Chopped Cheese Sandwich

 Ingredients

Sauce

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise 
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon pickle juice, plus additional as needed
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• Kosher salt, to taste

Chopped Cheese

• 4 6-ounce 80/20 ground beef burger patties
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste
• 1 large white onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil
• 2 12-inch sesame hero rolls
• 8 American cheese slices
• 2 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 2 cups iceberg lettuce, finely shredded
• 1/2 cup hot cherry peppers, sliced
• Hot sauce for finishing, optional 

Steps

Sauce

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, hot sauce, pickle juice, and garlic powder.
2. Season with kosher salt and add a little more pickle juice as needed until the sauce is smooth, pourable, and easy to drizzle.
3. Refrigerate until ready to use. This is even better made a day ahead.

Chopped Cheese

1. Heat a flat top or griddle over medium heat and add the neutral oil.
2. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent.
   Season with kosher salt and black pepper.
3. Divide the onions into two long piles, roughly matching the shape of the rolls.
4. Place two burger patties over each pile of onions and smash them down hard, like an oversized smashburger. Season aggressively with kosher salt and black pepper.
5. Let the beef build a good crust, then flip once.
6. Once flipped and halfway cooked through, use two spatulas to chop through the beef and fold in the onions, breaking everything into a rough, irregular mix. Keep some of that seared exterior in the chop.
7. Divide into two long piles to fit the rolls and top each with four slices of American cheese.
8. Open the rolls, keeping the hinge intact, and place them open-faced over each meat-and-cheese pile so the bread acts like a cloche.
9. Once the cheese is fully melted, pick up the rolls, spread bodega sauce generously on both sides, and scoop the chopped beef mixture into the rolls from end to end.
10. Layer in the tomatoes, shredded lettuce, and sliced peppers. Finish with
11. Wrap each sandwich in parchment, then foil, and let rest for a few minutes before eating. That wrap pulls everything together and gives it the full bodega effect.

Source: Grillin After Dark