One of the most important questions after 2022’s The Menu is how to make the film’s gorgeous-looking cheeseburger, and there is a way. The Menu’s cast is led by Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Fiennes, and it’s set on a remote island where a veteran chef has invited guests for a beautiful gourmet meal with some extra surprises along the way. Ralph Fiennes plays Chef Julian Slowik​​​​​, a man who’s grown uninspired and bitter in his craft due to the commercialization of food and the lack of respect for his work as an art form.

The Menu’s ending sees Anya Taylor-Joy’s character, Margot, re-kindle Slowik’s pᴀssion for cooking by requesting he make her a cheeseburger. But this burger is no ordinary slab of ground beef heated on a stove-top; it’s a mouth-watering masterpiece. Real-life chefs were present on the film’s set, contributing their talents to make the food look as realistic as possible. The burger was made by Chef John Benhase (via Buzzfeed), who shared the recipe that he used in The Menu.

What Ingredients Are Needed To Make The Menu’s “Perfect” Cheeseburger

The Menu’s Burger Is Fairly Straight-Forward

The lovely thing about a cheeseburger is that it can essentially be made with three ingredients: burger, bun, and cheese. All things considered, The Menu’s delicious-looking burger isn’t much more convoluted than that, with just a handful of additional ingredients. Benhase uses seasoning to provide some extra savory flavor for the burger patty itself, then tops it with thinly shaved yellow onion, sliced pickles, and a burger sauce of the reader’s choice. Burger sauces are typically made with mayonnaise, ketchup, and a few other ingredients for added flare.

Benhase adds a few extra specifications for his ingredients and the method of making his cheeseburger. First, this is a double cheeseburger, so it will have two patties and layers of cheese. Second, the burger in The Menu uses American cheese and a ʙuттered sesame-seed bun. He also suggests using ground beef with as much fat as possible, potentially an 80/20 ratio of lean to fat. Benhase’s recipe only calls for “seasoning,” but salt alone can suffice. The ingredients per burger are as follows:

• 1 tablespoon ʙuттer
• 6 ounces ground beef
• Two slices of American cheese
• Seasoned salt
• Burger sauce
• Thinly-shaved yellow onion
• Thinly sliced pickles
• Sesame seed bun

How To Make The Menu’s Cheeseburger Step-By-Step

These Are Benhase’s Burger Steps

The recipe comes with a set of directions as well, telling the reader to use a heavy-bottom, NOT non-stick skillet, and a “sturdy” steel burger flipper. A non-stick skillet wouldn’t be able to get H๏τ enough for what these burgers require. The following steps include preparing the cooking area and meat, toasting the bun, and cooking the burger with melted cheese, smashburger-style

1. Turn on a vent over the stove or open a window. It’s going to get smoky in the kitchen.
2. Sort out roughly 3 ounces of ground beef per patty and roll them into balls, only lightly compressing them.
   1. Store the burger balls in the freezer while doing the rest of the prep. You want them cold but not frozen, so don’t leave them in too long. Colder meat will mean juicier burgers.

3. ʙuттer the buns before cooking them on the skillet on medium-low heat with the cut sides facing down. Toast them until the insides are golden brown (usually 2-3 minutes), then take them off and move them to a plate for later.
   1. Wipe out excess ʙuттer before placing burger patties on the skillet. You don’t want the ʙuттer to burn.

4. Turn up the heat on the skillet as much as possible.
5. Place the burger balls on the skillet and smash them, thinly flattening the patties.
   1. You can smash the burger using your flipper and another kitchen tool for leverage.

6. Add a generous amount of seasoning to the raw side of the patties.
7. Add thinly shaved onions to the top of each patty.
8. Sear the first sides for about 2 minutes before flipping.
   1. Keep the sliced onions on the bottom, allowing them to steam and cook in the beef fat.

9. Add the American cheese to each burger, letting the four corners of the slices drip over the edges of the patty.
10. While the cheese is melting, slather the top half of the burger bun with the sauce and place a few sliced pickles on the bottom half.
11. Once the cheese is melted, add the patties to the prepared buns, piling them on top of one another.
12. Enjoy!

The Real Meaning Of The Cheeseburger In The Menu’s Ending Explained

The Cheeseburger Takes Slowik Back To His Roots

While searching around Slowik’s island, Margot finds a framed employee of the month award that was given to the chef decades ago when he was a burger cook at a diner. By asking Slowik for a cheeseburger, Margot is connecting with the foundation of Slowik’s pᴀssion for food, and he realizes that he doesn’t want to kill her. The Menu ends with Margot leaving her boyfriend and the other victims to die while munching on the delicious burger.