Name: The Cheeseburger
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: USA
Ingredients: 600 g ground beef (80/20); salt and black pepper, to taste; 4 American cheese slices; 4 soft burger buns; 2 tbsp butter, for toasting the buns; yellow mustard and ketchup, to taste; dill pickle slices, to taste; white onion, thinly sliced, to taste

After an entire tasting menu of absurdly over-conceptualized courses, this plain, perfectly cooked cheeseburger arrives as a deliberate final course in The Menu (2022), and its sheer simplicity lands as the most honest, satisfying dish in the whole film.

The technique that actually matters here is the smash: pressing the loosely shaped patty hard against a very hot pan the instant it goes on, which is what builds the deep, craggy crust a dish this simple depends on.

Part of our 40 famous movie foods list.

method

Divide the ground beef into 4 loosely packed balls, without overworking the meat.

Heat a heavy skillet or griddle over high heat.

Place each ball on the hot surface, and smash flat immediately with a sturdy spatula, pressing firmly for a few seconds to maximize the crust.

Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 90 seconds to 2 minutes, until a deep brown crust forms.

Flip, immediately top with a slice of American cheese, and cook for another minute, until the cheese is fully melted and the patty is cooked through.

Toast the buns in butter in the same pan, cut-side down, until golden.

Build the burger simply: bun base, mustard and ketchup if using, the cheeseburger patty, pickles and onion, and the bun top.

Serve immediately, while hot.

chef's tips

Smashing the patty hard against a very hot surface the moment it goes on is what builds that deep, craggy, well-browned crust; a gently placed, unpressed patty never gets the same result.
Do not overwork the ground beef when shaping it. A loosely packed ball that gets flattened by the smash stays tender; a meat mixture compacted by hand in advance turns dense and tough.
In The Menu (2022), after a tasting menu full of absurdly over-conceptualized courses, this plain, perfectly cooked cheeseburger arrives as a deliberate, almost rebellious final course, its simplicity landing as the most honest and satisfying dish in the entire film.
American cheese, specifically, is the right choice here for its smooth, reliable melt; a fancier aged cheese would actually undercut the whole point of the dish's deliberate simplicity.