Patty Melt

Just like your favorite diner food, this Patty Melt is a comfort food classic! A hamburger patty is topped with caramelized onions, cheese, and a special sauce, all wrapped up in two slices of bread and then grilled.

Course Sandwich

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 55

Total Time 1 10

Servings servings

Calories 907kcal

Author Deborah Harroun

Ingredients

Caramelized Onions

3 medium sweet onions
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and Pepper

Sauce

1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon relish
1 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoons vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Burgers

1 pound ground beef
Salt and pepper
8 slices bread rye, sourdough, or Texas toast are all popular choices
8 slices cheese
4 tablespoons softened butter

Instructions

Slice the root end and the stem end off of each onion. Remove the outer peels, then cut the onions in half from top to bottom. Working with one half at a time, cut slices from top to bottom, keeping them all about the same same size. (This is the opposite of cutting the onion into half moons.)
3 medium sweet onions
Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a heavy skillet (I like a cast iron skillet) and then add the onions. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are golden and caramelized. This will take about 35-40 minutes if you still want a little bit of a bite to your onions. You can take them even farther and completely soften them, but I like a little bit of texture still for these sandwiches.
2 tablespoons butter
Add some salt and pepper, to taste, about 3/4 of the way through. When the onions are done, you’ll want to taste and season again, if needed. Remove the onions from the skillet and wipe it out.
Salt and Pepper
In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, relish, sugar, vinegar, garlic powder, and paprika.
1/4 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons ketchup, 1 tablespoon relish, 1 teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoons vinegar, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon paprika
Take the ground beef and divide it into 4 even portions. Shape each into a thin patty and season both sides with salt and pepper.
1 pound ground beef, Salt and pepper
Heat the skillet over medium-high heat and add the patties. (You may need to do this in batches, depending on the size of your pan.) Cook the patties until they are browned, then flip and cook the second side. They cook quickly - it should only take about 3 minutes per side.
Assemble the sandwiches: Lay the bread out on a counter or work surface. Spread some of the sauce on each of the slices of bread, then top each with a slice of cheese. Add the 4 patties to the tops of 4 of the pieces of bread, then layer the onions on top of the patties. Place the other pieces of bread on top, cheese side down.
8 slices bread, 8 slices cheese
Spread 1/2 tablespoon of softened butter on the outsides of each slice of bread.
4 tablespoons softened butter
Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat. Add the sandwiches, and cook until toasted on both sides and the cheese is melted.
Cut in half to serve.

Notes

If your pan has a lid, I like to cover the sandwiches for part of the grilling to make sure the cheese melts. If you don’t have a lid, you can also use loosely tented foil.

Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should be used as a general guide.

Nutrition