American🍞 Bread & bakery

Oklahoma Onion Burger

Name: Oklahoma Onion Burger
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2-3 Brown onions; 230 g Ground beef; 2 American cheese slices; to taste Yellow mustard; to taste Pickles; 2 Potato rolls; to taste Salt

🍽 Serves 2

A classic American-style burger inspired by burger legend George Motz, featuring large amounts of paper-thin sliced onions that caramelize alongside the beef on a flat griddle, creating a distinctly sweet and savory flavor profile.

Adapted from a video by Back of House

Better Than a Smash Burger?

Watch on YouTube

Ingredients

Brown onionsSliced paper-thin on a mandoline, sometimes called sweet onions in the US2-3
Ground beefMix of chuck, brisket trimmings, and rib eye trimmings; 70/30 fat to lean ratio works well230 g
American cheese slicesYellow cheese that melts well and suits this burger style2
Yellow mustardto taste
Picklesto taste
Potato rollsSoft buns, lightly toasted2
Saltto taste

Steps

▶ Tap a timecode to jump to roughly that moment in the video.

1
Slice the brown onions paper-thin using a mandoline or Japanese slicer. Adjust the mandoline to ensure paper-thin thickness so the onions can caramelize while cooking with the beef.
2
Divide the ground beef into two portions of approximately 110–115 g each. Roll each portion into a tight ball to ensure even cooking and a uniform patty when pressed.
3
Preheat a flat griddle to medium temperature. Place the beef balls on the griddle and season with salt.
4
Pile generous amounts of paper-thin onion slices on top of each beef ball, covering them well. Sprinkle salt over the onions.
5
Use a burger smasher with parchment paper to press down the beef and onions with even, firm pressure. Unlike traditional smash burgers, the goal is not a lacy-thin patty but rather to combine the onions with the beef.
6
Cook the patties until the onions begin to show color and caramelize. Adjust the griddle heat as needed to maintain proper temperature for browning the beef and caramelizing the onions.
7
Flip the patties, keeping the onions on top. Move them toward the back of the griddle to make room for toasting the buns. Continue cooking until the beef is cooked through and the onions underneath are well caramelized.
8
Place cheese slices on top of the patties and let them melt.
9
Toast the burger buns on the griddle until lightly browned.
10
Assemble the burger by placing the bottom bun first, adding mustard, topping with the cooked patty and caramelized onions, adding pickles, and finishing with the top bun.

Oklahoma Onion Burger

Ingredients

Steps

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