All-American Burgers

We love burgers loaded with a lot of flavorful toppings, but a “Dagwood” style burger can be nearly impossible to eat. The toppings slide out from beneath the bun and end up covering everything but the burger itself. Is there way of putting the toppings inside the burger where they can’t fall out? Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

• Add the ingredients straight into the burger mix. Fine-chopped, cooked bacon, shredded cheese, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce can all be mixed directly into the ground beef.
• Use firm cheese like sharp cheddar so that the burger doesn’t become mushy.
• To prevent the cheese-infused burger from being too greasy, use relatively lean 85 percent lean ground beef.
• Combine the ground beef and flavorings gently; otherwise the burgers may be tough.
• Because of the ingredients mixed into the meat, we found it best to cook the burgers to well-done. The cheese keeps them from being dry or tough.