Step 2: Toast the buns and cook the cheeseburgers

STEP 2 OF 3

Toast the buns and cook the cheeseburgers

Split 4 hamburger buns and spread their cut sides with 1 tablespoon softened unsalted butter in total. Warm the dry skillet over medium heat. Toast the buns cut-side down, in batches if necessary, for 1–2 minutes until lightly golden. Transfer to a board, toasted sides up. Wipe away any browned butter crumbs carefully with a paper towel held in tongs.

Raise the heat to medium-high and add 1 teaspoon neutral oil. Swirl it into a thin film. The oil should shimmer rather than produce heavy smoke. Season both sides of the four patties evenly with ¾ teaspoon fine salt and ½ teaspoon ground black pepper in total, immediately before they go into the pan.

Add the patties with a little space between them. Cook undisturbed for about 4 minutes, until a brown crust develops and a spatula slides underneath without tearing the meat. Flip once and cook for about 3–5 minutes more. Lower the heat to medium if the outside is darkening too quickly. Do not press the patties with the spatula; that squeezes juices into the skillet.

During the final minute, put 1 cheddar slice on each patty and cover briefly with a lid if needed to melt it. Insert the thermometer horizontally from the side into the center of each patty. Continue cooking until every patty reaches 160°F (71°C); the estimated minutes and the color of the meat are not reliable substitutes for this check. Transfer to the clean plate. Never return cooked burgers to the plate that held raw beef.

Heat, timing and common mistakes

A hot, uncrowded skillet browns beef; an overloaded pan traps moisture and encourages steaming. Allow the skillet to recover its heat between batches. If using two batches, give each patty the same thermometer check and expect the total cooking time to increase. Ventilate the kitchen, and reduce the heat if the oil starts smoking heavily. A dark crust does not mean the middle is done.

The safe beef temperature follows the FoodSafety.gov minimum internal temperature chart. Check each burger, especially if the patties vary in thickness.