all against traditional American cheese with this sort of burger, but I went for yellow cheddar. It’s just my preference. Then we have lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, ketchup and a couple homemade condiments.
I personally think making the pickles and mayo from scratch bring this cheeseburger to another level. They are just so good. Plus pickling and mayo-making skills are good ones to have, so why not practice with this cheeseburger?
Now that cheddar ended up completely enrobing my cheeseburger! Maybe my pictures look a little funny with just a tiny bit of burger peaking out of the cheese, but I promise the burger under there is grilled to perfection. It’s juicy, flavorful and still a little pink, just how I like it. Top it off with a sesame seed bun and dig in!
Classic Cheeseburger with Homemade Dill Pickles & Mayo
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 burgers 1x
Description
Who doesn’t love a classic cheeseburger? Check out my recipe for a perfectly cooked burger with homemade dill pickles, mayo and lots of cheese!
Ingredients
Pickles:
- 8oz mini cucumbers, sliced ¼ inch thick
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 6 tbsp white vinegar
- ¾ cup water
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp black peppercorns
- ½ tsp dill seeds
- 2–3 sprigs fresh dill
- 2 medium whole garlic cloves, peeled
Mayonnaise:
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/3 cup vegetable or grapeseed oil
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ¾ tsp red wine vinegar
- ¼ tsp lemon juice, plus more as needed
- Kosher salt
Toppings:
- 1 small white onion, sliced into ¼ inch rings
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 8 slices of yellow cheddar or American cheese
- 1–2 vine ripe tomatoes, sliced into ¼ inch rings
- Green leaf lettuce, torn into 4 large pieces
- Ketchup
- Kosher salt
Burgers:
- 24oz ground beef (20% fat)
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 sesame seed buns, split
Instructions
- Salt cucumbers: The day before cooking the burgers, place sliced cucumbers in a bowl and coat with kosher salt. Allow to sit for 30-40 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
- Add to jar & pickle: Place the fresh dill and garlic into a pint sized jar. Add the salted cucumbers to the jar. In a small sauce pot, heat the vinegar, water, sugar and spices until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour the warm pickling liquid over the cucumbers in the jar. Allow to sit at room temperature until cooled. Refrigerate.
- Make mayo: This can also be done the day before. Crack egg yolk into a bowl. Squeeze over a few drops of lemon juice and add a pinch of salt. Whisk constantly while slowly incorporating the oil. Start slowly with a few drops at a time. You can increase speed as the mayo comes together. Add vinegar, lemon juice and salt, to taste. Add a few drops of water to thin out the mayo, if needed. Refrigerate.
- Grill onions: Heat the grill to medium-high. I used an indoor grill pan. Coat the onions in extra virgin olive oil and season with salt. Grill for about 3 minutes per side or until softened and charred in spots. Keep grill warm.
- Grill buns: Brush buns lightly with oil. Add buns to the grill, cut side down and toast about 30 seconds or until grill marks form. Turn grill up to high. Grease grates with oil.
- Shape & season burgers: Shape meat into 4, 6oz patties, about the width of the buns. Make a slight indentation on the top of each burger to allow for expansion. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Grill cheeseburgers: Place on grill. Grill about 2- 2 ½ minutes per side for medium-rare and an additional 1-2 minutes for medium. Burgers can also be cooked in a nonstick or cast iron pan. After flipping, place two slices of cheese on each burger. If using a grill pan, splash a little water on the grill and cover the burger with an inverted bowl for the remainder of the cooking process to melt the cheese.
- Serve: Spread the bottom bun with mayo. Cover with a piece of lettuce. Add the cheeseburger. Top with grilled onions, sliced tomatoes (seasoned with salt) and pickles. Add ketchup add the top bun, and enjoy!
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 burger
- Calories: 832
- Sugar: 12.1 g
- Sodium: 190.9 mg
- Fat: 55.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 20.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 39.6 g
- Fiber: 2.9 g
- Protein: 37.6 g
Really loved it, The Homemade pickles adds up a nice flavor to it
Thank you 🙂
Never saw cheese burger with pickles.. Amazing recipe surely gonna make this when i am free.
That’s great! I hope you enjoy it 🙂
I am ALL about the ‘classics’ at the minute. Cant remember the last time I had a decent cheeseburger, I will totally have to change that huh? Will make sure I have the 20% fat beef mince too. I reckon that is where so many go wrong, too much fat, not enough fat. 😀
Yess, fat percentage is very important. And you definitelyy need to change that! I hope a good burger is in your near future 🙂
Amazing! The homemade pickles made it extra special………
Thanks 🙂
Looks so delicious!
Thanks, Julie!