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.
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
This is an overview of the ingredients and steps to make this recipe; scroll down for a printable recipe card with exact measurements and instructions.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients list
- 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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
Have you tried Chicken Murphy, another New Jersey favorite!
Burger Tips and Questions
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 feature ingredient in my burger. Other common Jersey burger ingredients are sliced jersey tomato and onion or eggs and ketchup.
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.
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.
For more simple and delicious recipes like this, subscribe to our newsletter and receive a free e-book and meal suggestions straight in your inbox!
Here are more burger recipes that you might enjoy
If you like this recipe, please comment and rate it below!
Click on serving size to scale this recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 4 slices pork roll or Canadian bacon
- 4 slices of cheddar cheese or your favorite cheese
- 4 slices of onion
- 4 slices of tomato
- lettuce
Instructions
- Preheat the grill medium to low heat for grass fed beef or medium to high for regular beef
- While the grill is heating up, make the burgers, slice the cheese, tomatoes and onions
- Remove the burgers from the grill and top them with a slice of cooked pork roll, tomato, onion and lettuce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and can vary based on cooking methods and ingredients used
🍔 Girl Carnivore 🍔 A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures 🍔A Day in the Life on the Farm 🍔 A Merry Recipe 🍔 An Affair from the Heart 🍔Art of Natural Living 🍔 Caroline's Cooking 🍔Chef Justin Grimm 🍔Chiles and Smoke 🍔 City Living Boston 🍔Comfortably Domestic 🍔Culinary Adventures with Camilla 🍔 Dixie Chik Cooks 🍔 Everyday Eileen 🍔 Everyday Southwest 🍔 For the Love of Food 🍔Good Cook Doris 🍔Grillax: Fire. Food. Fun. 🍔 Grilling Montana 🍔 Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks 🍔 Jolene's Recipe Journal 🍔 Karen's Kitchen Stories 🍔 Kate's Recipe Box 🍔Kudos Kitchen by Renee 🍔Life Currents 🍔 Life of a Ginger 🍔Making Miracles 🍔Man Meat BBQ 🍔 Miss in the KItchen 🍔Off the Eaten Path 🍔Our Good Life 🍔 Palatable Pastime 🍔 Pastry Chef Online 🍔 Real Life With Dad 🍔Renee Nicole's Kitchen - Everyday Gourmet 🍔 Sarah's Cucina Bella 🍔Savoring Midlife 🍔 Seduction in the Kitchen 🍔 Simple and Savory 🍔 Spoonabilities 🍔 Sumptuous Spoonfuls 🍔 Swirls of Flavor 🍔 The Redhead Baker 🍔 The Spiffy Cookie 🍔This is How I Cook 🍔 Thyme for Cocktails 🍔What's Cooking Italian Style Cuisine 🍔 Wildflour's Cottage Kitchen 🍔Wile E. BBQ 🍔 Wok & Skillet 🍔
Leave a Reply