The Best Oklahoma Onion Patty Melt You'll Ever Make
Oklahoma Onion Burgers are an iconic American classic. We take that classic and put it into a patty melt with delicious results.
Things to know:
What is an Oklahoma style onion burger?
It’s essentially a smash burger pressed over a pile of paper-thin onions that steam and fry under the patty to frizzled, caramelized perfection. It was created at the Hamburger Inn in the 1920s in El Reno, Oklahoma, as a way to stretch ground beef with less-costly onions (the burger was roughly 50% onion!)
What makes an Oklahoma burger unique?
The Oklahoma-style method piles onions right onto the patty, giving you big, beefy, onion-forward flavor that’s more than the sum of its parts. Thin, orbital slices — up to half an onion per burger — deliver maximum onion deliciousness.
What makes a patty melt different than a burger?
A patty melt is a type of grilled sandwich, essentially a burger’s indoor cousin, distinguished by using griddled bread (typically rye) instead of a bun, often incorporating caramelized onions, melted Swiss cheese, and sometimes a tangy sauce like Thousand Island, while a burger uses a bun and offers more varied toppings. The key difference lies in the bread and the classic patty melt’s simpler, griddled preparation versus a burger’s bun and broader topping options.
What’s the secret to a perfectly melted patty melt?
The secret to a perfectly melted patty melt is layering, using the right cheese (Swiss + maybe Cheddar), starting the melt on the patty, then finishing it on the griddle with a lid to trap heat for oozy perfection, using butter or mayo on the bread for crispiness, and ensuring your caramelized onions are sweet and your thin patties are sized to the bread.
Why is it called a patty melt?
The origin of the patty melt, however, is somewhat better documented, with most sources agreeing that the hamburger patty (or patties) with cheese, served in rye bread slices rather than a bun, first appeared on menus in 1940s California at Tiny Naylor’s eponymous restaurants.
Ingredients
(for 8 patty melts)
3 sweet onions
3 T of Bourbon (we used Bubba’s Brown Sugar Whiskey)
4 lbs ground beef
Spiceology’s SPG seasoning
16 sliced sourdough bread
8 slices White American cheese
2 cups shredded white cheddar
beef tallow (wagyu if you have it)
1. Peel and quarter the onions, then shred in a food processor.
placed the shredded onions in a kitchen towel and twist to remove as much water as possible.
2. Place the squeezed onions in a bowl and add the bourbon.
3. Diving the beef into 16 4 oz. balls
4. Melt the beef tallow on your griddle.
5. Place a ball of meat on the griddle. After about 30 seconds, flip the ball, place 1/16th of the onions on top of the ball of meat, then smash with a press. Season the patty with SPG
6. Repeat 15 more times.
7. After a crust is developed on the patty (about 4 min), flip the patty.
8. After about 4 more minutes, take 8 of the patties and place them on top of the other 8 patties, offsetting them a bit so they cover the entire slice of sourdough.
9. Slather a good bit of may on one side of 8 of the sourdough slices and place them mayo side down on the griddle.
10. Place a slice of white American cheese on each slice, top with the offset burger patties, then add a handful of shredded white cheddar and top with a slice of sourdough with the top side slathered in mayo.
11. Once the bottom slice is toasted and the cheese begins to melt, flip the burger. Adding a little water, then placing a dome over the patty melts will assist in fully melting the cheese.
12. Once the other slice of sourdough is toasted to your liking, remove the patty melts from the griddle, serve and ENJOY!
Equipment used:
Cuisinart Food Processor 14-Cup Vegetable Chopper
Blackstone Griddle
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