Cheeseburgers Are 10X More Juicy And Flavorful When You Cook Them Like This

Every cheeseburger fan has a favorite cooking method. Grilling brings a smoky char, while a smashburger on the flat top provides good caramelization and crispy edges. One method you may have never tried, or even thought possible, however, is deep frying. You can make a deep-fried cheeseburger with just a few inches of oil in a deep-sided skillet.

Deep frying is actually a very old method for making hamburgers that predates flat top griddles. The easiest method is to make a burger patty as you normally would and press it flat, like you're making a smashburger. Then, carefully lift it with a spatula and ease it into a skillet of hot oil. You want it at about 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Let it cook until the surface develops a brown crust, about three to four minutes depending on thickness. Because it's fully immersed in oil, that crust gives your burger a crispy, fried texture while the inside remains juicy and moist.

To make it a cheeseburger, add a slice while the burger is still cooking. Lift the patty from the oil, place cheese on top, and then dip it back in the oil briefly to melt the cheese. You could also spoon oil over the cheese. This is how it's done at Dyer's Burgers in Memphis, Tennessee, one of the best classic roadside burger joints in the country. The result is a crispy crust and juicy interior, all dripping with the most perfectly melted cheese. Stack a couple for a double cheeseburger, and it's extra decadent.

There are several methods you could try for deep-frying a hamburger, and how you prepare the patty will affect the final product. A thick burger deep-fried in a pot of oil could work, but the burgers may end up misshapen and more like meatballs. It will also be harder to get the center fully cooked before the outside gets overcooked. That's why using a thinner patty is ideal.

Some recipes show you how to make versions like a cheese-stuffed, bacon-wrapped, deep-fried hamburger, but they can be remarkably complex and involve pre-cooking both the bacon and the burger, breading the whole thing, and then deep-frying. That's always an option, but it adds a lot of steps.

While vegetable oil works fine, some recommend deep-frying your burger in beef tallow, which you can make with the help of your grocery store. There's even one method that involves melting cheese to render out the oil and using that to deep-fry the burger. You'll definitely get a richer flavor that way, but it's not a necessary step and may be more complicated than you'd like.

Those who have tried making deep-fried burgers at home recommend making sure your oil is up to temperature, so use a thermometer to get the temperature right. Also, make sure the burgers don't overcook, as they can become dry and crumbly very fast. You'll want to eat your cheeseburger soon after cooking, as the texture may suffer from sitting too long.