The Juiciest Juicy Lucy
Here's how to guarantee a molten, melty cheese filling every time.
Why It Works
Making your own American cheese instead of using store-bought singles enhances the flavor and meltability of the burger’s cheesy core (and it takes just 15 minutes).
Adding gelatin to the beef keeps the patty juicy even when cooked through.
Flattening the patties with a skillet is an easy way to shape them to an even thickness.
Turn a cheeseburger inside out and you get Minnesota’s Juicy Lucy, a beef patty with an ooey-gooey cheese center, usually nestled on a bun with pickles and griddled onions. For many visitors to the Twin Cities, it’s a curiosity—worth a pilgrimage to Matt’s Bar, the iconic Minneapolis dive that likely invented it in the 1950s. For many locals, it’s lunch.
“It’s a cheeseburger with a little flair,” says Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, a Twin Cities food writer who has been covering the burger for nearly thirty years. “Everybody likes a cheeseburger.”
To hear Grumdahl tell it, national food writers overthink it. For one thing, they make too much of the supposed rivalry between Matt’s and The 5-8 Club, another Minneapolis bar and restaurant that claims the burger. “Matt’s is the one, and everything else comes from that one,” she says. “The 5-8 tries to own it, and Matt’s is like, ‘I don’t know her.’” Outsiders also spend too much time dwelling on the spelling—without an “i” at Matt’s, which has famously preserved a midcentury typo (“Jucy”) on the menu, and with one pretty much everywhere else.
The Truth About the Juicy Lucy
Minnesotans are far less fussy about the Juicy Lucy than some stories would have you believe. For one thing, they’ll accept just about any filling, as long as there’s cheese.
The version served at Matt’s calls for beef, American cheese, salt, and pepper (plus onions, pickles, and a standard-issue burger bun). That’s the baseline.
The 5-8 serves a traditional Juicy Lucy and a burger filled with a melted mixture of American cheese and creamy peanut butter, then topped with strawberry jam—a tallow-soaked take on the PB&J. Are you into blue cheese-stuffed olives? How about a blue cheese-stuffed burger? That’s the flagship Blucy at the Blue Door Pub, a Twin Cities favorite with four locations, which pairs the pungent cheese with a smattering of minced garlic. Not even the all-beef patty is a requirement. The Nook, a popular spot in St. Paul, serves a burger made from a 50-50 blend of beef and chorizo that oozes queso blanco, called the Spanish Fly.
There is no Juicy Lucy gatekeeping in the Twin Cities, Grumdahl explains. “There’s no limit to your creativity. I can absolutely see, if someone said, ‘I’m putting mango pickle in the middle!’, people would respond, ‘Oh, I’ll try it.’” In the Upper Midwest, long, cold winters inspire a lot of indoor experimentation, in the kitchen and beyond. “This is the land of the indoor enthusiast. It’s a land of knitting, and a land of model trains… you name a hobby that people do for indoor time. I think food falls in that category.”
What actually matters is that the burger lives up to its name. When you take your first bite, melted cheese and beef juices should come rushing out in a mouth-coating moment of burger bliss. “The best ones have a liquid, molten core that requires you to wait a beat, lest you scorch your mouth with scalding cheese,” wrote Natalia Mendez, a writer and another one of my go-to Twin Cities food experts, when I reached out asking for guidance. “However you make your cheese, you’ll probably need something to make sure that once it’s hot, it liquifies, instead of turning into a stretchy curd.”
How to Build a Better Juicy Lucy at Home
After eating Juicy Lucys around the Twin Cities and consulting a couple of Minnesotan experts, I was ready to start building my version of the burger. I wanted to keep it simple—beef, American cheese, salt, and pepper, the way it’s served at Matt’s—but as I worked my way through a couple dozen test batches, I noticed a consistent issue with that formula.
Turning a cheeseburger inside-out has advantages and drawbacks. Cook the burger to a juicy medium, and the cheese inside may not even be fully melted, much less molten. Overcook the burger, and you get oozy cheese and, of course, dry, crumbly beef. There may be a point of perfect equilibrium, at which both the beef and the cheese are optimally cooked, but good luck dialing that in and repeating it when you can’t even stick a thermometer into the burger, because it would create a flow channel for the cheese inside. I’ve come up with two ways to make sure your home-cooked version of the cheese-stuffed burger has the ideal gooey cheese center encased in a rich beef patty. Here’s how.
First, add a teaspoon of powdered gelatin to your beef. Since I first made Kenji’s recipe for pan-roasted chicken breasts, I have often added gelatin to my chicken stock before making a pan sauce, for a rich, mouth-coating result. In a burger, gelatin functions similarly, aiding moisture retention and creating a richer texture. Because you can’t temp these burgers, you might overcook them a little bit—and you might want to, anyway, to ensure the meltiest cheese core possible. If you overcook your patties a bit, the gelatin in the mix will ensure that the meat stays juicy.
Second, make your own “American” cheese using sodium citrate. I know—it’s more work, and you wouldn’t see homemade cheese on the menu at Matt’s. When I started developing this recipe, I told myself I wouldn’t do it. It’s too fussy for such a simple recipe. Over time, though, as I progressed from shredded cheddar to standard American to Kraft Singles, I recognized that for the best Juicy Lucy, I needed the meltiest cheese in existence, and a 15-minute investment in shredding, whisking, and chilling the DIY beer cheese got me there. As explained in our nacho cheese sauce recipe, the sodium citrate prevents the cheese from breaking into an oily mess when it’s initially heated with the beer, and it guarantees a smooth, creamy texture as the cheese melts inside the patty when cooked.
