# Ultimate Dry-Aged Cheeseburger > [!metadata]- Metadata > **Published:** [[2026-09-02|September 02, 2026]] > **Key Ingredients:** Dry-Aged Beef, Potato Brioche Bun, Champagne Onions, Maple Bacon, Miso Sauce > **Tags:** #🌐 #recipe #burger #dry-aged-beef #american-cuisine ![[00 - Meta/Attachments/Recipes/ultimate-dry-aged-cheeseburger-1.jpg]] A burger assembled from the best idea at five of the world's most admired burger restaurants: the dry-aged, hand-massaged patty from [[Hundred Burgers]], the American cheese lesson from [[Hamburger America]], the Champagne-braised onions from [[Dove]], the thick maple-glazed bacon from [[4 Charles Prime Rib]] and the miso brown-butter mayo from [[Black Bear Burger]], all tested by the chefs at [[Fallow]] in London. ## Preparation Time - **Prep**: 45 mins (plus 2½ hours proving for the buns, best made the day before) - **Cook**: 1 hr 30 mins (most of it unattended bacon confit) - **Total**: About 2 hrs 15 mins active time - **Servings**: 4 burgers (the bun recipe makes 8; freeze the rest) ## Ingredients ### Potato Brioche Buns (makes 8) - 500 g strong bread flour - 40 g instant potato flakes - 40 g caster sugar - 10 g fine salt - 7 g instant yeast - 200 ml whole milk, lukewarm - 2 large eggs - 60 g unsalted butter, softened - 20 ml neutral oil - 1 egg beaten with a splash of milk, for the wash - 3 tbsp white sesame seeds - 2 tbsp rendered beef fat or butter, for toasting ### Patties - 600 g dry-aged beef, ideally rib cap or a chuck and short-rib mix aged 45 days or more, well chilled - Fine sea salt - 2 tbsp brown butter, for basting ### Champagne-Braised Onions - 3 large white onions, finely diced - 40 g unsalted butter, plus a knob to finish - Pinch of salt - 200 ml Champagne or dry sparkling wine - 1 tsp white wine vinegar ### Maple Butter Bacon - 8 slices thick-cut smoked bacon (at least 5 mm thick) - 120 g unsalted butter - 3 tbsp maple syrup - Freshly ground black pepper ### Miso Brown-Butter Burger Sauce - 150 g good mayonnaise, smoked if you can find it - 2 tsp white miso paste - 40 g butter, browned and cooled slightly - 1 tsp lemon juice - 1 tsp pickle brine - 2 tsp tomato ketchup - 2 tbsp gherkins, finely chopped ### To Build - 4 slices American cheese - 4 slices Red Leicester - 4 gherkins, cut into a fine dice ## Instructions 1. **Make the bun dough**: Whisk the flour, potato flakes, sugar, salt and yeast together. Add the warm milk and eggs and mix into a shaggy dough, then knead for 8 to 10 minutes until smooth. Work in the softened butter and the oil a little at a time until the dough is glossy and passes the windowpane test. Cover and prove for about 1½ hours, until doubled. 2. **Shape and bake**: Knock the dough back and divide into 8 pieces of roughly 110 g. Roll into tight balls, flatten slightly and set on a lined tray with room to spread. Prove again for about an hour until puffy. Brush generously with egg wash, cover heavily with sesame seeds and bake at 180°C for 15 to 18 minutes until deep golden. Cool fully. These are better the next day. 3. **Braise the onions**: Sweat the diced onion with a pinch of salt in the butter over medium-high heat so the water drives off quickly, then drop the heat and cook slowly until soft and sweet, about 20 minutes. Pour in enough Champagne to just cover and reduce until sticky. Add the vinegar, reduce again, and finish with a knob of butter. You want sweet, sour and glossy. 4. **Confit the bacon**: Lay the bacon on a rack and roast at 200°C for 10 minutes so one side caramelises. Melt the butter with the maple syrup in a small ovenproof dish, submerge the bacon, cover and cook at 120°C for 1 hour until soft. Just before serving, lift the slices out, brush with a little more maple and blast under a hot grill for 2 minutes to glaze. Grind black pepper over the top. 5. **Make the sauce**: Blend the mayonnaise, miso, brown butter, lemon juice and pickle brine until smooth. Stir in the ketchup and chopped gherkins. Taste; it should be savoury and nutty with a small tomato ripple, closer to a classic burger sauce than a plain mayo. 6. **Form the patties**: Grind the chilled beef through a 5 mm plate, or ask the butcher to do it coarse. Weigh out 140 g portions and press each together very gently with your fingertips so it just holds, then flatten to about 10 to 15 percent wider than the bun. Do not compact the meat. Season the outside only with fine salt right before cooking. 7. **Cook the patties**: Heat a heavy pan or flat-top until smoking. Sear the patties for 2 to 3 minutes per side, spooning brown butter over as they cook, to an internal temperature of 56 to 60°C for pink. Lay one slice of American and one slice of Red Leicester on each patty for the final minute and cover so the cheese melts. 8. **Toast the buns**: Split the buns and toast the cut sides in beef fat or butter until golden. 9. **Build**: Onions on the bottom bun, then the cheese-topped patty, two slices of bacon, a scatter of diced gherkin, and a generous spread of sauce on the top bun. Press lightly and serve immediately. ## Notes - **Beef**: Dry-ageing is the whole point; if you cannot get aged beef, use a 20 percent fat chuck and short-rib mix and accept a milder burger. Never buy pre-minced meat for this. - **Cheese**: American melts; Red Leicester brings flavour. Skip the cheddar, it splits and turns greasy. - **Bacon**: The confit is slow but hands-off; an hour was better than two in Fallow's test, which went tough. - **Make ahead**: Buns, onions, bacon and sauce all keep 3 days in the fridge; only the patties need cooking to order. - **Allergens**: Contains gluten, egg, dairy, soy (miso) and sesame.