For some reason that episode was on at least 3 or 4 more times within a two-week span and I finally told SP I had to make them. So, he picked up some ground beef at the store and I planned to make them one Saturday for dinner. Then we had a ridiculously huge lunch and couldn't stand the thought of eating again. The ground beef went into the freezer, where it was promptly forgotten. I finally remembered that I wanted to make the recipe and put the burgers on the menu two nights ago. They were so good I had to blog them immediately.
I thought these would be more complicated but it's actually a very easy recipe. All you need to do is plan ahead enough to let the onions sit in the colander. SP said they tasted like a McDonald's hamburger only a million times better. Baby Girl had the mini burger in the center of the picture above, sans onions because she isn't a fan. They even reheated well the next day.
Oklahoma Fried Onion Burgers
As seen on Cook's Country
1 large onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
salt and pepper
1 lb ground beef
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4-8 slices American cheese
Mayo, mustard and pickles, for serving
4 hamburger buns, toasted
Combine the onion slices and 1 teaspoon of salt in a bowl and toss to combine. Transfer the onions to a colander and let sit for 30 minutes, tossing occasionally. Transfer the onions to a clean dish towel, gather the edges together and squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the onions. Do this over the sink or a large bowl since the onions will have quite a bit of liquid in them.
Divide the onions into 4 separate mounds on a rimmed baking sheet. Form the beef into 4 lightly packed balls. Place the beef balls on top of the onion mounds and flatten the beef firmly (use your palm) so the onion adheres to the beef. The patties should measure 4 inches in diameter. Season the beef generously with salt and pepper.
Melt the butter with the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Using a large spatula, transfer the patties to the skillet, onion side down. Cook for 6-8 minutes, until the onions turn a deep golden brown and begin to crisp around the edges. Flip the burgers, then increase the heat to high and cook until well browned on the second side, about 2 minutes.
Add 1 or 2 slices of cheese to each burger and allow to melt. Add mayo, mustard and pickles to the top buns, then place each burger on a bottom buns. Serve immediately.
I can't wait to try these! Caitlin likes watching cooking shows, too :)
ReplyDeleteThis looks so good. I have to try it.
ReplyDeleteI live in Oklahoma about 10 miles from where the "Onion Burger" festival is held. The original is served with mustard and pickles only. And yes-they are freakn yummy!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI have to get back to Johnnies in El Reno/
DeleteWhat does wringing out the water from the onions do?
ReplyDeleteRemoves the moisture and helps them brown more quickly.
DeleteBack in the early 1970s, there was a hole in the wall coffee/burger shop at Madison & 90th. that was open all night. A "burger" was made of fresh ground beef (done there) with onions ground together with the beef. It came out as a round ball. When placed on the grill. it was flattened. Best, sweetest burgers in town.
DeleteTo this day, I always mixed diced onions into my burgers. It keeps them moist, adds flavor, and the smell is to die for!
Best burger that I have ever made. Only used 1/2 of the salt after reading comments and it was great!
DeleteWe are burger people and I will be making them real soon!
DeleteLooks good but would be nice to see what the meat and onion look like when cooked. You pic only shows a bun with cheese between it. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteTy
ReplyDeleteI lived in El Reno when I was a teenager. There was this itty bitty burger place called Robert's and EVERYONE in town went there every day for lunch. This is how they made theirs. BEST BURGERS EVER!! Imagine my surprise when I came across an article in Southern Living magazine that showcased Robert's (not called another name)as being one of the top 10 burgers in the nation!! I was so glad to see it was still around.
ReplyDeleteLoved Robert's too, and always make my burgers this way!
DeleteRoberts is still Roberts. The article was about another restaurant, Sids.
DeleteI can't believe anyone is mentioning El Reno! My dad lived there as a boy and look me there to visit as a girl. Always remembered Roberts and those hamburgers. Immediately thought of them when I saw this picture.
