Jucy Lucy Cheeseburger Food

JUICY LUCY BURGERS

Steps:

• Combine ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and pepper in a large bowl; mix well. Form 8, thin patties from the beef. Each patty should be slightly larger than a slice of cheese.
• Cut each slice of American cheese into 4 equal pieces; stack the pieces. Sandwich one stack of cheese between 2 ground beef patties. Tightly pinch edges together tightly seal the cheese within the meat. Repeat with the remaining cheese and patties.
• Preheat a cast-iron or other heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. Cook burgers until well browned, about 4 minutes. It is common for burgers to puff up due to steam from the melting cheese. Turn burgers and prick the top of each to allow steam to escape; cook until browned on the outside and no longer pink on the inside; about 4 minutes. Serve on hamburger buns.

JUICY LUCY BURGERS

Steps:

• Form the ground beef into 8 equal sized balls.
• Press each ball flat, to about ¼ of an inch thick.
• Fold each slice of cheese into fourths, you will end up with a little square.
• Place the squares of folded cheese onto 4 of the patties, then cover with the remaining 4 patties. Gently press the edges of the burger to seal the top and bottom layer, then gently form into rounds with your hands.
• Place a heavy non-stick skillet or cast iron pan over medium high heat. When the pan is hot place the patties in the pan and season the tops generously with salt and pepper. Leave the patties to cook for about 6 minutes, then flip.
• After you flip your patties, season again with salt and pepper. Cook for another 6 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and transfer to a plate. Allow the burgers to rest 5 minutes before serving.
• If you want your buns toasted, you can brush with butter and place them face down on a skillet, heating until edges are golden and crispy.

CHEESE STUFFED BURGER (JUICY LUCY)

Steps:

• To a large skillet, add bacon strips and heat over MED-LOW heat. Cook until bacon is cooked to your desired crispness, then transfer bacon to a paper-towel lined plate to cool. Drain all but about a tablespoon of the bacon grease, reserving that last Tbsp in the pan.
• Increase heat under the same skillet to MED heat. Add sliced onion and cook 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove onions to a plate, and turn off heat.
• Divide the beef into 8 equal portions and shape into balls. On a flat surface, lay down a sheet of wax paper and top with a ball of ground beef. Top with another sheet of wax paper and use a flat bottomed pan to press the meat into 1/4-1/2 inch patties. Repeat with remaining patties.
• To one of the thin patties, top with 1/8 cup cheddar cheese, a tablespoon or two of the onions, and another 1/8 cup cheese. Leave a border around the patty. Top with another thin patty, pressing the edges of the top and bottom patty together to seal well. Shape into a thick burger patty. *See recipe notes section below for a video instruction link to this part*
• Double check burger to make sure there are no holes, then season well with salt and pepper.
• In the same skillet, add a drizzle of olive oil and the butter and heat over MED heat. Add burgers to pan (I like to cook 2 burgers at a time to make sure I have room to flip them carefully), and cook approximately 8 minutes, until burgers are brown up the sides. Use a wide spatula and carefully flip burger to the other side and cook another 5 minutes or so, until golden brown.

JUICY LUCY

Steps:

• Lightly mix 6 ounces ground beef chuck with a big pinch of kosher salt. Form into two equal balls, and then shape into two flat patties. Lay two slices American cheese between them and form the meat around the cheese; make an indentation in the center of the patty. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat; sprinkle the skillet with salt. Cook the burger 4 to 5 minutes per side. Serve on a soft bun.

GIANT BACON-CHEDDAR JUICY LUCY BURGER

Steps:

• Line a 9-inch round cake pan with aluminum foil. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of the Montreal steak seasoning. Press half of the ground beef into the cake pan. Layer the cheese in the middle, leaving a 1/2- to 1-inch border around the side. Sprinkle with another 2 teaspoons of the Montreal steak seasoning. Top with the remaining ground beef in an even layer and press to seal in the cheese. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 teaspoons Montreal steak seasoning. Lift out the burger from the cake pan using the foil and flatten it with your hands to about 11 inches in diameter. Refrigerate until ready to cook; the burger can be assembled up to 2 hours in advance.
• Whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard and pickle brine in a small bowl until smooth. Cover and refrigerate.
• Remove most of the soft insides from the top of the loaf of bread to make it fairly hollow. Reserve for another use.
• Prepare a grill for direct and indirect heat: For gas grills (with 3 or more burners), turn all the burners to medium-high heat; after about 15 minutes, turn off one of the side burners and turn the remaining burners down to medium. For charcoal grills, bank one chimney starter-full of lit and ashed-over charcoal briquettes to one side of the grill. Set up a drip pan on the other side to avoid flare-ups. (Be sure to consult the grill manufacturer's guide for best results.) If your grill has a thermometer, aim to keep the temperature at about 350 degrees F throughout grilling.
• Oil the grill grates. Hold the burger on the foil bottom and flip it onto the indirect-heat side of the grill; peel off the foil. Cook until the sides of the burger are cooked and it feels firm when you lift it with a spatula, 8 to 10 minutes depending on the heat of your grill. Using 2 spatulas, carefully flip the burger (if you have a large fish spatula, use it here); try not to create any holes through which the cheese could escape. Cover the grill and cook until the burger is cooked through and the cheese is melted, 5 to 8 minutes more. (If you would like more char on the burger, move it to the direct-heat side of the grill for 1 to 2 minutes per side.) Transfer to a plate.
• Brush the cut sides of the bread with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill on the direct-heat side of the grill until the bread has grill marks and is nicely toasted, about 3 minutes.
• Put the bottom half of the bread on a large serving platter or cutting board. Spread with half the mustard sauce. Put the burger on top and top with the tomatoes, onions, pickles and bacon. Spread the top of the bread with the remaining mustard sauce and fill with the lettuce. Put the top on the burger and cut into 8 wedges.

