Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 slices sharp Cheddar
• 4 potato hamburger buns
• 4 leaves Bibb lettuce
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 slices tomato
• 6 tablespoons Special Sauce, recipe follows
• 4 kosher dill half-sour pickle spears
• 1/2 cup spiced ketchup, such as Sir Kensington's
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup finely minced cornichons
• 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
• 1 teaspoon finely minced shallots
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Special equipment: 4-inch ring cutter
2. Place a small piece of plastic wrap inside of a 4-inch ring cutter. Place about 8 ounces of the ground beef onto the plastic and lightly press into the mold just to flatten a touch. Repeat with the remainder of the ground beef.
3. In a cast-iron pan, heat the oil until it begins to smoke. Sprinkle the burger patties lightly with salt and pepper and place into the hot pan. Sear the burgers, about 4 minutes, on one side. Flip and top each with 2 slices of the cheese. For medium rare, cook another 4 minutes on the other side. Remove the burgers from the pan and rest the meat, 10 minutes.
4. In the meantime, toast the buns; place them cut-side down in the hot pan until lightly golden brown. In a medium bowl, toss the lettuce leaves with the red wine vinegar, olive oil and some salt and pepper.
5. To assemble, place a burger atop the bottom half of each bun, top with a lettuce leaf and slice of tomato. Spread each bun top with some Special Sauce, and then serve with a pickle spear.
6. Combine the ketchup, mayonnaise, cornichons, horseradish and shallots together and season with some salt and pepper.