Burgers and cheeses
A quick look at burgers(article from 2 weeks ago), and in particular the cheese in burgers, many of you have asked me about this, and how to get cheese to melt in your burgers.
9,908 4.8/5 (16 reviews)
Keywords for this post:BurgersCheeseCookingChoiceLast modified on: April 24th 2021
Burgers and cheeses
It's true that cheese is a common ingredient in burgers, for the famous cheeseburger of course, but also as one of the ingredients, among others.
Either you want to have a dominant cheese taste (like a cheeseburger), or it's an ingredient that works well with many other ingredients.
The important thing is to use a good cheese, with a good taste, and if you want it to melt, to follow a little trick.
But to make a long story short, there are 3 really essential points:
1) Try to avoid, if possible, the so-called "hamburger cheese", fluorescent orange squares, soft and flat, in plastic, with an implausible composition for what is supposed to be cheese, and which contains actually very little cheese. It's tempting to buy it because it melts quickly, but it's not really top notch.
2) And then, go for real good cheese instead. Soft cheeses like Morbier, Saint-nectaire, Mozzarella, raclette, Camembert, or others, which you cut into thin slices as possible (yes, it's not easy), work by themselves.
Note however that other firmer cheeses are also possible, I'm thinking in particular of Comté (my favorite) or Cheddar, both old, cut into thin strips with a peeler or grated coarsely, they don't melt as much, but bring a rather top taste to the burger.
3) That's really the trick: When you're cooking the steaks on the second side, you've just flipped them over, put the cheese strips directly on top of the steaks in the pan/plancha while they're cooking, you can even cover the pan to make it easier to melt, or cover the burger with a bowl, and leave it on standby like that, in the warmth, before assembling your burger.
When ready to assemble, remove the steak + melted cheese with a spatula and place them on the bun before continuing with the other ingredients.
In summary: Real good cheese if possible, and put on the meat at the end of cooking still in the pan, possibly covered, to facilitate its melting.
Either you want to have a dominant cheese taste (like a cheeseburger), or it's an ingredient that works well with many other ingredients.
The important thing is to use a good cheese, with a good taste, and if you want it to melt, to follow a little trick.
But to make a long story short, there are 3 really essential points:
1) Try to avoid, if possible, the so-called "hamburger cheese", fluorescent orange squares, soft and flat, in plastic, with an implausible composition for what is supposed to be cheese, and which contains actually very little cheese. It's tempting to buy it because it melts quickly, but it's not really top notch.
2) And then, go for real good cheese instead. Soft cheeses like Morbier, Saint-nectaire, Mozzarella, raclette, Camembert, or others, which you cut into thin slices as possible (yes, it's not easy), work by themselves.
Note however that other firmer cheeses are also possible, I'm thinking in particular of Comté (my favorite) or Cheddar, both old, cut into thin strips with a peeler or grated coarsely, they don't melt as much, but bring a rather top taste to the burger.
3) That's really the trick: When you're cooking the steaks on the second side, you've just flipped them over, put the cheese strips directly on top of the steaks in the pan/plancha while they're cooking, you can even cover the pan to make it easier to melt, or cover the burger with a bowl, and leave it on standby like that, in the warmth, before assembling your burger.
When ready to assemble, remove the steak + melted cheese with a spatula and place them on the bun before continuing with the other ingredients.
In summary: Real good cheese if possible, and put on the meat at the end of cooking still in the pan, possibly covered, to facilitate its melting.
Lasts posts
XO Cognac Explained: Meaning, Aging, and Flavor Profile
XO Cognac always goes beyond the labels on the bottle: it is often associated with tradition and quality. You get to appreciate the artistry, character and ageing process when you understand what defines this smooth Cognac. The section below tackles everything about XO Cognac, from complex flavour...January 28th 2026258 Sponsored article
Butter vs. grease
We often read in a recipe where a pastry is put into a mould that, just before pouring, the mould should be buttered or greased. But what's the difference between these 2 terms?December 1st 20252,3555
Getting out of the fridge early
Very often when you're cooking, you need to take food or preparations out of the fridge, to use them in the recipe in progress. There's nothing tricky about this: you just take them out of the fridge and use them, usually immediately, in the recipe. But is this really a good method?November 24th 20251,5505
Who's making the croissants?
When you look at a bakery from the outside, you naturally think that in the bakery, the bakers make the bread, and in the laboratory, the pastry chefs make the cakes. It's very often like that, with each of these professions having quite different ways of working, but sometimes there's also one...November 23th 20251,402
Oven height
When we put a dish or cake in the oven, we naturally tend to put it on the middle shelf, and that's what we usually do. But in some cases, this position and height can be a little tricky, so let's find out why.October 8th 20254,4495
Other pages you may also like
The 3 kinds of meringue
Meringue – what could be simpler? Just beaten egg whites with sugar added. This makes a fairly stiff mixture which can then be cooked in a cool oven to create those lovely, light confections. But in the world of professional patisserie, meringue comes in three different kinds. Even if the...June 14th 201365 K4.5
The golden-brown finish on puff pastry
Let's take a look at the tricky matter of producing puff pastry with an attractive, golden-brown finish. French pastry chefs call this "dorure" (literally, "gilding"). Behind this quirky term there lurks a real problem (and the solution): when using puff pastry (pâte feuilletée) for a pie, or...February 8th 201848 K 24.6
Balancing flavours
In the kitchen, we sometimes use ingredients that can be a little overwhelming in taste. Grilled lardons, for example, are very good, they give a great taste to a lot of recipes where they are added, but you have to be objective, they're still pretty fatty!November 7th 20209,1345
Raising (or leavening) agents
When we want to make a dough or batter rise when baking, either in patisserie or bread-making, we need to use a raising agent or leavening agent, one of which is called leaven. In the context of baking, a raising agent is simply what "makes something rise". It is a substance which, when added to...June 16th 202157 K4.8
Steam for baking bread
What does steam have to do with bread-making? This is not only a bakers' secret, it is something you might not think of at all: if you make bread and bake it like a cake, you will end up with bread, but pale and with a thick, hard crust – a long way from the golden-brown crusty loaf you had in...June 16th 2021148 K4.5
Post a comment or question
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.