Ju(i)cy Lucy

The Jucy Lucy is a point of great pride and great contention among the people of the Twin Cities. I had the privilege of trying (one of) the original, genuine creations at the 5-8 Club and became a fan instantly.

What follows is a rough recreation from the vague, cheese-clouded memories of that fateful trip. If you’re from the Twin Cities and have a cheese-filled beef with my methodology, don’t @ me… unless it’s to politely, yet firmly, correct my technique. I’m not taking comments about spelling at this time.

The Game Plan

In order to make our DIY Jucy Lucies, we’ll take a pound or so of beef and yield two large patties filled with cheese. Let’s prepare some ingredients:

• American cheese, two slices
• Cheddar cheese, grated into a nice pile
• A pound or so of grass-fed beef, kneaded in a mixing bowl with some salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Prepare the Beef

The foundation of the burger is ever-important, even if we are filling it with molten, delicious cheese. Grass-fed beef remains my favorite choice.

After a quick knead with salt and pepper, form your pound-or-so of ground beef into four equally sized spheres. Smash your meticulous work into flat discs, then fill with a blend of American (folded) and cheddar (grated) cheese before adding a second disc on top and sealing the edges with a crimp.

Before cooking, I also like to add a light dusting of salt and black pepper on each side of the patty.

Cooking the Lucy

The whole thing falls apart if the cheese doesn’t melt. The American component will go a long way here, but I also try to cook a little longer over a slightly lower heat compared to my standard burger technique. There is a delicate balance between melting the cheese while still leaving some pink in the interior - a balance that I failed to hit. Maybe it’s a Twin Cities thing.

After flipping a couple of times to impart even heat onto the cheese, it’s time to plate and eat after a minute or two, but not longer — you want the cheese to still be melty, just not in a painful way.

Time to Eat

Plate with a side dish like sweet potato fries and/or coleslaw, and enjoy! Pictured here are two equally valid options, despite the fact that one seems to be missing a bun.