Juicy Lucy

Ingredients

• 2 lb ground chuck, 80/20
• 8 slices American cheese
• 4 soft hamburger buns
• 2 tbsp salted butter
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced yellow onion
• 8 dill pickle chips

Before you cook

• Fold each slice of cheese into quarters and stack the folded squares into 4 tight pucks of two slices each.
• Divide the beef into 8 equal balls and flatten each into a thin patty about 5 inches across.
• Set a cheese puck in the center of 4 of the patties, cover each with a second patty, and pinch the edges together all the way around, sealing firmly so no cheese can escape.
• Season the sealed patties on both sides with salt and pepper.

Steps

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat, not higher, since high heat will burst the seams.
2. Lay the stuffed patties in the skillet and cook for 5 minutes without touching them.
3. Flip the patties carefully with a wide spatula and cook for 5 minutes more, until deeply browned and firm.
4. Poke a small vent in the top of each patty with the tip of a knife to keep the pressure down, then cook 1 minute longer.
5. Move the patties to a plate and let them rest for 5 minutes so the cheese cools from lava to lava-adjacent.
6. Melt the butter in the same skillet and toast the buns cut side down for about 1 minute.
7. Set a patty on each bun bottom.
8. Top with sliced onion and two pickle chips.
9. Close the burgers and warn everyone at the table to take a small first bite.