Sid’s Onion Burger

By CheeseDiva

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 lb. ground beef,
• gently formed into 6 balls
• 2 medium yellow onions,
• very thinly sliced with a mandoline
• or a sharp knife and divided into
• 6 equal portions
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 6 slices american cheese
• 6 hamburger buns, toasted

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from saveur.com

Preparation

Step 1

For these addictively tasty burgers, ground beef is pressed onto the griddle with paper-thin slices of onion and seared until crisp around the edges. The recipe comes from Sid's Diner, a restaurant in El Reno, Oklahoma, and was featured in our special Burger issue (August/September 2009).

1. Working in 2 batches, heat 2 tbsp. oil in a 12" cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 beef balls and, using the back of a spatula, press down on them until they're thin; cook for 1 minute. Top each patty with a portion of the onions; season with salt. Press onions into the meat and cook for 1 minute more.

2. Flip burgers; flatten with the spatula. Place a cheese slice on each patty and let melt while onions and meat brown. Serve on buns.

MAKES 6 BURGERS

Putting Heat to the Meat

My kind of burger. Very much in the style of famed buger joint White Mana in Hackensack, NJ. Except after flipping, they add the potato bun on top while it's cooking. A+

tried this tonight with ground turkey to very delicious results. the onions and last-minute sprinkle of salt help keep the meat moist without having to add anything else to the mix. love how the instructions include toasting the buns, it definitely makes a difference! i like mine with a little ketchup & sriracha on top.

Simple and delicious! I had never made a burger that didn't have anything mixed into the ground meat before! Love how the caramelised onions infused the burger with flavour. We used maple smoked cheddar - heavenly!

I love the simplicity of this recipe, my only gripe are all the directions to press down on the meat with the spatula. Never for a burger!

Great burger. Followed the instructions to the letter, they came out really tasty and moist. No condiments on them either, just from the pan to the toasted bun. I'd make these again.

A very different way to make your burger.I have never tasted a Sid's buger,but i had to prepare one at home from the picture i saw in the magazine.The burger defintely needs to be flattened with the spatula (ala the shake shack)It gets a good crust and a good sear.I probably prefer a potato roll or even white bread like Louis lunch buger in conn.Either way one of my favorite burgers!!!!

First burger I've made that I've been proud of. I've always been a fan of thin burgers with minimal additives. This definitely fits that description. My boyfriend loved it claiming it's on par with the Arcade burger in Memphis. I used grass fed beef since the flavor of the meat was an important element. As for the onions, I just had my boyfriend use a knife to slice the onions very thinly; I don't think it made a huge difference. I also liked how they had some texture left. I dressed it with thin layer of mayo on the bottom bun, american cheese, hand cut kosher dill pickles, tomato, yellow mustard, and ketchup. I'll definitely turn to this recipe any time I want a classic cheese burger.

Totally yum! There's something about the copious amount of onions and thin patties that makes this version succulent and delicious. Don't be afraid of smashing the patty into the onions -- it works. And unless you have amazing knife skills, the onions are best cut wafer thin on a mandolin. I tried an adapted recipe for this style of burger published by the America's Test Kitchen people, and it was nowhere near as good. They used fewer onions, divided the ground beef into four patties instead of six, and pressed the onions and meat together before adding to the pan. The results were a pale comparison.