The best cheese for burgers

American cheese is on more than half of our full recipes, from Weissman’s smash burgers to the ShackBurger and Motz’s Oklahoma onion burger.

Kenji’s ultra-smashed recipe asks simply for “good melting cheese, such as American, cheddar, or homemade melting cheese”.

Motz tops his green chile cheeseburger with white cheddar, and gives a choice of American or cheddar for his thick pub burger.

Shredded cheddar crisps into the lacy frill of a cheese-skirt burger.

Ramsay uses Swiss cheese on his backyard burger.

Regional and chicken burgers use cheese as a flavour: Oaxaca cheese on the cemita, blue cheese on Buffalo chicken, feta sauce on Greek chicken, goat cheese with sun-dried tomato.

Kenji suggests pepper jack, cheddar, Muenster or Swiss on his black bean burger.

Add it straight after the flip, or in the last minute of cooking.

Cover the patty with a metal bowl or lid so the steam melts the cheese evenly (Motz).

Or seal it inside: the Juicy Lucy melts its cheese in the middle of the patty.