Onion Burgers

photo from Cook’s Country website, because I neglected to take a picture of ours.

A few years ago, we tried a hamburger recipe that was inspired by an episode of Man vs Food, Louis’ Lunch Burger.  In that recipe, a bit of onion is smashed into the burgers before cooking, and then they are grilled on an antique grilling machine.  We don’t have an antique grilling machine, just a grill, and when we made it, most of the onion fell between the grates, which was a shame because they looked good.

This weekend, Cook’s Country (do you watch cooking shows on PBS?  I love them) had a similar burger , which they said was from Oklahoma, and served at a hamberger joint on Route 66.  It’s similar in that it has onion smashed into one side of the burger before cooking.  It’s different in that it’s cooked in a non-stick pan on your stove.  I liked the look of that, so we had that for dinner last night.  The results are that it was a really good burger.  I think I’ll make my burgers the same way next time we have burgers, except maybe I’ll try one trick from the Louis’ Lunch Burger recipe, which was to use a combination of meats.  I had forgotten that when we made those burgers, we used 1/2 80% and 1/2 85%.  I think these would be even better that way.  The only changes we made from the Cook’s Country recipe are that their recipe makes 4 3oz burgers, and we made 3 4oz burgers, and I only used 1/2 of an onion, though it was a decently big (yellow) onion.

ONION BURGERS
adapted from Cook’s Country

Ingredients

1/2 large onion, halved and sliced 1/8 inch thick
Salt and pepper
6 ounces 85 percent lean ground beef
6 ounces 80 percent lean ground beef
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 slices Cheddar cheese (No cheese for Ted)
3 hamburger buns, buttered and toasted

Instructions

1. Combine onion and 1 teaspoon salt in bowl and toss to combine. Transfer to colander and let sit for 30 minutes, tossing occasionally. Using tongs, transfer onion to clean dish towel, gather edges, and squeeze onion dry. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon pepper.

2. Divide onion mixture into 3 separate mounds on rimmed baking sheet.  Mix two types of beef, then form into 3 lightly packed balls and season with salt and pepper. Place beef balls on top of onion mounds and flatten beef firmly so onion adheres and patties measure 4 inches in diameter.

3. Melt butter with oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Using spatula, transfer patties to skillet, onion side down, and cook until onion is deep golden brown and beginning to crisp around edges, 6 to 8 minutes. Flip burgers, increase heat to high, and cook until well browned on second side, about 2 minutes. Place 1 slice cheese on each bottom bun. Place burgers on buns, add desired toppings, and serve.