The One Cheese Bobby Flay Will Never Put on His Burger

Plus five other things we learned from taking his burger course.

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By: Alessandra Bulow

Bobby Flay already shared with us the one secret ingredient he uses to make perfect burgers along with lots of smart burger tips, but now he's back with even more need-to-know info in his Bobby's Bangin' Burgers course on the Food Network Kitchen app.

In addition to showing us how to make turkey burgers that actually taste good, Bobby reveals all sorts of genius burger intel while he makes 10 different styles of burgers.

Here are more of his top tips for making perfect burgers, plus the one cheese he definitely does not want on his burger.

1. Go with 80/20 beef.

Choosing chuck or sirloin beef that has a ratio of 80 percent beef and 20 percent fat is the key to making a super juicy and flavorful burger. Don't be scared of the fat because "fat is flavor," Bobby says.

2. Season the formed patties.

Instead of mixing seasoning into the meat, Bobby always liberally sprinkles the patties with salt and freshly ground pepper before they hit the heat.

"As much salt and pepper as you think you need, add more," Bobby says. "That's one of the differences between a professional cook and a home cook: we season things much more aggressively at our restaurants than you would at home, but that's kind of the key to bringing out all of the natural flavors of the food and it does really make a difference in the final result."

3. Step away from the spatula.

Once you've flipped the burger, resist the urge to press down on it with the spatula. You don't want those glorious juices to get smooshed out onto the griddle or grill — you want them in your burger!

4. Choose your cheese wisely.

After making and tasting thousands of burgers, Bobby has realized that there's one cheese that he really just does not want on his burger. He shuns it so much that it doesn't make an appearance on even one of the 10 awesome burgers in his classes.

"I'm not into Cheddar on burgers," Bobby says in his BBQ Burgers class on the Food Network Kitchen app. "I don’t like the way Cheddar melts. It kind of sweats. It doesn't really melt nicely."

It's not that Bobby won't make you a Cheddar burger if you ask nicely at one of his restaurants, it's just that he personally isn't a fan.

Bobby's burger mantra throughout his burger course is "melt the cheese completely," and Cheddar just doesn't cut it.

"To me, I'm into American, fontina, Monterey jack—something like that melts really nicely," he says.

While you're at it, he wants you to use at least two cheese slices. Making a cheeseburger is not the time to skimp on the cheese, especially when it's his favorite kind.

"When it gets right down to it, I want American cheese on my burger, because it melts well and it reminds me of my childhood," Bobby says.

5. Use a soft bun.

"I like a soft bun for my burger because it becomes part of my burger," Bobby says. "If it's too firm, it's going to break the burger when you eat it."

Toasting the bun is always key for him, but not too much. Whether you use a toaster, skillet, oven or grill (all of them will do the trick), the key is to keep an eye on the buns so the edges are just lightly toasted and the center remains soft.

Check out all of the classes in Bobby's course for more great burger tips:

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