CHEF JOHN'S JUICY LUCY

Steps:

• Divide beef into two 3-ounce balls. Lightly moisten fingertips with water and press beef into patties about 1/4-inch thick. Drop Worcestershire sauce over patties; rub in lightly. Sprinkle garlic powder, black pepper, salt, and cayenne on top and rub in.
• Cut a circle of cheese using a pastry cutter or the rim of a glass. Place cheese onto 1 patty; cover with the other patty. Press edges together carefully. Flip and continue pressing until fully sealed. Season both sides with a little salt.
• Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook patty for 5 minutes per side for medium doneness. Place patty on one half of a bun. Top with tomato, lettuce, and the other half of the bun.

JUICY LUCY BURGER

Steps:

• In a small bowl, stir together 2 teaspoons salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Divide the beef into four equal portions, then halve each of those portions. Gently roll each portion into a ball using the palm of your hand, then flatten each into a disk shape on a large cutting board, pressing with your fingers and palm until just over 4 inches wide and 1/4-inch thick. Repeat to form eight patties. Season both sides of each patty with the salt-and-pepper blend.
• Add one slice cheese to the center of one patty, folding any overhanging corners of the cheese inward. Using a spatula, lift another patty from the cutting board and place it on top of the cheese, pressing gently to connect both patties. Gently pinch the edges of the patties together to thoroughly seal, then use your fingers to round the edges by pressing and patting along the perimeter. Repeat with the remaining patties, forming three more burgers, and set aside.
• In a large (preferably 12-inch) cast-iron skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; sprinkle with sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, adding 2 tablespoons water about every 5 minutes to prevent burning, until tender and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Once the onions are caramelized, transfer them to a bowl. (If you have any bits left in the pan, wipe them out.)
• Add the oil to the skillet to lightly coat the bottom and heat over medium-high until scalding-hot, about 2 minutes. Add the burgers and cook until seared and dark brown on the outside, 3 to 5 minutes per side. (You'll want to let the burgers cook undisturbed as long as possible to develop a crisp sear and to prevent them from splitting. Their insides will cook through by the time the outsides form a proper sear. Resist the urge to cut them open, as the cheese will spurt out.) Transfer burgers to a clean cutting board to rest.
• Meanwhile, toast the buns: Scrape up and remove from the pan any cheese that may have leaked, leaving a thin layer of accumulated fat in the pan. Reduce the heat to medium. Working in batches, toast the buns cut-side down until warmed and toasted in spots, about 1 minute. Form sandwiches by layering pickles, patties, then caramelized onions on buns. Serve immediately.

JUCY LUCY CHEESEBURGER

Steps:

• Preheat grill to 400°F.
• 1. Place beef, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and pepper in a bowl; mix well. Portion into eight even units. Shape each portion into a thin round patty that's slightly larger than the cheese slice.
• 2. Fold cheese slices in half twice so you have a little stack of quartered cheese slices. Place a folded cheese stack on 4 the patties, covering cheese with remaining 4 patties.
• 3. Tightly crimp the edges of the patties together to form a tight seal.
• 4. Did you make a tight seal? I hope so, because it needs to be TIGHT to avoid a blowout as the cheese melts, creates steam, and tries to find its way out of its meaty prison.
• 5. Preheat a cast-iron skillet or heavy-bottomed pan to medium heat (or fire up a medium-hot bed of coals on your backyard grill), and cook burgers over heat 3 to 4 minutes on first side. Burger may puff up due to steam from melting cheese. This is normal. Do not be alarmed.
• 6. Flip, and using toothpick, prick top of burger to allow for steam escape. Allow burger to cook 3 to 4 minutes on this side.
• 7. Remove patties from pan or grill. Bun those suckers, slap some condiments on, and dig inches.