Mushroom Swiss Chopped Cheese Sandwiches

What We're Cooking

· yields 6-8 sandwiches · Prep Time: 30 minutes ·

We love a good cheeseburger.

What we don’t always love? Making the patties, cooking them in batches and trying to get every burger off the heat before it goes from perfectly cooked to dry.

That’s why we love a chopped cheese.

Think of it as the cheeseburger simplified. Ground beef gets browned and crumbled right in the skillet with all the good stuff, then cheese is mixed directly into the meat until everything is hot, melty and ready to pile into a bun.

For our Mushroom Swiss Chopped Cheese, we’re taking everything we love about a classic mushroom Swiss burger and giving it the chopped cheese treatment.

Golden mushrooms. Sautéed onion. Seasoned ground beef. Plenty of Swiss cheese. And because every good sandwich needs a sauce, we’re finishing ours with a ridiculously simple A1 Aioli.

It’s hot, cheesy, savory and exactly the kind of thing we want to serve for Labor Day.

Why Chopped Cheese?

Because sometimes we want a cheeseburger without actually making burgers.

There’s no portioning or shaping patties. There’s no trying to cook six burgers to the same doneness. And there’s a lot less opportunity to end up with a dried-out burger.

Everything happens together in one skillet.

The beef gets crumbled as it cooks, which means all those little pieces have a chance to mingle with the mushrooms, onions, Worcestershire and Montreal Steak Seasoning. Then the Swiss goes straight into the skillet so you get cheese throughout the entire mixture—not just one slice sitting on top.

Scoop it into a bun and dinner is served.

The Labor Day Plate

If we’re serving these for Labor Day, we’re keeping the rest of the plate just as easy.

Alongside our hot Mushroom Swiss Chopped Cheese, we’re serving our cold B&P Summer Pasta Salad loaded with fresh vegetables, sweet corn and homemade Spinach Ranch Dressing.

Add thick slices of cold, fresh watermelon and you’ve got the plate.

Nothing complicated. Just really good food for the last big cookout of summer.

the ingredients

1 oz Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
3 oz Brown Mushrooms, diced
1/2 Yellow Onion, diced
1 lb Lean Ground Beef
4 grams Montreal Steak Seasoning, or to taste
1/2 tsp Lawry's Garlic Salt, or to taste
1.5 oz Worcestershire Sauce
1 oz A1 Steak Sauce
7-8 oz Swiss Cheese, cubed
6-8 Split-Top Buns
A1 Aioli, for serving (recipe below)

Instructions

1. Heat your skillet. Lightly coat the bottom of a large skillet with extra virgin olive oil and heat over medium heat.
2. Start the mushrooms and onions. Add the diced mushrooms and yellow onion to the hot skillet. Season with Montreal Steak Seasoning and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Sauté until the vegetables begin to soften and turn golden.
3. Add the garlic. Just before the mushrooms and onions finish cooking, add 1 tablespoon minced garlic. Stir and continue cooking until the garlic is fragrant and the mushrooms and onions are tender and golden.
4. Add the ground beef. Add the lean ground beef directly to the skillet with the mushroom mixture. Crumble the beef as it cooks, working everything together until the meat is completely browned.
5. Season as you go. Add additional Worcestershire sauce and Montreal Steak Seasoning as needed. Taste and adjust until the flavors are balanced and where you want them.
6. Drain if needed. Once the beef is fully cooked, drain any excess grease from the skillet if necessary.
7. Bring on the Swiss. Add 8 ounces of cubed Swiss cheese to the hot beef mixture. Stir until the cheese is melted, creamy and distributed throughout the chopped beef.
8. Build your sandwiches. Pile the hot Mushroom Swiss Chopped Cheese mixture into your split-top buns, then drizzle the A1 Aioli over the top.
9. Serve immediately. Serve while the filling is hot and the Swiss is still creamy and melty.

Why We Use Block Swiss Cheese

Skip the individually sliced Swiss for this one and head for the block.

We cube 8 ounces of block Swiss cheese and stir it directly into the hot beef mixture. As those cubes melt, they work their way through the crumbled beef, mushrooms and onions, giving the entire mixture a creamy, cheesy consistency.

You aren’t looking for a neat layer of cheese here.

You want Swiss in every bite.

House-Made A1 Aioli

Mushroom + Swiss + steak sauce. We didn't need to overthink this one. Our A1 Aioli takes about a minute to mix together and gives the sandwich a creamy, tangy finish that cuts through all that rich beef and melted Swiss.
Ingredients:
6 oz Mayonnaise
2 oz A1 Steak Sauce
Montreal Steak Seasoning, to taste
Directions: Stir together the mayonnaise and A1 Steak Sauce until completely combined. Add Montreal Steak Seasoning to taste, mix again and refrigerate until you're ready to build your sandwiches.
B&P Tip: Make the A1 Aioli ahead of time and keep it cold in the refrigerator. That's one less thing to think about when the skillet is hot and you're ready to start building sandwiches.

And Something Cold to Drink...

For this meal, we’re reaching into the ice chest for a couple of Oklahoma beers.

COOP Ale Works Ice Chest IPA is one of our picks, along with Stonecloud Chug Norris IPA.

A cold IPA alongside a hot Mushroom Swiss Chopped Cheese, Summer Pasta Salad and watermelon?

That’s a Labor Day meal we’re happy to get behind.

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