Carolina-style cheeseburger (aka all-the-way burger)
Instructions for 1 burger with enough slaw and chili for 6+ burgers
25 minutes
50 minutes
1 hour and 15 minutes
Ingredients:
Carolina style slaw- 1 medium head of cabbage, shredded
- 3⁄4 cup mayonnaise
- 1⁄4 cup white sugar
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon celery seed
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound ground beef (80/20 or 75/25)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 cup water or beer or beef broth
- 8 ounces canned tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- pinch of MSG (optional)
- 3 to 4 ounces ground beef
- salt and black pepper (or your favorite seasoning salt blend)
- 1 soft white burger bun
- slice of American cheese (optional - Cheddar will also work)
- scoop of chili (from above)
- onion, diced
- scoop of slaw (from above)
- yellow mustard
Directions:
Carolina-style slaw: add your shredded cabbage to a large bowl. If you have a food processor, don't forget that some of them have a shredding feature. Use that to shred if you can. Makes things quick.
Add mayonnaise, sugar, apple cider vinegar, yellow mustard, celery seed, salt, and black pepper to your bowl and mix with a spoon to combine everything thoroughly.
You shouldn't need any extra salt, but you should taste the slaw to see if it needs anything else at this time.
Store in a container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Hot dog chili: in a medium pan over medium-high heat, brown your ground beef. With your spoon or spatula, try to break the meat up into small pieces while it browns.
Once the meat is browned and cooked through, drain and remove all of the grease and liquid from the pan.
Add the tomato paste to the meat and return it to medium heat. Cook the tomato paste for a couple of minutes, stirring it into the meat.
Add tomato sauce, water/beer/broth to the pan and stir everything to combine.
Add worchestershire sauce, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder and salt, black pepper, and a pinch of MSG (if using). Bring chili to a simmer in the pan.
While chili is cooking and simmering, use a potato masher to mash the meat and chili. I like to twist the masher. You do this to get the texture and consistency that you need.
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Cook the chili until you get a somewhat thick consistency. It usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes of simmering.
Store in the fridge until it's time to make burgers or hot dogs. Warm up in a small pot or in the microwave. If the chili seems too thick, you can add just a small spoonful of water or beef broth when warming to thin it out slightly.
Burger patty: pre-heat a large skillet or griddle over high heat for 5 minutes. Measure out about a 3 or 4-ounce portion of ground beef and form it into a patty that's around 1/4 inch thick. Season both sides of your burger patties with salt and black pepper.
Place your ground beef patty on the hot skillet or griddle. Cook for 4 minutes and flip the burger. Once flipped, cook 3 more minutes. When there is 1 minute left on the burger cooking process, add the slice of cheese (if using).
Remove the patty to a plate to rest for a couple of minutes. While the burger is resting, get all of your ingredients ready.
Burger assembly: open an untoasted burger bun and place the cooked cheeseburger patty on the bottom bun. Add a scoop of chili on top of the patty, then sprinkle on some diced onion.
Top the onion with a bit of slaw and a nice squirt of yellow mustard. Add the top bun on top to finish the burger.
For the most authentic Carolina-style burger experience, wrap the burger in a 12 x 12-inch piece of deli paper or parchment paper so that the bun will steam and soften, and the cheese will melt into the burger and chili.
Allow the wrapped burger to sit for a couple of minutes. Serve and enjoy.