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Oklahoma Onion Burgers
Updated May 29, 2024
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- Total Time
- 15 to 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 1pound ground beef, preferably 20 to 30 percent fat
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2medium or 1 large yellow or white onion, sliced as thinly as possible, and on a mandoline for best results (8 to 10 ounces of sliced onion)
- 4slices American cheese
- 4soft, sturdy hamburger buns, such as King’s Hawaiian rolls
- Dill pickle chips and condiments, as desired
Preparation
- Step 1
Divide the beef: Line a 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the ground beef into 4 even balls. Working one ball at a time and using your hands, massage the meat until it is cohesive and tacky, about 15 seconds. Next, using clean hands, roll each into a smooth ball. Place the balls on the baking sheet, with 1 ball in the center of each quadrant. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
- Step 2
Shape the patties: Gently press each ball into a disk-shaped patty about 3 inches wide. Place the patties on a sheet pan or large plate, and season the tops with salt and pepper. Flip the patties, and top each with a large pile of sliced onions — as many as you can balance on top; they should resemble a large haystack. (It is important to not add salt to the onions at this point, as it will draw out excess moisture, which will inhibit searing.)
- Step 3
Heat the skillet or griddle: Heat a large (12-inch) cast-iron or carbon-steel skillet or griddle (see Tips) over an indoor burner set to high heat or on the grates of a hot outdoor grill for a few minutes until very hot; a drop of water should skitter around the surface. (If you don’t have a pan skillet or griddle big enough, you can cook the burgers in batches.) Place 1 patty of beef in the center of one quadrant of the pan, with the onions on top (do not add any oil).
- Step 4
Smash the burgers: Using a very stiff spatula, press on the onions and beef to form a patty 4½- to 5-inches wide. As you smash, focus on the patty’s edges so that the finished patty is slightly thicker in the center and smashed out as thinly as possible along the edges. Repeat with the remaining patties. Use the spatula to place any stray onions back on top of the burgers. Season the onions lightly with salt and pepper.
- Step 5
Cook the burgers: Allow patties to cook without moving until the edges are dark brown and crusty, 1 to 2 minutes. Holding the spatula upside down (so that the head of the spatula is angled down to increase leverage), scrape the edges of each patty off the pan, working around each patty to ensure that you don’t leave any crispy edges behind. When the edges have all been loosened, turn the spatula back over (so you are holding it the standard way) and flip the patties onion side down. Use the spatula and tongs or a fork to tuck any stray onion slices mostly under the patties.
- Step 6
Steam the cheese and buns: Add a slice of cheese to each patty. Place the top half of each burger bun on top of the cheese, and place the bottom half of each bun on top of the top bun, split-side down. Cover the pan or griddle with a large domed lid, a large overturned saucepan or a clean folded dish towel. (To avoid a fire, make sure the edges of the dish towel do not hang over the skillet or griddle. If cooking on an outdoor grill, just close the lid.) Continue cooking until the onions are browned along the edges and the buns are steamed through, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
- Step 7
To serve, open the cover or lid. Remove the bottom burger bun halves to a serving platter. Add pickles and condiments as desired. (These burgers don’t typically need condiments.) Lift each burger from the skillet with the spatula and transfer to the bottom bun. Serve immediately.
- To add some chargrilled flavor, heat your entire gas or charcoal grill to high heat. (A full chimney of coals spread out under the cooking surface for a standard kettle grill, or all the burners on high for a gas grill.) Next, smash the onion-topped patties on top of a parchment-lined sheet tray in Step 2.
- When ready to cook, heat a skillet or griddle directly over one side of the grill until very hot (5 minutes with the lid off, if cooking with coal, or 15 minutes with the lid on, if cooking with gas). When the skillet is hot, brush both the grates over the empty half of the grill and the skillet or griddle with a little neutral cooking oil. Add the onion-topped patties to the grates with a spatula, season with salt and pepper, and let them cook without moving until well charred on the bottom, 1 to 2 minutes. When ready to flip, flip them straight into the skillet, onion-side down, and continue cooking exactly as directed in Step 6.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
My ex’s grandfather made these at his diner in Oklahoma so they were always known in the family as grandpa burgers. No cheese, onions diced instead of sliced, served with yellow mustard. Very good. Frying the onions separately is definitely NOT the same thing and not better. But it was a very bitter divorce so I might need therapy if I made these.
Wowowow!! What a delicious burger! We followed the recipe exactly and took the suggestion to put a cast iron on the grill to prevent onion-house. I made a couple with the Impossible meat too and my vegetarian husband was a big fan as well! Was worth prepping everything in advance before bringing it out to the grill since everything was quick. Highly highly recommend this recipe. Bravo Kenji!
The folks in El Reno have been using the method described in the recipe for 80 years. I bet they know best. You're welcome!
I always use Martin's potato rolls. Very soft, not sweet.
one of the best items i have purchased is a portable induction cooktop. when i want to make fried chicken, which just makes a spectacular mess, i pull out this piece of magic, set it up outside on a table and get to work. same would go for these, which i am going to make this weekend. outside.
