not your parents' cheeseburger

​One day in the New York Times newspaper, they featured a recipe by Kay Chun for Korean Cheeseburger with Sesame-Cucumber Pickles. This simple, yet delicious recipe was packed with tons of flavor.
 
For the recipe you’ll need distilled white vinegar, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, turbinado sugar, Persian cucumbers, low-sodium soy sauce, scallions, fresh garlic, mayonnaise, roasted sesame seed oil, ground beef (preferably chuck or sirloin), American cheese, hamburger buns, butter lettuce, sliced onions and sliced tomatoes.  

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​The accompanying pickles are a must to make. If you’ve never made homemade pickles before you’ll be amazed how easy it is and they enhance this burger experience. Once the pickles are prepared, it’s on to the sauce that gets mixed into the beef. For the record, I prefer Pat LaFrieda Original Blend Beef Hamburger meat which is a blend of chuck, brisket and short rib meat. Flavoring the ground beef is a marinade of soy sauce, scallions, garlic, fresh ground black pepper and granulated sugar. A tablespoon is reserved to be mixed with mayonnaise and sesame oil.
 
The burgers get a brushing of the marinade on both sides before going under the broiler. Once the burgers have turned a beautiful golden brown, top with a slice of American cheese. I popped mine back into the oven for a minute to make sure the cheese enrobed the burger, but didn’t brown. To serve, I used brioche burger rolls that were smeared with a bit of the seasoned mayonnaise, next I placed two thin cooked burgers on top and lastly a layer of lettuce. I skewered two pickles and placed on top of the burger.
 
What a scrumptious burger, my husband really enjoyed it. The pickles were also a nice change from the normal dill or bread and butter pickles that I usually keep on hand. Overall, a wonderful meal, company worthy, too!

Korean Cheeseburgers with Sesame-Cucumber Pickles
By Kay Chun, The New York Times
 “Here to Help” column, May 13, 2022
 
Yield 4 Servings
Time 25 minutes
 
INGREDIENTS
 
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
 Kosher salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar
2 large Persian cucumbers, sliced 1/8-inch-thick
¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons chopped scallions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
½ cup mayonnaise
2 ½ teaspoons roasted sesame oil
1 ½ pounds ground beef (preferably chuck or sirloin)
4 slices American cheese
4 hamburger buns
 Butter lettuce, sliced onions and sliced tomatoes, for serving

​PREPARATION

1. In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add cucumbers and toss to coat, then let stand at room temperature.
2. Heat broiler to high and set oven rack 6 inches from heat. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, scallions, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Mix well, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Transfer 1 tablespoon of the marinade to a small bowl and stir in mayonnaise and ½ teaspoon sesame oil. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, combine beef and 3 tablespoons of the scallion marinade. Gently mix to incorporate. Form into 8 thin patties (each about 4 ½ inches wide) and arrange in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush tops with half of the marinade. Flip and brush with the remaining marinade. Broil until golden and caramelized on top, about 4 minutes.
4. Arrange cheese on 4 patties, top with the remaining patties and let stand until cheese melts, about 1 minute.
5. Pour off all the liquid from the cucumbers and stir in the remaining 2 teaspoons sesame oil.
6. Smear the cut side of the buns with some of the seasoned mayonnaise. Arrange bottom buns on plates. Layer with lettuce, onion, tomato, double-stack burgers, pickles and top bun. Serve with extra pickles on the side.