The only dude more excited about the holiday than we are...
Why are we just now being informed of National Cheeseburger Day? We've got some make-up celebrating to do.
Below you'll find a recipe from Chef Andrew Gaddis of the The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Raleigh-Durham.
If you'd like someone else to do the heavy lifting, go to page 91 of our August issue for a rundown of some of Durham's best burger joints. Or you could always stop by The District at 410, the excellent AI student-run restaurant on the ground floor of American Tobacco's Fowler Building, open for lunch Thursdays and Fridays.
We at Durham Magazine wish you and yours a very merry National Cheeseburger Day.
The District Burger
Burger Patties
20 oz ground beef 70/30
kosher salt
black pepper, freshly ground
Poblano Cheese Spread
2 oz Cheddar cheese, grated
1 oz Monterey Jack, grated
1 poblano chile, roasted, peeled, seeded, cut into 1”x ¼ “ strips
1 garlic clove, finely minced
½ tsp Texas Pete
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
Fried Green Tomato
1 green tomato, cut into four ¼” slices
flour, for dusting
egg
plain breadcrumbs, panko preferably
vegetable oil, for frying
Baconnaise
4 Tbsp mayonnaise, Duke's brand
4 bacon slices, thick cut, cooked crispy, fat reserved
½ Tbsp apple cider vinegar
Woeber’s Sandwich Pal, Sweet and Spicy Mustard
4 Glazed Yeast Burger Buns, sliced and toasted
8 Butter lettuce leaves, rinsed and patted dry
Preparation
In a mixing bowl, break up the ground beef into small pieces and season with salt and pepper. Mix the meat well and divide into four equal balls. Knead the balls in your hands until the fat and meat combine and become sticky, this will help hold the patties together during cooking.
For the cheese spread, mix all ingredients together and taste for seasoning, add more Texas Pete if desired.
Season the green tomato slices with salt on both sides and allow five minutes for them to absorb the salt, then bread them by dusting in flour, dipping in an egg wash (an egg whisked with 1 Tbsp of water in a bowl) and finally in breadcrumbs.
Chop the bacon into small bits and mix with mayonnaise and cider vinegar, if the mixture is too thick, add some of the reserved bacon fat to thin.
Assembly
Cook the burgers in a large pan to desired temperature, 165°F if the beef is not freshly ground, flipping once. Top with the poblano cheese spread and cover the pan to melt the cheese.
In a separate pan, heat vegetable oil over medium heat and fry the green tomatoes until they are golden brown, drain on paper towels until the burgers are ready to assemble.
On the toasted buns, spread baconnaise on the tops and Woeber’s mustard on the bottom. Add the patties with melted cheese, a fried green tomato slice, and lettuce to the bottoms sequentially and then press the tops down to hold it all together. Do not attempt to put this burger down once you’ve started eating it, as things will fall apart.
