This melting burger cheese is one of the most-asked-about recipes on the channel. While we’re at it, let me clear something up: yellow burger cheese is not the same thing as cheddar. Period 🙂
The short answer
Melting burger cheese is a pourable sauce made by melting burger cheese into a béchamel of butter and flour. With 600 ml of milk and 350 g of cheese you get enough for about 10 burgers, ready in 15 minutes. Where I like it most: inside a burger and over fries.
Recipe
Melting Burger Cheese
- Prep5 min
- Cook10 min · medium to low heat
- MakesAbout 10 burgers’ worth
Ingredients
- 100 g salted butter
- 100 g flour
- 600 ml milk, at 82°C
- 350 g burger cheese, grated or finely chopped
Equipment
A few bowls, saucepan, small pot, whisk, ladle
Method
- Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat, add the flour and stir constantly so it doesn’t clump.
- Pour in the hot milk a little at a time, still stirring.
- When all the milk is in and there are no lumps, lower the heat and add the cheese. Once it melts, the sauce is ready.
Notes
- Too thick? Add milk or cream. Too thin? Add more cheese.
- For storage, see the Storage section below.
What is burger cheese, and is it cheddar?
It isn’t. The glossy yellow slices you see on burgers are processed cheese: cheese with emulsifying salts added, which is why it melts smoothly without the fat splitting. It’s also the cheese most often used on a classic cheeseburger, known as American cheese. Cheddar is an aged hard cheese; heat it directly and the fat can separate and go stringy. The yellow color usually comes from annatto, so color alone doesn’t make it cheddar.
How to melt burger cheese
Two ways. Put a slice on the patty while it’s still in the pan; if needed, cover the pan and the steam melts it quickly. That’s how I do it in my smashed burger. For a looser cheese you can also pour over fries, make this sauce: instead of heating the cheese directly, you melt it into a hot béchamel.
Tips
- Heat the milk first; the recipe calls for 82°C.
- Keep stirring the flour into the butter so no lumps form.
- Add the milk a little at a time; when it’s all in and smooth, lower the heat.
- Add the cheese over low heat and don’t let the sauce boil.
- Too thick? Thin it with milk or cream. Too thin? Add more cheese.
- Divide the quantities to make less.
How to use it
Inside a burger, on the patty: with my smashed burger, burger patty and caramelized onions. Over fries: legendary french fries, salt and vinegar oven fries or sweet potato fries.
Storage
My note: Don’t freeze it. Keep it in the fridge for no more than 7 days, and loosen it with a little milk or cream as you reheat it.
Please note: With milk-based sauces, storage conditions and packing matter. Once cool, move the sauce to a clean lidded container and get it into the fridge without delay; don’t leave it out at room temperature. Before using it, make sure nothing is off about its smell, color or texture; if in any doubt, don’t eat it. Reheat only what you need, once. If you’re not sure, use it within a few days.
Keep reading and listening
- Cheese on our podcast YBYK (in Turkish): episode 25, with Berrin Onur Bal and Neşe Aksoy Biber
- Burgers on YBYK (in Turkish): episode 9, Burger 101
- The Burger Handbook: 22 homemade burger recipes
- How to caramelize onions
- Legendary french fries
