A few days ago I came across the Oklahoma Fried Onion Burger (for the first time!) and it got my attention. What a gorgeous pure burger. No salad, no tomato, no mustard, no bbq sauce………
First served during the Great Depression in the 30s when meat was expensive, so they stretched the meat with onions.
Two completely different animals (and the patty melt is a third completely different animal). These smashburgers highlight the crispy sear while those big beefy burgers highlight the meat. The patty melt highlights the toasted, buttered bread as much as the burger IMO. I love them all.
Speaking of rare burgers, when I was a kid I made a couple burgers for me and my grandmother. She stepped away for a few minutes to answer the door. I cooked the burgers to near well done. She got upset and told me how she used to eat her burgers raw. Not tartare, not seared, just a hunk of ground beef on a bun. I couldn’t fathom it at the time.
My father grew up in the depression. The family stretched hamburger by blending diced onions into the hamburger. We ate those as kids but preferred my onions on the outside of the burger.
There’s a German appetizer recipe that uses raw hamburger. Don’t know the recipe, but my extended German family still makes and serves it. I have no desire to try it.
I like the Smashburger/Five Guys style of burger but, like Glenn, still prefer a spot where they ask “how would you like it cooked?”.
My husband gets our BGE up to 1000 degrees and sears the burger first, then drops the temp and cooks it the rest of the way. Perfect crunchy crust and nice and rare in the middle.
I love this burger and it’s sort of the only one I’ll make at home.
IMO George Motz’s take on this, and his video demos on YT are the ones to watch and emulate.
American cheese and Martin’s Potato Rolls make quite a difference.
I prefer smash burgers now. Thick burgers cooked anything below medium well gives me “intestinal distress”. And I am not a huge fan of medium well to well done cooked meat.
There is a place in Santa Barbara that does them exactly like Motz, with those same rolls, thin onions and the best (locally raised Parker Ranch) wagyu ground beef I’ve ever had. They’re a bit small but so rich if they were much bigger I’d have to take a nap.
thread drift but occasionally I lightly cook some bacon, dice it, add a little chopped onion to the bacon grease and sauté it, then add the bacon, onion, and a little diced filet mignon to ground beef and grill it, makes a dynamite hamburger with those additions.
