How to Make A Toddler Cheeseburger (Juicy Lucy)
Stop me if this sounds familiar: your son or daughter loves cheese—but also can be bafflingly finicky about how he/she eats it. Maybe he/she loves string cheese but hates stringy cheese; maybe he/she loves tacos but hates quesadillas, or vice versa. There’s probably no logic—or any consistency—to this antipathy, which you no doubt learned from serving your child something he/she should so obviously like, only to watch your kiddo reject it for utterly nonsensical reasons.
But you will want to serve your child a cheeseburger at some point, and there is a way to do it that can lead to elation rather than rejection: the Juicy Lucy. Essentially a stuffed burger, with the cheese inside the patty rather than on top, think of it as the ultimate form of “hiding” foods: with the cheese melting inside the meat, your child gets all the visceral pleasure of melty cheese with none of the randomly squeamish visuals. Restaurant versions of the dish often yield a molten center, the cheese often squirting—if not exploding—out upon biting into the center; for obvious reasons, we have tempered that, creating more like a strata of not-too-hot cheese lava in between the meat. It looks cool; it takes only a few minutes more of prep to pull off than our standard burger; and you get to eat your cheeseburger, too. Only wins here.
- 1 lb Ground Beef (chicken or turkey can also work)
- 1 slice Cheddar Cheese (or equivalent)
- Slider Buns
- Mayonnaise
- Soy Sauce
- Panko Breadcrumbs
- If using ground beef, season the ground with your preferred seasonings + salt and pepper. If using turkey or chicken, add a dollop of mayo, a splash of soy, a handful of panko breadcrumbs + any other seasonings you like; mix until blended. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Cut a cheese slice or stick into small cubes.
- Grab a small chunk of meat and press and roll into a ball; then smash down until flattened. With your thumb, make a small indent at the center of the patty.
- Place a cube of cheese in the indent, then place cubes all around the center, leaving the area at the edge of the patty uncovered. Add another layer of cheese if you want it cheesier.
- Grab another small chunk of meat and repeat Step #3. Once flattened, place over the top of the patty with the cheese cubes, pressing the edges of the two patties together to seal the cheese all around. Push the two ends together gently to make the patty more ball- or football-shape.
- Refrigerate for another 10-15 minutes.
- Heat a pan to Medium High. If cooking with poultry, add a glug of oil or pat of butter to pan.
- Cook burger for three minutes, pressing/flattening it with a spatula frequently; flip and cook until fully cooked all around, roughly 2 ½ to 3 minutes.
- Allow 3-5 minutes to cool before serving.
Serve based on how your child is likely to react to melted cheese visible at the center of the burger. Cutting it in half helps cool the center quicker but may repel the cheese phobic; cutting into quarters or smaller pieces will give your child a mix of the usual and novel pieces, which may or may not be a good thing. Definitely provide the usual condiments they usually eat with the burger.
While we used cheddar and colby jack cheeses in the burger shown in the recipe photos, if you really want some oozy, almost liquid-y cheese to come out the center, use American or even Velveeta cheese, both of which are extremely, well, melty.
Brad (the Dad) is the founder and Chief Recipe Officer of New Dad's Kitchen. His own cooking/feeding journey started humbly during his son's infancy, preparing and managing his son's bottle intake in order to support his wife; it has since blossomed into a full-on passion to feed his child and family delicious and healthy meals that can satisfy both a toddler and his very tired parents.
