Juicy Lucy Burger

Inspired by Blue Door Pub - St. Paul, MN

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An outsider diving into a certain locale’s special is usually just asking for trouble. Thankfully, Minnesotans are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, so I hope I won’t be punished too harshly for choosing Blue Door Pub over Matt’s Bar or 5-8 Club, but that’s where I went during my trip to the Twin Cities, and you know what, I absolutely loved it. I just hope to do it some justice here.

This recipe was influenced by a visit to the Blue Door Pub in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They literally have a blue door, use blue cheese in their classic juicy lucy, and call it a Blucy. It was an easy sell for me because I love blue cheese. If you don’t, then use American cheese. This burger is pretty great but comes with more rules than most so you may want to read the notes for this one.

INGREDIENTS

JUICY LUCY (Makes 2 burgers, multiply as needed):

  • 1 lb of 80/20 Ground Chuck Beef

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1 tsp pepper

  • 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce

  • 2 TBS buttermilk

  • 2 TBS minced garlic

  • ½ slice of bread

  • 1 ½ oz blue cheese

  • Buns

  • Butter

  • 2 TBS olive oil

  • Caramelized onions (optional)

  • Pickles (optional)

CARAMELIZED ONIONS (optional):

  • 1 large yellow onion

  • 1 tsp sugar

  • 1 tsp salt

GO FOR IT

JUICY LUCY:

  1. In a bowl, mix and combine salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, buttermilk, garlic, and crumbled bread pieces from half a slice of white bread (remove crust first)

  2. Using hands, combine ground beef and liquid mixture

  3. Measure out 4 patties about 3 ½ - 4 oz each (2 patties will make 1 burger)

  4. Crumble ¾ oz of blue cheese into the middle of 1 burger patty (careful not to get too close to the edge or it will explode during cooking)

  5. Top cheese patty with another patty and use your fingers to seal up the patties (you’ll now have a large burger at about half a pound in size), then repeat process for the 2nd burger (be sure to seal tight or cheese will ooze out during cooking)

  6. Heat cast iron or skillet on high with olive oil (you cannot grill this burger) and sear about 2 minutes per side before finishing in a 400° oven for 3-5 minutes to finish burger

  7. Meanwhile, butter your buns and toast to achieve a nice crust to hold your big burgers

  8. Add pickles to bottom bun (optional) and caramelized onions on top of your burger (optional)

  9. Wait a couple minutes before biting into unless you like molten cheese, otherwise eat and be stuffed

CARAMELIZED ONIONS (if using):

  1. Slice onions into ¼ inch rounds

  2. Heat 2 TBS unsalted butter to skillet on medium to low heat, then add onions, sugar, and salt

  3. Still often, adding a couple TBS of water when pan becomes dry (will keep onions from burning)

  4. Cook will stirring and occasionally adding water until onions have turned a caramel color and are done (will take 20-30 minutes if you are doing it right - don’t cook on high)

NOTES:

I had to learn how to cook burgers all over again while making this. And I didn’t get it right the first time so let me impart some of what I learned so you don’t also have to do a repeat before getting it right.

Normally I do not condone mixing stuff like buttermilk and Worcestershire into my burger meat. I’ve always felt that a burger done right should stand on it’s own with nothing more than some salt and pepper on the surface to seal in flavor. However, the juicy lucy (or blucy) is a CHEESE burger. That’s the star of the show here and to avoid cheese explosions, the meat needs a proper seal. The moisture from the buttermilk mixture will keep your cheese where it belongs until you’re ready to dig into all that goodness. If you are a burger purest like me, know that this is where an exception to the rules must be followed.

Furthermore, I grind my own burger meat and usually add in short rib to my chuck to add more flavor and juiciness. I thought I could make a better burger here and tried that. Big mistake. The buttermilk mixture in addition to the fatty juices from the short rib will make an uncontrollably juicy burger. That might sound like a good thing but it’s a mess. Stick to just the chuck here.

I also add caramelized onions and provided instructions if you choose to do the same. It wasn’t on Blue Door Pub’s classic but they had the option to add them, and I did because I think they’re great (another popular option is fried onions). However, don’t go putting a pile of condiments and dressings on this. It’s a huge burger and already has plenty of cheese in it, along with garlic and Worcestershire and doesn’t need anything else aside maybe some pickles. This is an enjoy as is burger.

Lastly, as I said up front, I realize that most people from the Twin Cities have arguments over the best and more original version of the juicy lucy. That’s totally fine with me and I hope to return one day and do a proper juicy lucy tour. But hey, if you don’t like this version, just use some American cheese slices instead of blue cheese. Problem solved!