Best cheese on a burger?

Terrebandit

For the cheese burger lovers out there....We all work hard to make a great burger on our eggs, cast iron, or griddle tops.  What's the best cheese to put on that final product?  I've been using Kraft singles because they melt well and have a decent taste/texture.  There has got to be something better out there.  What do you use?

UncleBilly

I’m a fan of the deli sliced cheeses - tough to beat the classics: sharp cheddar, white cheddar, or Swiss.  I also like pepperjack.  Blue cheese is not for everyone, but I love it on burgers and steaks.  

CigarCityEgger

Blue cheese for me, boars head chipotle Gouda is really good as well.

StillH2OEgger

Depends on my mood, but sharp cheddar always works.

dmourati

Cheddar /thread

Lit

Any good quality cheese. Some cold smoked Cabot’s aged white cheddar on a smash burger is my go to. 

Focker

Kraft Deli Deluxe American.
This is one application where cheap cheese just works, always has.  Mac n cheese is another American or Velveeta combo for the KO.  Clump free for me!

Killit_and_Grillit

Terrebandit said:  I've been using Kraft singles because they melt well and have a decent taste/texture.  

SonVolt

American cheese. Period. End of thread. End of discussion, regardless of the black chick with Tourette's above. Not kraft singles, but sliced American cheese from the deli.  It's one of the few applications where this type of crappy cheese reigns supreme. Don't let anyone try and tell you cheddar or any other "real" cheese is better on a burger because it's not. 

Lit

Focker said:

Kraft Deli Deluxe American.
This is one application where cheap cheese just works, always has.  Mac n cheese is another American or Velveeta combo for the KO.  Clump free for me!

And that’s gross. 

Killit_and_Grillit

Go to the deli counter at your grocery. Tip the guy/girl a $10. Then tell them you want a slice of every soft to semi soft cheese they have (on a 3) Every cheddar, gruyere, Gouda, Swiss, etc. Try the smoked, aged, and flavored. 

Sit. Eat. Youll quickly figure out what works for your taste buds and profile for the burger you’re making. 

SonVolt

And he'll sit in that deli with his pinky in the air for 6 hours only to finally conclude that America cheese is the only cheese that belongs on a burger. 

bubbajack

Why ruin a good burger with cheese? It is all about the meat!

Focker

Lit said:

Focker said:

Kraft Deli Deluxe American.
This is one application where cheap cheese just works, always has.  Mac n cheese is another American or Velveeta combo for the KO.  Clump free for me!

And that’s gross. 

Try it, on top of your ground SRF brisket smashburger on cheap bun, and report back. 

GrillSgt

Depends on the mood and the toppings. American cheese is perfect for the plain lettuce, tomato and onion. Smoked bleu for something a bit more exotic. We have a bleu Gouda local cheese that is awesome on a burger with caramelized onions and a good country Dijon. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Focker said:

Kraft Deli Deluxe American.
This is one application where cheap cheese just works, always has.  Mac n cheese is another American or Velveeta combo for the KO.  Clump free for me!

Well- Focker and I have found common ground. I knew it was out there. Kraft singles for me 

SGH

I like just about every cheese out there. But on a burger I prefer white American, yellow American and Gouda in that order. 

Lit

Focker said:

Lit said:

Focker said:

Kraft Deli Deluxe American.
This is one application where cheap cheese just works, always has.  Mac n cheese is another American or Velveeta combo for the KO.  Clump free for me!

And that’s gross. 

Try it, on top of your ground SRF brisket burger on cheap bun, and report back. 

We don’t eat that “cheese” anymore. I ate lots of kraft and velveeta in high school there’s just lots of better options. If I’m feeding a crowd I usually get the publix deli to slice up the land o lakes white American but there’s too many good cheese option s in my opinion to eat kraft or velveeta anymore. Not saying it tastes bad just not something I prefer to eat anymore. I won’t let my kids eat them. 

Focker

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Focker said:

Kraft Deli Deluxe American.
This is one application where cheap cheese just works, always has.  Mac n cheese is another American or Velveeta combo for the KO.  Clump free for me!

Well- Focker and I have found common ground. I knew it was out there. Kraft singles for me 

Same goes for sausage, bacon, ham, or buckboard bacon "McMuffs" as my son and nephews call them, on the Blackstone.  American all day. 

DoubleEgger

Smoked gruyere is excellent. 

Focker

Philly cheesesteaks are another American application.  I like a combo of yellow and white, onion, jalapenos over green pepper.

Carolina Q

On a burger, there is no substitute...

Fred19Flintstone

Wilma loves a shroom, onion & swiss burger.  I tend to prefer a traditional burger with pepper jack. 

HeavyG

https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/07/whats-really-in-american-cheese.html

Botch

Think this is just available in the West, but a lot (to me) better than Kraft:
 

 
(especially on a green chile cheeseburger, of which I'm preparing to make tomorrow...)

nolaegghead

The cheese quality should be commensurate with the quality and type of burger, bun and accoutrements for the occasion.  Once that level is decided, personal tastes come into play.   Pepper jack, cheddar, stank-cheese, etc.

I'm not going to put Velveeta cheese product on a ground brisket, ribeye or wagyu burger.  Not that there is anything inherently wrong with that.....back up, there IS something inherently wrong with that. 

If I'm cooking some 4 oz, two-fiddy/lb commodity beef burger that's going on factory buns with radioactive green dye pickles, American cheese product wrapped individually for a bunch of drunk a-hole friends, that crap is completely appropriate.

A sit down burger meal made with the finest ground meats, bread and sides deserves the finest of cheeses.

Call me crazy, but a meal is greater than the sum of it's parts.

blasting

You guys are killing me with the fake / government cheese.  Just say no.

I like a cheese that I've smoked, just to add a little something something.  Anything really - gouda, havarti, sharp cheddar, or pepper jack all work.

I also like to stack a few jalapeno slices on the burger and melt the cheese over top of them. 

nolaegghead

Gubment cheese is not fake cheese, it might be blended and processed, but don't confuse it with "cheese product" which has vegetable oils and stuff that doesn't come from cows. 

Anyway, all that matters is taste as long as it melts into a pool of decadent goo...

blasting

nolaegghead said:

Gubment cheese is not fake cheese, it might be blended and processed, but don't confuse it with "cheese product" which has vegetable oils and stuff that doesn't come from cows. 

Anyway, all that matters is taste as long as it melts into a pool of decadent goo...

I didn't realize the distinction.  I'm not a fan of any of the heavily processed cheeses.  By the sounds of it, I'm outnumbered.  

GrateEggspectations

Personally, I’m a big fan of strong flavours - extra old cheddar (cold smoked, when I’ve got it on hand), comté, grana padano, blue, etc. I choose the cheese as a function of my other chosen burger toppings. 

JohnnyTarheel

Havarti cheese for the win....