In my tests, deli-counter American cheese melted well, Kraft was gooier, and my homemade American made a filling that was coherent but almost dangerously juicy, like a beefy beer cheese soup. That’s what I wanted. Plus, using extra-sharp cheddar and beer—a tribute to the burger’s dive-bar origins—in the homemade cheese mixture adds tang and complexity to each hefty bite. If making American cheese at home is too much of a science project for your taste, store-bought American will work. It just won’t be quite as melty or flavorful.
Whether you take the time to make and mold your own cheese or you start with store-bought, there are still two rules to getting the patties right: Seal the two patties tightly, so your cheese doesn’t leak out into the skillet, and after cooking rest the burgers at least five minutes before eating, so your taste buds can survive the onslaught of melted cheese and you can safely appreciate the drippy joys of the juiciest burger on earth.
Juicy Lucy Recipe
Prep Cook Total Serves
30 mins 30 mins 60 mins 4
Ingredients
For the “American” Cheese (Optional):
1/3 cup (80g) light lager beer (see notes)
7g sodium citrate, about 1 ½ teaspoon
8 ounces (225g) extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
For the Onions:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion (8 ounces; 225g) peeled, halved, and cut into thin slices
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the Burgers:
1 1/2 pounds 80% lean ground beef
1 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin, such as Knox
1 tablespoon water
1 recipe prepared “American” Cheese (above), or 8 slices store-bought American cheese, cut into 3½-inch rounds with a biscuit cutter or a glass
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Cooked onions (recipe above)
Dill pickle slices, for serving
4 potato rolls, for serving
Directions
For the “American” cheese (if making): Adjust oven rack to its middle position and preheat oven to 200℉. Line a 9.5 x 9.5” baking pan with a piece of parchment paper, and place lined pan into the oven to keep warm. (Warming the pan ensures that the cheese will not cool and set before it settles into an even layer.)
In a small saucepan, add lager and sodium citrate and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally to dissolve sodium citrate. Once simmering, whisk in the cheese, then lower heat to medium-low and cook, whisking frequently, until cheese melts into a pale, uniform paste, 3 to 5 minutes.
Remove prepared baking pan from the oven and pour cheese sauce into the warmed pan. Working quickly, tilt the pan to distribute the cheese in a thin, even layer (use a small offset spatula to spread if necessary). Once spread, refrigerate the pan until the cheese is firm, about 15 minutes. Cover and return to the refrigerator until ready to use. (You can leave the cheese in the pan or remove the cheese, still on the parchment, from the pan and place it in a large zipper-lock bag, or wrap it in plastic wrap.)
When ready to make the burgers, remove cheese from the refrigerator and use a 3 ½- round biscuit cutter or drinking glass to punch out 4 cheese rounds. (see notes)
For the onions: While cheese cools, in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to caramelize, 10 to 15 minutes. If onions are beginning to burn before softened, add a splash of water (or, even better, a splash of the beer you used to make the beer cheese). Season with salt and pepper to taste and transfer to a bowl. Reserve the cast-iron skillet for cooking the burger.
For the burgers: Remove beef from the refrigerator 20-30 minutes before cooking, to give it time to warm to room temperature. Add it to a medium mixing bowl. In a separate small bowl, combine gelatin and 1 tablespoon water, mix well, and immediately pour over the beef. Mix into the beef thoroughly but gently, taking care not to overwork it. Shape the beef into eight 3-ounce balls—two per burger. Place each ball, one at a time, between two sheets of plastic wrap or parchment, and flatten it with the bottom of a heavy skillet, pressingly evenly and firmly, until the patties are about 5 inches wide and about 1/4-inch thick.
Place 1 flattened patty on a plate or cutting board, and place 1 beer cheese round (or two 3½-inch American cheese rounds) in the middle of each patty. Lay a second patty over the top and crimp the edges of the patties together. Carefully flip the burger and crimp the edges together on other side, taking care to seal the entire perimeter. Then, gently press the sides of the patty in to form a burger about 4-inches wide and 1/2-inch thick. Repeat until finished. Transfer flattened patties back to a large plate and refrigerate until firm to the touch, 15 minutes, or up to 24 hours.
In the now-empty cast-iron skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high heat until smoking. Season the patties generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Carefully transfer the burgers to the skillet and cook until well browned on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. (Don’t use a thermometer, which will liberate the molten cheese inside.)
Transfer the burgers to a plate, lower the heat to medium-low, and toast the buns in skillet, face-down, in two batches if necessary. Rest the patties for 5 minutes to cool the molten cheese inside slightly. Then, assemble the burgers: bottom bun, onions, patty, 3-4 pickle slices, top bun. Careful with that first bite.
Special Equipment
12-inch cast iron skillet, 9.5 x 9.5” baking pan if making the “American" cheese, parchment paper
Notes
If making the “American” cheese, feel free to substitute water or milk for the beer. You can also experiment with different kinds of cheese (warning—they may set differently, depending on their moisture content, but you should end up with something burger-worthy).
If making the “American” cheese, you will end up with cheese scraps. Use them anywhere you’d use American or melt them down with another big splash of beer to make a gooey beer cheese dip.
Feel free to add seasonings, such as mustard powder, cayenne, and granulated garlic, to the meat mixture.
Make-Ahead and Storage
The “American” cheese can be made ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition Facts(per serving)
866 Calories 56g Fat 23g Carbs 63g Protein
Nutrition Facts | |
Servings: 4 | |
Amount per serving | |
Calories | 866 |
% Daily Value* | |
Total Fat 56g | 72% |
Saturated Fat 26g | 129% |
Cholesterol 222mg | 74% |
Sodium 1093mg | 48% |
Total Carbohydrate 23g | 8% |
Dietary Fiber 2g | 9% |
Total Sugars 3g | |
Protein 63g | |
Vitamin C 1mg | 7% |
Calcium 533mg | 41% |
Iron 6mg | 35% |
Potassium 860mg | 18% |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. |
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
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