Patty Melt Recipe

By missy55

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil
• 2 medium Vidalia or Walla Walla onions
• 3 pinches salt
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) white wine
• 1 tablespoon salted butter
• Peanut oil or other neutral oil
• 1 1/2 pounds (about 750 g) freshly ground beef (preferably 80%)
• Salt for seasoning
• Butter
• 8 to 10 slices crusty bakery bread or, if you want to make a traditional patty melt, seeded rye
• American cheese

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 35mins
Cooking time 35mins
Adapted from leitesculinaria.com

Preparation

Step 1

Cook the onions
1. Preheat a skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil.
2. Slice the onions into fairly thin rings (we sliced ours about 1/8-inch thick) and add them to the skillet, stirring to coat with oil and continuing to stir and poke and pat and move around until onions become limp, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Add salt and stir to incorporate.
4. Add the wine and raise heat to high for 1 minute or so, stirring constantly until liquid evaporates, then return to medium and add butter, stirring until melted.
5. Cook, turning the onions in the pan frequently for another 10 to 15 minutes or until they are nicely golden brown and they look awesome. [Editor’s Note: Just to be clear, the onions are not going to be caramelized after this short amount of time. And that’s okay. Although if you really want caramelized onions, be our guest and let them cook at least another 30 minutes or so. Remove the pan from the heat.
Make the patty melt
6. Preheat one of the cast-iron skillets over medium heat and add a drop or two of oil to coat the surface. Preheat the second skillet over medium heat.
7. Form the ground beef into 4 or 5 balls of beef (they should be heaping).
8. Once the first skillet with the oil is hot, drop the balls of beef into the pan, one or two at a time. Season with salt and smash them flat so each patty is just smaller than the slice of bread. Cook the patties, without touching them, for 3 to 5 minutes. Flip the burgers and cook them for 2 to 3 minutes more for medium-rare. (If a crustier surface is desired, crank the heat to medium-high when you cook the burgers.) Transfer the burgers to a wire rack placed over a plate.
9. Butter 1 side of each slice of bread. Place 1 slice of bread in the second skillet, butter side down. Add a slice of cheese on top of the bread, followed by a cooked patty, a forkful of onions, followed by another slice of cheese and a second slice of bread, butter side up. Cover and cook for 2 1/2 minutes, keeping an eye on the sandwich so the bread doesn’t burn. Then flip the whole thing and cook for 1 minute more, without a cover. Using a spatula, remove the patty melt from the skillet and shimmy it onto a plate. Repeat with the remaining patties, buttered bread, cheese, and onions. Consume immediately.