Marshall's Favorite Burger
A thick, juicy New York-style pub cheeseburger, the exact kind Marshall spends a whole episode of How I Met Your Mother trying to track down again.
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total
- 27 min
- serves
- 4
- level
- medium
Marshall spends an entire episode of How I Met Your Mother trying to relocate one specific burger he ate once in New York, turning an ordinary cheeseburger into a running, near-mythical obsession for the rest of the group.
There's no secret ingredient behind a burger worth chasing down for years; it's a properly seasoned, well-seared patty on a toasted bun, which is exactly what makes nailing the fundamentals matter so much here.
Part of our 60 famous foods from movies and TV list.
method
Divide the beef into 4 loosely packed patties, about 2cm thick, without overworking the meat.
Season both sides generously with salt and pepper.
Heat a heavy skillet or grill pan over high heat.
Cook the patties for 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium, pressing only once to sear, not repeatedly.
Add a slice of cheese in the last minute, and let it melt.
Toast the buns in butter until golden.
Build each burger with lettuce, tomato, onion, sauces to taste, the patty, and the bun top.
Serve hot, ideally with a side of fries.
chef's tips
- Keep the patties thick and don't press on them repeatedly while they cook; pressing squeezes out the juices that make a burger like this worth chasing down in the first place.
- A good cheeseburger memory is often less about any single unusual ingredient and more about getting the fundamentals right: a properly seasoned, well-seared patty and a toasted bun.
- In How I Met Your Mother, Marshall spends an entire episode trying to relocate a specific burger he ate once in New York, turning an ordinary cheeseburger into a running object of near-mythical obsession.
- A cast iron pan holds and distributes heat more evenly than a thin pan, giving a more consistent sear across the whole patty.