Burger Recipe

Form Patties

Place ground beef in a bowl. Sprinkle salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder over the meat. Gently mix with your hands until just combined — avoid overworking. Divide into 2 equal portions and form into flat patties about 3/4-inch thick and slightly larger than the buns (they will shrink while cooking).

Preheat & Cook

Heat a heavy skillet or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat and add vegetable oil. When shimmering, add patties. Cook without moving for 3-4 minutes until a brown crust forms. Flip and cook 3-4 minutes more for medium (adjust 1-2 minutes for rare/well-done). In the last minute of cooking, place cheddar slices on each patty and cover the pan briefly to melt.

Toast Buns

While patties rest for 2 minutes, butter the cut sides of the buns. In a separate skillet or the same pan pushed to low heat, toast buttered buns cut-side down until golden, about 1-2 minutes.

Slice tomato into 1/4-inch rounds and thinly slice red onion. Rinse and pat lettuce leaves dry. Assemble toppings so they are ready to layer on the burger.

Mix mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard in a small bowl to make a simple burger sauce. Spread about 1 tablespoon of sauce on the bottom half of each toasted bun and a thin swipe of mayo or butter on the top half if desired.

Build the burger: bottom bun with sauce, lettuce, cheese-topped patty, tomato slice, onion, pickles, top bun. Serve immediately with a second burger (the special: buy one, get one half off) or reserve the second patty for another day.