Trader Joe's brioche buns are my go-to for hamburgers. Soft and sweet but much sturdier than other brioche buns I've tried.
I dislike the sweetness of Kings Hawaiian rolls - does anyone have a go-to that isn’t a sugarbomb?
Does anyone remember the old "White Castle" chain in NYC. The burgers in this article are very similar to the 25 cent burger that you purchased at White Castle by the sackful. And, when the NY Daily News ran a coupon, it was "Katie bar the door". The missing element in any good "cheap" burger is the amount of old grease on the grill and in the walls of the establishment. This gives the finishing touch to the unforgettable flavor. Alas, Mr.Lopez-Alt. you can never get this at home.
you'll miss out on the triple effect of onions cooked three ways (caramelized/seared/steamed). The smashing allows for more charring and the huge quantity of onions adds moisture to the burger
Nope. If you smash in the first 30 seconds you just deform raw meat. No fat or juices are lost. See Kenji's article on serious eats: https://www.seriouseats.com/classic-smashed-burgers-recipe
Everything should be as simple as it can be, but not simpler. When to salt, how to scrape to get all the Maillard reaction into the final product, bathing the buns in onion steam--these are details important to the successful execution of the recipe. Don't over-simplify.
Interestingly, the article mentions Telway Hamburgers for an inspirational take on the preparation. The original owner of Telway's was an Oklahoma veteran! I'm a OU Sooner grad, now residing in Michigan. I've been to both onion burger counters and I can attest - delicious! My tip: use a cast-iron skillet, heat it slowly until it's fire hot. Have everyone and everything ready, at the table and be ready to sit down when you put the meat on. Prep takes a while, but the cooking goes quickly!
These are very tasty--I will definitely make again. My family used to like huge, fat, juicy burgers, but we're not the carnivores we once were. I love onions, but raw onions are too harsh, these cooked onions are mellow. I followed the recipe with no condiments and the only thing I would recommend is a little additional salt and pepper at the end. Thank you!
The article goes into detail about how onion cells release more of their savory, umami (meat-like) compounds when sliced into rings parallel to the onion's equator.
Seems to me this misses the whole point of the exercise; to allow the two ingredients to interact.
What part of Oklahoma are these from? I am a 3rd generation Oklahoman (northeastern) and have only heard of this in recent years.
I thought I followed the recipe but ended up with raw meat in the center and barely soft onions. I really don't understand how 4 oz of beef and onions can get cooked in 3-4 minutes. To carmeluze onions properly, it takes at least 25 minutes at low heat, per Julia Child.
Ronnie Spector made a version of this called Mother Daughter burgers, after her mom. You very finely mince the onions and add to the burgers along with salt and pepper. I like to use a flat plastic 6-inch round lid from one of my containers to smash the burgers very well on a waxed paper covered plate prior to cooking, Then, refrigerate the patties for 30 minutes or so before cooking, if time allows. If not proceed to the grill. Use any bun you like. Simply delicious.
The pan needs to be insanely hot for this to work as intended. The char and sear of all ingredients is the goal; I let my skillet heat on the gas grill for 20+ minutes on high with the cover closed before launching the patties. The cook is fast, so stay sharp. An excellent prep!
This Okie is thrilled to find this recipe! I’ve tried & tried to recreate a good ol’ greasy-spoon onion burger to no avail. Success!! Used a regular hamburger bun since no OK diner would dream of using a Hawaiian bun.
Unbelievably delicious! Followed the recipe exactly, cooked in cast iron on the grill outside. Added mustard and pickles. Made twice: once with a potato bun and american cheese from the deli counter; second time with a brioche bun and regular packaged american cheese. Second iteration was better.
I have been smashing my Onion burgers with my tortilla press. I got some pre-cut parchment paper that's the right size for the press. For Onion burgers the grease is the condiment.
This recipe has become a go to! We add a homemade “Big Mac Sauce” to the bun and serve with pickles and a tomato. It’s so good and so simple!
Todd-O-Phonic Todd turned me onto to these, pow pow pow!
I did not like these. They came out too thin, and as others have said, give your house an extreme case of the onions. The onion flavor manifests as one-dimensional and crude, overpowering everything else.
Wow..these are delicious!! Honestly know that I have had burgers with onion placed into the burger there is no going back. It makes the burgers so flavorful and moist. I definitely recommend taking the extra step of putting them on the grill as the char-grill flavor adds so much flavor. Just be careful when you flip on the onion side as there was flare-up. Really really good. Highly recommend.
The best. Dream about these.
Did them on the BBQ grill with a stone and they picked up that great smokey flavor - it is now our go to for our outdoor burgers.
I made these in a small slider size for my book club's discussion of The Grapes of Wrath, which has a lengthy description of Al, a diner cook, making these burgers. (Quoted below by Vin C Sayville NY). Excellent.
Excellent. Did with veg burger.
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