The Best Basic Beef Burger

We have safely made it back from Mexico. After a cancelled flight out of Dallas, being redirected out of the way through Miami, surviving Tropical Storm Alex for 2 1/2 days, tackling 30 mph winds every single day, shielding 24 hour sandblasts, and not melting from the most extreme humidity known to mankind, we truly did have an amazing trip. Despite all of this, we managed to enjoy every moment of our time together. We ate decent food, drank plenty of Dos XX, mastered every 2 player card game we remembered from childhood, and came back golden brown and relaxed. Brian even managed to significantly improve his Spanish speaking skills. (He practiced non-stop for the entire trip and I am still waiting for it to wear off.) Unfortunately, there are no pictures as proof we had fun...every time we brought out the camera, it completely fogged up.

After eating resort food for an entire week (which was better than expected) we came home craving our local Texas favorites. The night we got in we hit up Fernando's for some of our favorite Tex Mex enchiladas, last night we had Louie's for great pizza, and tonight...what better than homemade juicy cheeseburgers.

We've made good burgers before and I think my favorite is still the hatch chile burger we made last summer. I cannot wait to give that another go round this year...

Anyway, tonight's burger came in 2nd place as far as Bischoff home burger's go. It was EXTREMLY juicy and full of flavor. It was so easy and fast too. We didn't even bother heating up the outdoor grill. We just straight up cooked 'em in the cast iron skillet.

Best Basic Beef Burger (recipe by The Bischoff's)

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 tbls soft butter

2 large soft buns (we use the freshly made ones from Central Market)

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 lb beef chuck (80% lean meat, 20% fat)

Vegetable oil

4 slices of your favorite cheddar cheese (no American...we've talked about this)

4 slices tomato (we used heirloom because they are in season and perfect right now)

2 leaves of lettuce

Pickles (this is totally up to you whether you want sweet, dill, or a combination. this is an important piece, so think about it...we found the most amazing homemade pickles at Central Market that are perfectly sweet, sour and a tad bit spicy)

Thinly sliced red onion

2 tbls mayonnaise

1 tbls mustard

Directions

Start by dividing the 1 lb of beef into 2 patties and let it come to room temperature. Season each patty liberally with salt and pepper on each side.

Heat a large cast iron skillet to medium high heat. Add a small amount of vegetable oil and wait for it to heat through. Once the oil is hot, add both patties to the pan and cook 3-4 minutes per side for medium. (The amount of time will vary depending on the width and size of your patties).

Meanwhile, spread the softened butter on each side of the buns and toast until golden brown on the inside, but still soft on the outside.

After the first 3-4 minutes is up, flip the patties and cook for 1 minute. Add 2 slices of cheese to each patty and cook for about 3 minutes longer.

Remove the patties from the skillet and let rest on a plate for about 5-10 minutes. (You want all those wonderful juices to redistribute themselves into the meat and not all over your plate when you cut or bite into your burger.) Note: the burger is still ridiculously juicy after letting it rest...make sure you have a roll of paper towels nearby.

Assemble your burger...Brian and I assemble differently, but the goal is to put something on the bottom bun that creates a barrier. Brian puts mayo and I put lettuce...either way, it keeps the juices from the beef from creating a soggy bun.

We paired our burgers with a mustardy potato salad and some Malbec.