French Onion Burger

A thick, juicy burger patty, oozing Gruyère cheese and a healthy dollop of sweet, caramelized onions. This French Onion Burger is utterly irresistible and certainly packs a flavorful punch.

About this French Onion Burger:

The star of the show with this burger is the perfect balancing of French flavors: sweet caramelized onions, nutty Gruyère cheese and sharp Dijon mustard. You can find my perfect caramelized onion recipe here of follow the steps below. This recipe will show you how to create the perfect sear on your burger, perfectly toast and steam your buns and how to construct this oozy and delicious French Onion Burger.

Ingredients

• 160g beef patty
• Caramelized onions
• Slices of Gruyère cheese
• Dijon mustard
• Butter
• Brioche burger bun

See recipe card for quantities.

Step by step photographs:

1. Step 1: Over a medium-low heat, add your butter to a pan and toast your bread buns.

2. Step 2: Remove your buns, to the same pan add your burger patties. Turn the heat to high heat and cook on one side for 5 minutes and add salt and pepper.

What about the Caramelized Onions?

Follow the steps below or for the full recipe follow my perfect caramelized onion recipe here.

1. Step 1: Over a low heat, melt the butter in a pan, add your onions.

2. Step 2: After 10 minutes add a pinch of salt. The salt will help draw out some moisture and let the natural sugars release.

3. Step 3: Optional step: If you're in a hurry, add a tablespoon of brown sugar after the onions have started to caramelize.

4. Step 4: Stir in the sugar and allow to continue cooking on a low heat for a further 30 minutes.

What beef should I use for the patty?

The perfect burger patty needs to have a 70/30 meat to fat ratio. This allows the beef to remain succulent and juicy when cooked and adds a depth of flavor that low fat beef just can't match.

Which buns can I use for this French Onion Burger?

I have paired this burger with a brioche burger bun, the easy recipe can be found here: Brioche Hamburger Buns recipe. 

Alternatively, you can definitely use a simple seeded bun, the recipe can be found here: Homemade Hamburger Buns.

Substitutions

This French Onion Burger has wonderfully balanced flavors of salty and sweet, pairing with nutty slices of Gruyere cheese. However, if you want to use up other items you have in your refrigerator then here are some ideas:

• Cheese - if you're finding it tricky to source Gruyere cheese for this recipe, Comté cheese is a great alternative.
• Bun - use gluten free buns instead of brioche bread buns to make this gluten free
• Vegetarian - the beef hamburger can be replaced with a plant-based burger to make this vegetarian

Equipment

All you need to make this recipe perfect is a pan and pan lid. Instead of using a burger dome, simply use the lid for your pan to perfectly steam your buns and melt your cheese to perfection. You can easily fry your burgers in a pan, or be a star chef and grill on an iron skillet or griddle.

Storage

Store the wet ingredients from your French Onion Burger (Dijon mustard, cheese and caramelized onions) separately from the dry ingredients (buns) in the fridge, and recombine when ready. Good for 2-3 days.

Refrigeration: You can store your burger patties raw in the fridge for up to 2-3 days before you want to cook them. Always store in an airtight container and keep away from cooked meat products. You can store cooked patties in the refrigerator for 3-4 days in an airtight container, keep away from any raw meat in your fridge.

Frozen: You can freeze your raw or cooked patties for up to 3 months, ensure they are separated by parchment paper so they don’t stick together and store in freezer bags to prevent freezer burn.

Reheating: To reheat your raw patties, simply thaw out overnight in the refrigerator and fry as instructed above. If you’re reheating cooked patties, heat them in a pan or skillet until they are heated through. Finally, recombine with your buns, Dijon mustard, cheese and caramelized onions as instructed above.