Grilled Jersey Burger with Cheese

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Jersey burger with cheese is a delicious burger made with lean and juicy beef topped with cheddar cheese, a slice of pork roll, lettuce, Jersey tomatoes, and an onion slice.

a hamburger with cheese lettuce tomatoes and pork roll on a roll

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Burgers and summer go together! If you like veggie burgers, give our mushroom veggie burger a try!

🤍Why you will love this recipe

It’s a tasty burger that is easy to make!
It’s versatile, add any of your favorite burger toppings.

Here is what you will need

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🛒Ingredients

Lean ground beef
Pork Roll or Canadian Bacon
Lettuce
Tomato
Onion
Cheddar Cheese
Hamburger bun such as a kaiser roll, potato buns or whole grain roll

🥄Equipment

Grill
Metal Spatula
Burger press (not a necessity, but makes to easy to form burgers)
Meat thermometer – I love this Thermapen!

the ingredients: burgers, pork roll, tomatoes, lettuce, onion, cheese

How to make the best Jersey burger with cheese

Prepare the ingredients: form the meat into four, four ounce patties, and place them on plate. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt and pepper and garlic powder for extra flavor.

Slice the cheese, onion, tomato and pork roll if it’s not pre-sliced.

Heat the grill to medium-high heat.

a beef burger and a slice of pork roll on a grill

Step 1. Start grilling

Once the grill is hot enough, place the burgers and a sice of pork roll for each burger and reduce the heat to medium heat and cover the grill.

Step 2. Flip the burger

Cook the burgers and pork roll for 5 to 6 minutes and flip them over. Cover the grill again and cook the burgers until the internal temperature of the burgers reaches 130 degrees.

burger and pork roll on the grill cooked

Step 3. Add the cheese

Top each burger with a slice of cheese; cover the grill again and cook until the cheese melts and the burgers reach at least 140 degrees in temperature for medium doneness.

Step 4. Assemble the burgers

Remove the burgers from the grill and place them onto the bottom portion of each bun. Top each burger with a slice of pork roll, slice of onion, and a slice of tomato.

Tip! If the pork roll is thin sliced, it may need to be removed from the grill before the burgers are cooked.

A burger on a roll with melted cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and tomatoes

Ingredient notes and substitutions

Beef. The best beef to use is a lean to fat ratio of 80/20 or 85/15. Ground beef can be substituted with ground bison, ground chicken or turkey.

For the best burgers ever, check out ButcherBox for high-quality lean ground humanely raised beef!

Cheddar Cheese A typical Jersey burger is topped with gooey American cheese, but cheddar cheese is our cheese of choice. And you can use any type of cheese that you like such as swiss cheese, provolone cheese, American cheese, blue cheese, or pepper jack cheese.

Pork Roll can be found in some states in the Northeast, but if you can’t find it, Canadian bacon is a good substitute.

A close up of a burger cut in half on a roll

How to store leftover burgers

Jersey burgers are best when they are served just after being cooked. But if you do have leftovers, store the burgers without the rolls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days.

Reheat the leftover burger on top of the stove in a skillet.

What to serve with a Jersey burger

These tasty burgers taste great with homemade sweet and spic pickles, zucchini pickles, potato salad, zucchini ribbon salad, disco fries or a Greek chopped salad.

Jersey burger variations

New Jersey breakfast burger. Top your burger with a fried egg, cheese and ketchup.

Caramelized onion Jersey burger. Replace raw onion slices with caramelized onions skip to tomato and lettuce and top with a little bit of ketchup and mayonnaise.

Topping suggestions. Try any combination of these on your Jersey burger: hot peppers, roasted peppers, relish, pickle slices or avocado slices.

If you are looking for more easy and delicious ground beef recipes, check out these Grass Fed Ground Beef Recipes!

a close up of a burger with cheese onions, tomaotes, lettuce

Have you tried Chicken Murphy, another New Jersey favorite!

What is a Jersey Burger?

When you search for Jersey Burger online, you will find a few different versions with a common ingredient; pork roll which is a New Jersey staple and the featured ingredient in my burger. Other common Jersey burger ingredients are sliced jersey tomato and onion or eggs and ketchup.

What is pork roll?

Pork roll is a New Jersey processed meat that is also known in some parts of the state as Taylor Ham (I’m looking at you Northern NJ). It’s a unique tasting processed smoked pork product; almost like sausage, but not really. Some people compare it to spam, but that is sacrilege.

Pork roll is typically served for breakfast as sandwich with a fried egg and American cheese on a kaiser roll, English muffin, or a bagel.

You can also enjoy pork roll for lunch and dinner as a sandwich by itself or on top of a burger with cheese and any combination of toppings. I like to keep things fresh and simple, so I add tomatoes lettuce, and onions.

Can I make a Jersey burger in a grill pan?

Yes, you can. A cast-iron grill pan will work the best. Heat it up and cook the burgers just as you would cook them on the grill.

Are you too tired to cook dinner?

If you’re feeling uninspired when it’s time to cook dinner, this free guide will help you make a quick and healthy dinner with ingredients you have in your kitchen.