Juicy Lucy Burger Recipe

This is the Jucy Lucy—or Juicy Lucy—depending on which Minneapolis bar you are trying not to offend.

A Juicy Lucy burger takes the basic cheeseburger and turns it inside out. Instead of laying the cheese over the cooked patty, the cheese is sealed between two thin layers of ground beef. As the burger cooks, the cheese melts inside the meat, creating a molten center that pours out with the first bite.

It is rich, messy, and potentially dangerous if you do not give the cheese a minute to cool. It is also one of the most famous regional burgers in America.

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What Is a Juicy Lucy Burger?

A Juicy Lucy is a cheese-stuffed hamburger associated with Minneapolis, Minnesota. The burger is made by placing cheese between two thin beef patties, sealing the edges, and cooking everything together as one burger.

The result looks fairly ordinary from the outside. Once you cut or bite into it, however, the melted cheese hidden inside the beef begins to run out.

American cheese is the traditional choice because it melts smoothly and stays creamy. The burger is commonly served on a soft bun with simple toppings such as grilled onions, pickles, and mustard.

The History of the Jucy Lucy

Like many great regional foods, the history of the Juicy Lucy is also an argument.

The two names at the center of the dispute are Matt’s Bar and the 5-8 Club. Both are longtime Minneapolis neighborhood bars located on Cedar Avenue, and both claim to be the original home of the cheese-stuffed burger.

Matt’s Bar opened in 1954 as a neighborhood burger joint. According to the bar’s origin story, a customer came in not long after it opened and requested two hamburger patties with a slice of cheese sealed between them.

When the customer bit into the burger and found the cheese molten inside, he supposedly declared that it was “one juicy Lucy.”

At Matt’s Bar, however, the burger is spelled Jucy Lucy, without the first “i.” The story is that demand for the new burger grew so quickly that the name was accidentally misspelled when it was added to the menu. Instead of correcting it, Matt’s kept the spelling, and the mistake became part of the burger’s identity.

The 5-8 Club tells a different story.

The history of the 5-8 Club stretches back to 1928, when it operated as the old 58th Street Club during Prohibition. Before it became famous for stuffed burgers, it was already part of the south Minneapolis tavern world, serving drinks and a relatively simple food menu to its customers.

That does not mean the 5-8 Club was serving cheese-stuffed hamburgers in 1928. The Juicy Lucy appeared later, during the mid-century neighborhood-bar era. However, the 5-8 Club argues that the burger came from the same tavern culture it had already been part of for decades.

Unlike Matt’s Bar, the 5-8 Club uses the conventional spelling: Juicy Lucy.

Its origin story does not have the same tidy moment of a customer taking a bite and accidentally naming the burger. Its claim is rooted more in the history of the bar itself and its place in the south Minneapolis neighborhood where the burger became famous.

That is what makes the rivalry so good.

Matt’s Bar has the better story and the famous misspelling. The 5-8 Club has the older tavern, the proper spelling, and its own claim to being the original home of the cheese-stuffed burger.

Two Minneapolis bars. One street. One burger. Two spellings. Decades of people arguing about who made it first.

That is exactly the kind of history a great regional burger deserves.

How to Make a Juicy Lucy Burger

The basic method is simple, but sealing the burger correctly makes the difference between a molten cheese center and a skillet full of escaped cheese.

Start by dividing the ground beef into eight equal portions. Flatten each portion into a thin patty that is slightly wider than the bun. The patties should be thin enough to cook evenly but not so thin that they tear when wrapped around the cheese.

Place the cheese in the center of four patties, leaving a wide border of exposed meat around the outside. Fold the cheese into a compact square rather than allowing it to reach close to the edges.

Lay the remaining patties over the cheese. Press around the center to remove trapped air, then firmly pinch and smooth the edges together. The burger should look like one solid patty with no visible seam.

Cook the burgers over medium to medium-high heat. Excessively high heat can burn the outside before the beef surrounding the cheese has cooked through.

Do not smash the burgers while they cook. Pressing down can break the seal and force the melted cheese into the pan.

Once cooked, let the burgers rest for several minutes before serving. The cheese inside will be much hotter than cheese melted over the top of a normal cheeseburger.

What Is the Best Cheese for a Juicy Lucy?

American cheese is the classic choice for a Juicy Lucy because it melts evenly and creates the smooth, creamy center associated with the original Minneapolis burger.

Cheddar can be used, but it may separate or become greasy as it melts. Thick blocks of cheese can also prevent the center from melting before the beef finishes cooking.

For the best result, use regular sliced American cheese folded into a compact stack. This gives the burger plenty of melted cheese without making it unnecessarily difficult to seal.

How to Keep the Cheese Inside

Keep the ground beef cold while shaping the patties. Warm beef becomes soft and difficult to seal.

Leave at least a three-quarter-inch border around the cheese. If the cheese reaches the edge, it will likely leak as the burger cooks.

Press out any air trapped between the patties before sealing them. Expanding air can create a weak spot and split the burger open.

Smooth the seam until the outside looks like a single patty. If you can still clearly see where the two patties meet, continue pinching and smoothing the edge.

Avoid pressing, piercing, or repeatedly moving the burger while it cooks.

Some cheese may still escape. That is part of making a Juicy Lucy, but a properly sealed burger should keep most of the molten cheese where it belongs.

How to Serve a Juicy Lucy

Keep the toppings simple so the cheese-stuffed burger remains the main event.

Serve it on a soft toasted hamburger bun with grilled onions, sliced pickles, and yellow mustard. A small amount of burger sauce can also work, but this is not a burger that needs a mountain of toppings.

Most importantly, warn everyone that the cheese inside is hot.

A Juicy Lucy is already a cheeseburger with the cheese hidden inside. There is no reason to make the lava trap a surprise.