If you’re craving a classic cheese burger, these will totally hit the spot! I was inspired by a burger I had while dining out recently, and I tried my best to recreate the recipe at home.
While this burger kinda reminds me of a double double from In-n-Out, it’s different enough from the California classic to distinguish it on its own. Plus, everyone likes hamburgers!
My favorite feature of this recipe has to be the grilled onions. They’re almost caramelized – cooked long enough to bring out the onion’s sweetness, but not reduced and browned like caramelized onions are. The other reason I love this burger is the secret sauce. I’m not sure why every burger sauce recipe that’s mayonnaise and ketchup based is called “secret sauce,” but I do know it's always good! I sourced a few different recipes, but landed on one from WonkyWonderful because it looked simple and it had the tang I was looking for. It also tastes great on French fries, so it did double duty.
As far as bun choice goes, I’m sure a lot of you are wondering why I chose ciabatta. The answer: it's the best bread! Not just for the taste and durability compared to traditional burger buns, but also because it comes in a pack of four. I hate when I have two random buns leftover! Not to mention the burger that inspired this recipe used ciabatta bread too, so for authenticity sake, I had to use them anyway. I do think this burger would be really good with brioche buns or sesame seed buns – use whatever you like!
Chloe loves it when I make a meal with meat. She always comes around to meow at me while I prepare the food. She prefers her burgers on the raw side, but she liked these just the same. 8/10 for Chloe!
Smash Burgers with Secret Sauce
Yield: 4 burgers
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Burger Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, largely diced
1 lb lean ground beef
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cheddar cheese slices
4 ciabatta buns, cut in half and toasted
Iceberg lettuce leaves, optional
Pickle slices, optional
Tomato, sliced, optional
Secret Sauce Ingredients
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup ketchup
½ tsp yellow mustard
2 tsp pickle juice
½ tsp chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Start by heating your olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed skillet (I like Cast Iron) on medium heat. Add the onions and stir occasionally. Cook the onions until they start to brown on the edges, stopping before they caramelize, about 15-20 minutes. Remove the onions from the pan and set them aside.
While the onions cook, begin prepping the burger patties. Separate the ground beef into 8 evenly sized balls. Next, using some parchment paper on the bottom and the top of the ball, use a large, flat spatula, or the flat side of a meat tenderizer, to flatten the patties. Flatten them so they are all larger than the size of your palm. Repeat until you've flattened all the patties.
Using the same cast iron skillet you used for the onions, heat the pan to medium-high. Once the pan is hot, throw the patties down on the skillet, removing the paper, and seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook for a minute or two on each side.
Once the patties have been flipped, place a cheese slice on 4 out of the 8 patties. Place another cooked patty on top of the cheese topped patty. Let the cheese melt a bit, remove them from the pan, and set them aside. If you’re working in batches, cook the rest of the patties the same way.
Next, make the secret sauce by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl. Set that aside to start assembling the burgers.
Split a ciabatta bun open and add a heaping tablespoon of secret sauce to both buns. Add optional lettuce, pickles, and tomatoes to the bottom bun. Then top with a burger patty and onions.
Serve warm and enjoy!
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