Don't Make This Unappetizing Mistake When Assembling Cheeseburgers

You can have the highest quality meat, the softest bread bun, the fanciest cheese, and still end up with an unsatisfying cheeseburger. That's because it's not all about the ingredients. Assembling a good burger comes down to timing and temperature — especially when you're putting cheese on the patty. Doing this one moment too late could mean you never get that melty, ooey-gooey bite signature to a good cheeseburger.

It's a relatively common mistake to add cheese after you have taken the patty off the grill, hoping that the residual heat will melt the cheese to its full potential. Unfortunately, that won't be enough. Lacking sufficient, stable heat and moisture, the cheese won't fully melt onto the meat's surface and hug the patty's edges as desired. Instead, the slice will merely sit on top as an entirely separate layer. Cold, stiff, unappetizing, and utterly disappointing.

Right when the patty is about to finish cooking — one or two minutes prior — that's when you should add the cheese. At this point, there's still enough heat to ensure that the cheese gradually melts and completely fuses into the meat. Any time sooner, and you will risk burning or dripping it all over the grill. In the case of double patties, in which the cheese is layered in the middle, this step is usually done after you have just flipped the individual patties and are about to stack them. Heated from both sides, it will melt much quicker and seamlessly bind the two patties together.

Along with the timing, there are also other ways to further along the cheese's melting process once it meets the patty. You can try out the Bobby Flay trick for perfectly melted cheese on your burgers by adding a splash of water to the skillet before covering it with a lid for around 30 seconds. Another quick approach is using the oven's broiler, which takes about the same amount of time. Once done, if you want a bit charred around the edges, it's worth exploring how to torch a burger. Get it right, and this extra step can give you restaurant-worthy burgers imbued with a smoky undertone as the cheese decadently melts into every morsel of meat.

No less important are the cheese varieties. Not all cheeses melt equally. The best type of cheese that melts seamlessly over your burgers, unsurprisingly, is the all-time classic American cheese. Its meltability is unparalleled each time, and that familiar tangy, salty taste? It never gets old. Of course, there are also other options for achieving that coveted stringy, gooey consistency. It can be mozzarella and its milky smoothness, or Gruyère's buttery, creamy richness. That good old package of cheddar can also work a miracle as it drips over the edges of the juicy meat. All in all, as long as it's a young cheese with a high moisture content, there's a pretty good chance it will be a great fit for your cheeseburger.