ReplyDeleteI honestly thought the picture was hash browns underneath the burger! lol
ReplyDeleteThats next lol
DeleteBet you could replace onions w potatoes...i fry thin sliced potatoes then lay egg over them...why not a burger over potatoes
DeleteI followed this recipe to the "T" and the burgers were very salty (in my opinion)….next time I'll use 1/2 tsp of salt on the sliced onion.
ReplyDeleteThats good to know ty. Could also rinse them off and add just add s&p to the hamburger?
DeleteIf you rinse them off it seems it would defeat the purpose of salting them which is to get rid of the "extra" moisture. I will try it with a bit less salt and a really good squeeze.
DeleteThere's a burger joint in Corado Springs called The Green Line that serves Oklahoma style onion burgers. I'd never heard of them (never been to Oklahoma) but they are wonderful. Their fries are great too!
ReplyDeleteJ&W Grill located at 501 W Choctaw Ave in Chickasha, OK, has wonderful onion burgers!
ReplyDeleteThey have the best burgers in the USA!
DeleteI should mention Hamburger Inn on Washington in downtown Ardmore. Back in the 60's you could get a bag of five onion burgers for a buck! Still in operation today. It is one of those hole in the wall diners that maybe can holds 30 people comfortably. Love that place!
ReplyDeleteLove onions! I usually mix onions in my burger but I also love to make sautéed onions to top my burgers. Thinly sliced onions, butter, a1 and Lea & perrins with a little water in a sauce pan and simmer till onions are done and sauce is thick. This is beyond yummy.
ReplyDeleteLOL, I thought I had made up this recipe. I try to follow a low carb diet. I started making these about a year ago. I don't have the bun, just the burger with cheese and some sweet green pickle relish.
ReplyDeleteI am doing low carb and the other day I found a recipe for keto buns made with psyllium, almond flour coconut flour. I'm trying these with those ;)
Deletehttp://ketodietapp.com/Blog/post/2014/11/12/Ultimate-Keto-Buns
DeleteOh my! I made these last week and they were excellent. I only wish I'd remembered to grab pickles. Seems like every time I try a new recipe I forget something. lol
ReplyDeleteisn't this how White Castle makes them?
ReplyDeleteThat's what I was thinking!
Deleteno
DeleteBeen to El Reno for onion burgers many times!!! Deeeeee-lish!!!
ReplyDeleteNever put mayo on one of these burgers. Ruins the flavor. Just mustard, thats all. (As a matter of fact I never put mayo on any burger).
ReplyDeleteWe have a place that does burger just like this in Jonesville, Indiana. It's called The Brick and they're delicious. It's a tiny hole in the wall with the best burgers and the best chili! There used to be another place called Lucas Brothers, but they went out of business and I miss them terribly!
ReplyDeleteThese were amazing! We love burgers and we love cooked onions so I wasn't afraid to do a little extra onion. I took it a little easy on the salt and it was a good thing because I could still taste it quite easily. I only cooked the first side for 6 minutes (rather than 6-8 min) and then turned off the heat at 1:30 min for the second side (rather than 2 full min) and there still wasn't any pink inside. I will definitely be making these again!
ReplyDeleteI, too, enjoyed these burgers in OK years ago.
ReplyDeleteToday i tried a new one. Cooked bacon and once the grease flooded the pan i added diced onion. Cooked bacon medium well then drained some fat and cooked my eggs on the onions. Bacon had a nice sweetness to it. Eggs were great.
Watched an interview of a well known chef. When asked of his favorite spice, he replied, "i cant imagine anything that's not better with onion."
There is a place in Milton Fl. Called the Oval office it is a small hole in wall place. But they have burgers like this I get one every time I go home.
ReplyDeleteThere's a place that has been in operation since 1929 in Elwood Indiana serving a burger with grilled onions using a similar procedure except the burger and onions are started cooking separately then combined after the burger is browned on one side.
