The Best Burger Recipe – So Good It Went Viral

There are thousands of burger recipes out there, but top grilling influencers agree that this mustard-crusted burger is the best.

Chef Jean Paul is a Louisiana live fire cook and former Executive Chef of Blue Smoke in New York City. I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying his food at multiple events around the country.

At the American Royal, a world championship barbecue competition in Kansas City, Chef was serving up burgers that he was cooking on site.

All of the influencers in attendance were sharing his burger on instagram, raving that it was the best burger they had ever tasted.

thisjewcanque “This burger was life changing!”

bbqandbottles “These burgers were unreal. Honestly next level grilling right here. I went back for thirds – don’t judge. 👍🔥🍔”

grillinfoolgreg “Best burger ever!”

vertsmoke “Those were SOOO good. @chefjean_paul is killing it”

grillinfools “Those were sooooooo good”

tony_and_maribel “They were delicious 🔥”

girlcarnivore “Dang, I’d pay to go back and have one more bite of these 🔥🔥”

Chef explained that the reason that so many people love this burger is because it’s built with classic flavors, using American cheese, onions and dill pickles.

While his were made with a blend of ground pork cheek, brisket, ham and bacon, it was the overall technique that went viral on social media. I switched the recipe up a bit, making a beef version. I promise it’ll knock your socks off, just as much as his creation.

The Best Burger Recipe Has a Mustard Crust

Except for the rare mustard haters out there, we’ve all grilled a burger and slathered it with mustard, but have you slathered it with mustard before it hit the grill?

This is the difference between a good burger and the best burger you’ll ever eat.

Start by forming your burger patties. Always shape them so they’re a little bit larger than your bun, because they’ll shrink a little during the cooking process. For a really amazing burger, consider using ground brisket.

For these particular burgers, I like to go with a 2-ounce patty. That might seem small, but trust me it works. It’s the right ratio for the rest of the ingredients.

If you prefer a bigger burger, still use 2-ounce patties, but make your cheeseburger a double decker.

Season both sides of the patties with salt and pepper. Then, spread one side with yellow mustard. Don’t spread the other side. We’ve got other plans for that side.

Instead of using a grill, we’re going to sear these on griddle to get the perfect crust. You can use a cast iron pan, or if you have a set of Grill Grates, flip them so that the flat side is facing up.

If you’re feeding a large crowd, having a large outdoor griddle top for a Camp Chef three-burner stove is also an awesome option.

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You Need to Try Beef Tallow

There’s one more special ingredient to this ultimate cheeseburger – beef tallow, which is rendered beef fat.

In today’s day and age, we often cook with olive, canola, coconut and other vegetable oils, while our grandparents were more likely to use beef tallow and pork lard.

We wonder why we can never re-create grandma’s famous rolls or piecrust. This is probably why.

Yes, beef tallow is a saturated fat, but it actually has fewer grams of saturated fat than coconut oil, and everything is okay in moderation, right?

You can make your own Beef Tallow with Brisket Trimmings or look for beef tallow at Whole Foods, local Mexican markets or on Amazon.

It comes in a solid state, so for this recipe, you’ll need to melt it in a microwave or on the stove. Then, brush the tallow on the warm griddle. The fat will both flavor the burger and prevent it from sticking.

If you prefer not to use beef tallow, you can use another fat or oil, but you’ll be losing out on the magical beefy quality that tallow provides.

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The Cooking Technique for the Best Burger Recipe

Be sure to have all of your ingredients ready, because the cooking process is pretty fast.

Once the griddle is ready and dancing with sizzling tallow, it’s time to place those mustard-smeared patties on the heat, mustard-side down.

Immediately, top the patties with thinly sliced onions. Once the mustard sears to form a tangy crust, carefully flip the burger over, so the onions are facing the griddle.

As we finish the next steps, these onions will begin to soften and caramelize.

Quickly top the patties with a slice of American cheese, two pickles and the top bun. Brush a little more melted tallow on top.

Let the burger continue cooking for a minute or two, and then move it all to the bottom bun.

I’ve made a lot of cheeseburgers in my life, and after recreating a beef version of Chef Jean Paul’s recipe at home, my husband downed 3 for lunch and 2 more a couple hours later.

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You Need Fat in Your Burger Blend

Every good burger, no matter how you top it should start with a quality patty.

Y’all know my beef preference is Certified Angus Beef ® brand. Usually, I’ll go with an 80/20 grind, meaning 80 percent of the ratio is meat and 20 percent is fat.

To me, that ratio yields a perfectly juicy, beeftastic burger. If you really want to splurge and are looking for a burger that drips down your chin, you could go with a 70/30 blend.

I usually buy my beef already ground, but lately I’ve been stocking up on brisket trimmings from barbecue competitions. For comps, I trim my brisket to end up with a 9-inch-wide piece of the flat and a little bit smaller piece of the point.

That leaves me with a lot of excess beef. I remove and discard the really hard fat, trim the meat into pieces that can fit through the grinder and freeze it for days like today.

When I’m ready, I pull the brisket out of the freezer, let it thaw slightly and then run it through the grinder. You want the meat to be really cold when you grind it, because as the meat reaches room temperature, the fat begins to melt.

When you put it through the grinder, the meat comes in contact with additional heat, which will also melt the fat. Your goal is to keep the meat as solid as possible, until it’s cook time. That will ensure a juicier burger. Same rule applies to sausage making.

I grind meat using a grinder attachment on my Kitchen-Aid mixer.

I usually buy briskets between 17-20 pounds, and each brisket yields about 3 pounds of ground beef.