Cheeseburger Egg Rolls pack all the flavor of a great burger — ground brisket, caramelized onions, spicy dill pickles, Smoky Cowboy Mustard, and a full slice of American cheese — into a crispy fried egg roll wrapper. The brisket gets browned on a cast iron griddle on the Napoleon gas grill, with the rendered fat used to caramelize the onions directly on the same surface. Everything gets combined, rolled tight, and fried at 350–400°F until deep golden brown.
The dipping sauce is a simple mix of Kewpie mayo, ketchup, Sriracha, and pickle juice that hits all the right notes alongside the rich, cheesy filling. This recipe makes 18–20 egg rolls — built for game day, parties, or any time you want a shareable appetizer that stops people mid-conversation.
What You'll Love About This Recipe
- Ground brisket delivers richer, beefier flavor than standard ground beef
- Brisket fat used to caramelize the onions builds flavor without waste
- American cheese melts perfectly into the hot filling for a creamy, gooey center
- Spicy dill pickles and Smoky Cowboy Mustard keep the cheeseburger flavor authentic
- Crispy fried wrapper gives way to a juicy, cheesy interior in every bite
- Makes 18–20 rolls — ideal for game day, tailgates, and entertaining
Cheeseburger Egg Rolls
Tom Jackson
Rated 5.0 stars by 2 users
Category
Appetizer
Cuisine
American
Servings
20
Prep Time
45 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Calories
230
Chef Tom brings together two of our favorite indulgences with these ground brisket Cheeseburger Egg Rolls, cooked on the Napoleon Prestige 500 gas grill.
Ingredients
- 2 lb ground brisket
-
Cattleman’s Grill California Tri-Tip Seasoning
- 1 yellow onion, thin sliced
-
1/2 cup Holmes Made Dad’s Spicy Dill Pickles
-
1/2 cup Holmes Made Smoky Cowboy Mustard
- 18-20 egg roll wrappers
- 18-20 slices yellow American cheese
- 1-2 quarts vegetable oil for frying
- 1/4 cup Kewpie mayo
- 1 tbsp Ketchup
- 1 tbsp Sriracha
-
1 tsp Holmes Made Dad’s Spicy Dill Pickles pickle juice
Dipping sauce:
Directions
- Preheat a Napoleon Reversible Cast Iron Griddle on the Napoleon Prestige P500RSIB-3 Gas Grill over high heat.
- When the griddle is hot, brown your ground brisket on the griddle, seasoning with Cattleman’s Grill California Tri-Tip Seasoning. Cook, moving and flipping the meat with a spatula, until the meat is cooked through and browned on the surface. Remove the ground brisket from the griddle with a spatula, leaving the extra fat/grease behind on the griddle.
- Strain the ground brisket, and add the excess fat to the griddle.
- Cook the sliced onions on the griddle, tossing them in the brisket fat and seasoning with Cattleman’s Grill California Tri-Tip Seasoning. Turn them occasionally with the spatula to cook evenly. If the onions begin to scorch, turn the heat down to medium or low. Cook until the onions are softened and slightly caramelized.
- Remove the onions from the griddle and combine with the cooked brisket in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Add the diced Holmes Made Dad’s Spicy Dill Pickles and Holmes Made Smoky Cowboy Mustard to the beef and onion mixture. Mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
- To assemble the egg rolls, lay out a sheet of egg roll wrap positioned with the points of the wrap pointed at you and away from you, like a diamond. Place a slice of cheese on the egg roll wrap on the side closest to you, with the cheese at a 90° angle to the wrap.
- Place 1/4 cup of the burger filling on the cheese. Form into a cylinder shape over the cheese. Fold the tip of the egg roll wrap closest to you over the filling, and begin to roll.
- Wet the surface of the egg roll wrap and fold the sides over the cylinder to enclose the filling. Finish rolling into an egg roll shape.
- Repeat with remaining filling/wraps.
Preheat 1 quart vegetable oil in a 4 quart dutch oven on the infrared side burner of the grill. Stabilize at 350°F-400°F.
- Fry the egg rolls in batches. Do not overcrowd the dutch oven. The egg rolls are done when they are golden brown in color, about 2 minutes cook time.
- To make the secret sauce, combine all ingredients and mix well.
- Serve the Cheeseburger Egg Rolls with the secret sauce on the side for dipping.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why use ground brisket instead of regular ground beef?
Ground brisket has a higher fat content and a deeper, beefier flavor than standard 80/20 ground beef. When browned on a screaming hot cast iron griddle, it develops more complex crust and carries more savory depth — which matters in a dish where the beef flavor has to come through a layer of egg roll wrapper, cheese, onion, and mustard. If ground brisket isn't available, an 80/20 ground chuck is the best substitute.
Why use the rendered brisket fat to cook the onions?
Cooking the onions in the leftover brisket fat is a zero-waste technique that also produces better onions. The fat is already seasoned and loaded with fond from the browned beef — it caramelizes the onions faster and more deeply than butter or neutral oil would. Don't drain the griddle after removing the brisket; that fat is the flavor base for everything that comes next.
How do I keep the egg rolls from bursting open during frying?
Two things: wet the edges of the wrapper thoroughly before sealing, and make sure the filling isn't overfilled or too hot. A quarter cup of filling per roll is the right amount — too much filling strains the seams. Also, let the rolled egg rolls rest seam-side down for a few minutes before frying so the seal sets. Don't skip the rest.
What oil temperature should I maintain for frying?
350–400°F is the target window. Below 350°F the wrapper absorbs more oil and ends up greasy rather than crispy. Above 400°F the exterior browns too fast before the cheese has time to fully melt inside. Use a thermometer and adjust your burner between batches — oil temperature drops when cold egg rolls go in and needs to recover before the next batch.
Can I cook this Indoors?
We rate this a 3 out of 5 for cooking indoors. Works indoors with adjustments, but the grill is recommended. The brisket can be browned in a cast iron skillet on the stovetop and the egg rolls can be fried in a Dutch oven on the stove. The infrared side burner delivers more consistent frying heat than a typical home range, but the technique is fully achievable indoors.
Recipe Highlights & Insights
The sequence of rendering brisket fat then cooking the onions in it is the technique that makes this filling taste like more than the sum of its parts. By the time the onions are caramelized, they've absorbed the beefy, seasoned fat and picked up fond from the griddle — they become a flavor carrier, not just a textural component.
American cheese is the right call here specifically because of how it melts. It's designed to go smooth and creamy under heat rather than separate or turn greasy the way cheddar or Swiss can. Placed directly on the wrapper before the filling goes in, it melts into the hot brisket during frying and creates that classic cheeseburger creaminess in every bite.
The dipping sauce — Kewpie mayo, ketchup, Sriracha, and pickle juice — is a burger sauce in condiment form, and the pickle juice is the detail that makes it. It adds a briny, acidic snap that cuts through the richness of the fried wrapper and cheese. Don't skip it or substitute regular mayo — Kewpie is richer and has a subtly different flavor profile that matters here.
At 18–20 rolls per batch, this is one of the strongest party-scale appetizer recipes in the ATBBQ catalog. Each roll is roughly 230 calories and delivers full cheeseburger flavor in a handheld format. It's a high-concept shareable that photographs well and consistently draws the most attention at any spread.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 4.4 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 230
- Carbs
- 20 grams
- Protein
- 15 grams
- Fat
- 10 grams
- Sodium
- 284 milligrams