ReplyDeleteJust found this recipe, can't wait to try it! Perhaps a silly question...but when you flip the burger over, do you flip it WITH the onions so the burger itself goes directly into the skillet to cook on that side with the onions then on top, or do you leave the onions in place and just flip the burger over on top of the onions as they originally were? This recipe sounds amazing, so I want to be sure I do it exactly as you did! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYes, flip the burger patty with the onions so the onions end up on top of the burger. When you smash the meat onto the onions they're supposed to adhere but some of mine always end up falling off in the pan. I just push them back on top of the burger with the spatula. :) Be warned - this is a messy burger to both cook and eat. Grease gets everywhere when the burgers are cooking!
DeleteLoved this, I grew up in Chicago and reminds me of White Castle
ReplyDeleteDo you melt the cheese on top of the onions?
ReplyDeleteYes, I do.
DeleteI slice my onions on a mandolin, put them between 2 patties mash them together an cook on the grill, soooo delish.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a good idea...I was wondering how to get these on the grill. Doing it today...thank you!!
DeleteMade these burgers and have to say I will never grill another burger again. They were Delish...and moist and so flavorful. I liked the idea that there wasn't all kinds of ingredients in the burger, just good meat. Will put these on our regular meal rotation.
ReplyDeleteMade these burgers and have to say they were Delish. Won't be grilling my burgers any time in the near future. Love the fact that there isn't loads of ingredients in the patty...just good fresh meat. Will be adding this to our regular meal rotation.
ReplyDeleteMade these today as written. Next time (and there will be many "next times,") I will use less butter/oil to fry 'em. The meat (80/20) gave off a lot of fat, and I had to drain off some. Dressed only with mustard and pickles. Oh, SO good!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed them!
DeleteWhen you turned the burgers, did you turn the onions, too? Or did you leave the onion on the bottom? I love grilled onions. As for salting and drying out the onions - I always do that with potatoes and cucumbers but never thought of doing it for onions.
ReplyDeleteYes, you want to flip the onions along with the burger patties. Most of them should adhere to the meat, but I just use a spatula to pile on the ones that fall off.
DeleteGreat recipe, my wife loves them also. Thanks
ReplyDeleteI've got to try my burgers this way. I love glazed onions on my burger but I have never squished them into and cooked under the burger.
ReplyDeleteOK first off love this recipe ! Made these last night . All loved them . Secondly facebook removed my post from your blog saying it is spam ??? Had to laugh and said no , it is beef . But hey . Great recipe !
ReplyDeleteAbout to make them now ��
ReplyDeleteWe cook our burgers outside on the grill, so we cook the onions in a pan on the grill's side burner. So, I guess I make a Faux Oklahoma Burger.
ReplyDeleteThe absolute best ever: Cozy Inn, Salina KS. Opened in 1922. According to Michael and Jane Stern in Gourmet magazine, Cozy was the original "slider."
ReplyDeleteOh man! IU am so going to try these! they are perfect to fill my,
ReplyDeletehttps://goodcookingfortheheartandsoul.blogspot.com/2017/08/100-whole-wheat-sourdough-hamburger-buns.html
Thanks for sharing,
The Roadside Pie King
Seems like a lot of extra steps for an onion burger. Sounds too salty. No need for the butter with all that grease. Ad you could just do a slab of onion with a meat patty. Probably would be much quicker also. Who has time for the onions to 'sit in a colander' for 30 minutes?
ReplyDeleteThe salting it to extract as much liquid as possible from the onions so they Brown up nicely quickly as opposed to releasing the liquid in the pan and steaming the burger. You don't need a ton of salt and you don't taste it either as most of it drips away in the water drained from the onions
DeleteThose burgers are just like the ones prepared at a restaurant k used to go to with my husband when we were dating before we married, although they used very little hamburger, the fried til they were carmelized onions just made those burgers. It was called Stanley's.
ReplyDelete