When it comes to the best all-American cheeseburger recipe, your focus should always start with the cheese. It’s not enough to choose something with a flavor that matches your other ingredients — you also have to consider meltability. Food Republic spoke with Troy Guard, owner and executive chef of TAG Restaurant Group, to get his thoughts on the absolute best cheese for a burger.
“For me, medium cheddar is the ultimate burger cheese,” Guard said. “Unlike American cheese, which is mild and mostly about texture, medium cheddar still melts well while bringing a richer taste that adds just the right amount of sharpness without overpowering the burger.” From its iconic orange hue to its semi-hard texture, chefs love cheddar for its versatility. Despite having relatively low moisture, a factor that often contributes to how well a cheese responds to heat, it melts extremely well whether in a dry environment like a grill or a wet one like a mac n’ cheese sauce.
“Cheddar is also a versatile cheese that pairs well with anything from traditional burger toppings to [barbecue] sauce,” Guard explained. Whereas mild cheddar might get lost in your burger’s other flavors and sharp may be the only thing you can taste, medium cheddar strikes the perfect balance of flavor, meltability, and texture. With so much versatility, you can incorporate medium cheddar into your burger in a number of different ways, from mixing it into your meat to melting it directly onto the bun.
How to use medium cheddar for your burger
The classic cheeseburger cooking method is to lay a slice of cheese on the patty during the final minutes of its cook, trapping heat and steam with a lid or bowl, and letting it melt while the final side develops a flavorful crust. In fact, this is how Bobby Flay perfectly melts cheese for his burger — by using a lid and a couple teaspoons of water. While this may be the most popular, and one of the easiest methods, there’s nothing stopping you from experimenting with new ones.
Before you form your patties, try sprinkling some shredded medium cheddar over the meat! While your patties cook, the cheese melts directly into the meat, guaranteeing cheesiness with every bite. This is an especially great method if you want to give your cheeseburger the breakfast treatment with a fried egg or load up on other larger toppings like bacon, avocado, or thick slices of tomato.
If you love the flavor of browned, baked cheese, try laying a slice of medium cheddar onto your bun and toasting it under the broiler. While this may not be quite as melty and stringy as melting it in a steamy, meat juice-rich environment, some people love the more savory, earthy taste similar to cheese toast. This is a great choice if you like to keep your hands clean, as the cheddar likely won’t melt down the sides of the patty or mix with condiments to form a soupy, dripping mess.
