Carbon Steel Griddle courtesy of Made In.
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As an Okie, I’ve never gotten to fully claim a lot of food as my own. I love our traditions of Southern food and sweet tea, but most of those dishes didn’t necessarily originate in Oklahoma. A fried onion burger, though? Now that I can shout from the highest wheat field as being wholly ours. If you have never had a fried onion burger, welcome! I won’t exclaim that I can’t believe you’ve never had one; instead, I’ll take joy in getting to serve you your very first one. Here’s everything you need to know.
The very best fried onion burgers don’t come from any kind of fancy spot or burger joints (Tucker’s is as nice as it should get!), but instead, come from mom & pop shops and gas stations. Just trust me on this one. Though everyone does things their own way, there are a few important components to this Oklahoma classic: the burger patties, the buns, and, of course, the onions.
The patties should be thin with some lacy edges, not quite a smash-style burger, but pretty close. You can almost always order the burger with a single or double patty, so feel free to double up on these patties if you prefer.
Fried onion burger buns are famously steamed, not toasted, which can be achieved by placing them on the skillet near the onions. The onions steam-soften the bun into a plush bite that helps make these extra special.
Speaking of onions, when you hear “fried,” you might be thinking of those crispy French’s ones or something like an onion ring. Instead, they’re more along the lines of pan-fried onions. They get cooked on very seasoned, very loved (AKA not often cleaned) griddles, where they char and caramelize in the burger’s grease. A lot of burger joints will place the very thinly sliced uncooked onions directly on the beef patty and just give the onions that short 5 or so minutes to cook, resulting in some that are crispy and charred, some are slightly caramelized, and others that are still a little bit crunchy. This is definitely part of the burger’s charm, but at home, I like to slice them thicker and give them just a little bit of a head start. Just make sure to give the pile of onions in the corner of the pan a stir every once in a while so the bottom ones don’t burn.
First, divide the ground beef into 6 equal pieces. They should be about 2.5 oz. each. Roll each piece into a ball.
In a large skillet (or you can do all this at once on a large griddle) over medium heat, melt 1 Tbsp. butter. Add the onions once it’s melted and cook until they're just starting to soften. They won’t have much color to them yet here.
In a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, melt another 1 Tbsp. butter and add 2 or 3 beef patties to the skillet. You need enough room left to smash down the balls of ground beef. Use a large, heavy metal spatula to press down on one ball at a time and flatten it as much as possible. Flatten the other pieces in your skillet.
Season each patty with salt and pepper. Grab a generous amount of onions and pile them on top of each patty. They should be falling off the sides of the patty as well. Press the onions in a little to each patty. Cook until the bottoms of the patties are browned; this should only take 2 or 3 minutes.
Now, carefully flip the patties over, making sure all of the onions flip with them. Top each with a slice of cheese. Cook just 1 minute more. The cheese will be melty and most of the onions will be cooked through with some crispy edges on them.
You also want to start steaming the patties at this point. After adding the cheese, place the top bun on top of the cheese. Push the onions to the side of the other skillet, then arrange 2 to 3 of the bottom buns next to the onions. Remove the bottom buns after 20 or 30 seconds and transfer to a platter. You don’t necessarily want them toasted, so putting them near the onions will help them steam instead. Lift the patties out of the skillet, along with all of the onions and place on the bottom buns. Repeat with remaining patties and onions. If needed, add more butter or adjust the heat for both skillets. Add any condiments to your burgers that you like, and enjoy.
The full list of ingredients and instructions can be found in the recipe below.
The patties can be divided into their portions and tightly wrapped with plastic wrap up to 1 day ahead.
ground beef (preferably 80/20)
unsalted butter, divided
large yellow onions, thinly sliced
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
slices American cheese
hamburger buns
Ketchup, mustard, and/or mayonnaise, for serving
Carbon Steel Griddle courtesy of Made In.
Let me know how they went in the comments below!
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