Mac & Cheese Stuffed Burger (Sous-Vide-Burger)

- October 09, 2020

When asked why, and did it taste good? I am reminded of the Brooklynese way of saying Fuhgeddaboudit. In other words, what the hell are ya talking about. Why? I am a freaking Genius. Did it taste Good? Fuhgeddaboudit!!! Combining Meat, Cheese, and Macaroni is the Quintessential Comfort Food that sums up Life and Contentment. I've left Brooklyn, but Brooklyn has not left me.

Wafflized Mac & Cheese Sous-Vide Burger Version

I've wanted to make this burger for a while now but had to find the perfect molds. Are molds necessary? No, they are not, but that's not how I roll. The mold allows easy, flawless replication.

A Mac and Cheese Burger needs to start with a good Mac and Cheese, so I wanted to create one that would suit this burger. You can use any recipe you want, but here is My Recipe. Note: If you are making the M & C specifically for the Burger, it's a good idea to undercook your pasta a bit. During SV-Processing, the Macaroni will continue to cook and might become too soft. When you bite into the Burger, you want all the textures to be flawless.

I chose molds that would accommodate the M & C and Meat. Not too big and not too small. The larger Mold is 4.5" x 1.5," and the Smaller one is 3.5"x .75".

After making the Mac & Cheese, let it cool. Place parchment paper onto a cutting board and using the smaller mold fill with the M & C and remove it. The Mac & Cheese should be cool enough to hold it's shaped when you remove the mold. Place the cutting board in the freezer.

I used an 80/20 blend because it makes the best burgers (IMO), but you choose whatever you want. If you choose ground meat with less fat (cannot imagine doing that), it should work well because the cheese has a lot of fat and it's still going to taste amazing. Place about half the meat into the mold coming up the sides just a little. Place Frozen MAC into the center mold pressing down a bit. If it were not frozen, you would not be able to do this. Place another layer of meat on top and make sure to press along the perimeter, getting it into every nook and cranny. In the end, the Burger weighed 1 lb.

The best method to seal these babies up is to wrap in parchment paper and double seal. Note: For convenience, the burgers did not go into the water for a few hours, so the Mac & Cheese was the same temp as the ground meat. If going in water from a frozen state, add time to the cook.

If eating right away, do this... After processing, place on the counter for 10-Minutes flipping at least once. Remove from mold, dry off, and schmear on a thin layer of mayo and season. I love Montreal steak seasoning. If not eating right away, make sure to shock and refrigerate. Since these babies are so thick, you will need to retherm before using them. To retherm use 128f between 90-120 minutes. This time will get them up to a proper serving temp.