The Steamed Cheeseburg

In all of my research and rambling around America, I have yet to find a burger-cooking method as unusual as the steamed cheeseburger. Sometimes affectionately referred to as a “cheeseburg” in its birthplace of central Connecticut, this burger is exactly what it sounds like—a patty of ground beef that has been steamed throughout and draped with molten hot steamed cheese. I know what you’re thinking—no griddle char? Not here. The preparation of some of the best steamed cheeseburgs in Connecticut involves a custom-made midcentury stainless-steel steaming contraption; a boxy stovetop chamber that generates a substantial amount of steam and renders each patty a color that some have said resembles a wet gray woolen sock. An unfortunate but accurate description. But this method creates a super-moist burger that has a pronounced beefy profile like no other. And when this moist patty is paired with hot cheddar cheese, you may just forgive the lack of sear from an open flame.