Molten Cheese Lava Burger

The Good Steer is one of my husband’s and my all-time favorite restaurants that we still visit, when traveling to Long Island. And whenever we go there, we always get the same thing: the Classic Cheese Dream burger. It is a good beef burger topped with fried onion rings, bacon, and—the standout—their cheesy signature Dream Sauce. It is an amazing burger! I just love the combination of the juicy patty with crispy bacon and fried onions, smothered in cheese sauce. I love it so much, that I’ve figured out how to emulate it at home in my own kitchen!

This impressive burger is actually very simple to make, especially if you take a few shortcuts. You can buy a bag of fried onions instead of frying them yourself, and use precooked bacon that you can just pop in the microwave. Try this recipe for the most incredible burger you have ever made!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Ground beef
• 1 Egg
• 1 tbsp Garlic powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Pepper
• 6 Strips of bacon, cooked
• 2 cups Fried onions
• 6 Burger buns
• Lettuce and tomatoes (optional)

Cheese sauce

• 2 tbsp Butter
• 2 tbsp Flour
• 1 cup Milk
• 1 cup Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp Salt

The first step is to make the patties by mixing ground beef with an egg, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Mix all the ingredients and form patties that are about 5 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Press the centers of the patties, forming a slight indentation to prevent the center from bulging during the cooking process.

You can cook these patties any way you would like. You can cook them on an outdoor grill, an indoor grill, or the stovetop. If you are using an outdoor grill like I did for this recipe, preheat the grill to 450 degrees and cook the patties for about 9 minutes, flipping them once halfway through the cooking process.

However you cook these beef patties, just ensure that the patties are well-done with an internal temperature of at least 160° F.

Also, be sure to toast the buns for a minute or so, until they are golden-brown. This simple step enhances the quality of the burger and helps avoid soggy buns. Another suggestion for the buns is to use brioche burger buns you can buy in the bakery section of the grocery store. Using a good bun can make a good burger even more magnificent.

Now, let’s prepare the toppings for the burger. There are three main toppings that must go on this burger: bacon, fried onions, and the cheese “dream” sauce.

First, cook the bacon on the stove until browned and crispy. Alternatively, microwave the precooked bacon according to the package instructions.

For the fried onions, you can use a bag of store-bought fried onions and microwave for half a minute, or according to the package instructions. If you choose to slice, bread, and fry up some onion rings, kudos to you!

Last, but certainly not least, prepare the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a sauce pan on medium-low heat and whisk in the flour. After cooking the flour and butter for a minute, pour the milk in the sauce pan and stir until it thickens, for about 2 minutes. Add the salt. Then, add the shredded sharp cheddar cheese and immediately remove from heat. Whisk until all the cheese is melted, and the cheese sauce is done!

Once all the ingredients are prepped, it is time to assemble the burgers! First, put the patty on the bottom bun. Then, pour a generous amount of cheese sauce over the patty. Top it off with a heaping 1/4 cup of fried onions, and, at last, the crispy bacon. You can add a piece of lettuce or tomato if you would like. At this point, you can either add the top bun or just leave it on the side for an impressive presentation.

I served the burger with a side of dill pickles and the refreshing sweet cranberry apple coleslaw. But burgers are also great with fries, potato salad, macaroni salad. Be creative!

I hope you enjoy this amazing cheesy burger with a crunch. Also, follow me on Instagram and/or subscribe via email, so you never miss a recipe!

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Molten Cheese Lava Burger

A beef burger topped with creamy cheese sauce, crispy fried onions, and bacon.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: burger, cheese, grill

Servings: 6 burgers

Author: Grace

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 6 strips bacon cooked
• 2 cups fried onions
• 6 burger buns
• lettuce and tomatoes (optional)

Cheese sauce

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

• Mix ground beef, egg, garlic powder, salt, & pepper in a large bowl. Form 6 patties that are 5 inches wide and 1 inch thick. Put a slight indentation in the center of the patties to prevent bulging while cooking.
• Preheat the grill to 450° F and cook the patties for 9 minutes, flipping them halfway through cooking. Alternatively, cook the patties on an indoor grill or stove top until the internal temperature reaches 160° F.
• Quickly toast the insides of the buns until golden brown.
• Heat fried onions in the microwave for half a minute.
• Assemble the burger by layering the beef patties with the cheese sauce, fried onions, and bacon. Optionally, add lettuce or tomatoes.

Cheese sauce

• In a sauce pan, make a roux by melting the butter and stirring in the flour. Cook for 1 minute while stirring.
• Pour in the milk and whisk as the milk thickens. Add the salt.
• Remove from heat and add the shredded cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted.

Notes

• Use better buns (e.g., brioche) for an even better burger.

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