Can you believe that in over two years of Edible Witness, I still haven’t talked about burgers? It’s shocking, considering I am the kind of person who will flip past a Burger King commercial at 11:30pm and decide then and there that I need a cheeseburger immediately. And what with the near saturation of the “gourmet burger” market in Toronto, it seems like the right time to finally talk about it. But be warned: this is a back-to-basics, proper cheeseburger recipe, designed for the purists who like their burgers decidedly a little more pedestrian. Cheese, pickles, onions, ketchup, mustard, white bun. And freshly ground beef.
Inspiration for this recipe undoubtedly goes to the Burger’s Priest, which opened its first location in the east end of Toronto a couple years ago to a population rabid for a classic, no-frills burger, and has since expanded to an uptown location (with rumours of another location in the West end to come). The first time I went there and spied the loosely packed mounds of freshly ground beef, seasoned only with salt and cooked to crispy, juicy perfection on a griddle, I realized that I’d been doing it all wrong — overseasoning the beef, using too many binding agents and packing the patties into dense, meatball-like pucks so they’d stay together on the grill.
So — you need a good, fatty cut of beef, and you want it freshly ground and loosely packed. And you want to cook it on a really hot, flat surface to get a good seared crust. A cast iron pan works great; no grill required. However, if you can’t even fathom burgers without a BBQ, hat tip to the Globe’s Chris Nuttall-Smith, who beat me to it and broke down the perfect burger in a similar fashion, and who provided the ingenious idea of using your cast iron pan on the BBQ to get a smoky flavour, without losing the griddle effect. After that, the rest is up to you in terms of toppings, but this one calls for the classics (Nuttall-Smith even opts for processed cheese slices, like they do at Burger’s Priest).
Note: If you have the equipment, I would really make the attempt to grind your own beef. I use the Kitchen-Aid stand mixer grinder attachment and it works fine. However, your butcher will also do it for you if you ask, or alternately, and high quality pre-ground beef will still make a very good burger using this cooking method. We usually just get chuck, with a decent amount of fat (don’t bother with “lean” beef); others like to mix it up and add brisket or even sirloin.
Classic Cheeseburgers
Makes 5-6 regular sized burgers, or about 8 smaller patties that can be stacked as doubles
1 1/2 lbs beef chuck
Kosher Salt
6-8 thin slices aged cheddar cheese
4-6 soft, white hamburger buns
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tomato, thinly sliced
Sliced kosher dill pickles
Ketchup, mustard, and other burger condiments you like
1. If you’re grinding the meat, cut it into one-to-two-inch chunks and make sure it’s really cold (you can chill for about 20 minutes in the freezer in advance — and chill your grinding plate and blade as well to keep the meat cold and easier to grind). Grind using a fine plate into a large mixing bowl. If not grinding at home, empty beef into a large bowl.
2. On a parchment- or wax paper–lined baking sheet or cutting board, divide the beef into loosely packed balls, roughly the size of a baseball. Season generously with salt. Smaller patties will cook better (and you can always double them up!). Prep your garnishes so everything is ready.
3. Heat a lightly oiled cast iron pan on medium-high heat (or a heavy-bottomed, seasoned or nonstick pan). Gently place three or four patties at a time in the pan (avoid crowding), cooking for 2 minutes. Flip each burger and top with cheese, cooking for another 2 minutes for medium-rare, 3 for medium. You can cover the pan to hasten the melting of the cheese. Repeat with remaining burgers if necessary.
4. Divide burgers onto buns, and top as desired.
Sara Chan is a Toronto-based entertainment lawyer, food enthusiast, unprofessional home chef and even less professional food photographer. Her favourite food group is pork.
Photo by Glen MacLarty