A Cheeseburger with Raw Onion
made this at home today
A cheeseburger made at home, which is the only kind worth photographing. Nothing on it is unusual. Everything on it is correct.
Raw onion, cut thick. Not caramelised, not grilled, not a crisp — one thick ring of white onion with all its bite still in it. It is the only thing standing between a burger and sixty seconds of unrelieved richness, and every version of this that leaves it out is worse.
And the patty is pressed thin once, early, and then never touched again. Every press after that is juice leaving the burger.
- Makes
- 2 burgers
- Hands-on
- 15 minutes
- In the pan
- 4 minutes
- Onion
- Raw, thick
What you need
The burgers
- 1 lb ground beef, 80/20 — the fat is not negotiable
- Coarse kosher salt
- Coarse black pepper
- 4 slices sharp yellow cheddar
- 1 tsp beef tallow or oil
To build
- 2 soft burger buns, split
- Butter for the cut sides
- 1 white onion, one thick ring per burger
- Ketchup, more than looks sensible
- Yellow mustard, if you are that way inclined
How it goes
1 — Do not work the meat
Divide it into two loose balls and leave it at that. Ground beef kneaded, salted early or packed tight goes dense and springy, and no amount of good cooking recovers it.
2 — Salt only when it hits the pan
Salt on the surface at the last second. Salt mixed into the meat dissolves the proteins and turns a burger into a sausage.
3 — Toast the buns in butter first
Cut sides down in a buttered pan until properly golden. This is a waterproof layer as much as it is flavour — it is what stops the bottom bun dissolving under the ketchup.
4 — Press once, hard, in a screaming pan
Ball into the hot pan, then flatten it with a stiff spatula in one firm press and hold it for ten seconds. That is the only time it gets pressed.
5 — Two minutes, flip, cheese on immediately
Leave it alone until the edges go lacy and brown. Flip, cheese straight on, ninety seconds more. The residual heat melts the cheese; nothing else is needed.
6 — Cut the onion ring thick
A quarter inch, from the middle of the onion where the rings are widest. One per burger. Raw.
pro tip — If raw onion is too much for someone, soak the ring in cold water for ten minutes. It takes the harshness out and leaves the crunch.
7 — Build it bottom-up and squash it
Bottom bun, ketchup, onion ring, patty with the cheese, top bun. Then press the whole thing down with your palm for a second so it holds together and the ketchup goes where it is going.
Made this at home today. Better than anything with a drive-through. LFG.