Oh how I adore a good patty melt. A cousin to the hamburger but, in my opinion, far superior, as any diner frequenter knows.
The most obvious difference between the hamburger and the patty melt is this: no bun. Instead, the patty is delivered in two slices of rye bread, buttered and griddled until golden brown. There’s cheese and caramelized onion. And that is all. Simplicity.
If I’m at a diner and there’s a patty melt on the menu, my decision is made. Patty melt all the way. Here’s my version.
The topping is very basic: caramelized onions. Chop 3 medium sized white onions horizontally and place them, seasoned with salt and pepper, into a medium-high pot with about 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter.
Keep stirring until the onions are soft—about 20 minutes on medium heat.
Time for the patty: it isn’t supposed to be a puffy golf ball. It’s just good quality ground beef (in this case, lean chuck from Rowe Farms) seasoned with salt and pepper. Working with 1 pound of ground beef, separate it into four round balls.
Place those burger balls into a hot cast iron pan seasoned with neutral oil (I used sunflower oil) and smash them down with a press. You want a very thin patty and you want to form it into the shape of your rye bread. Season with salt and pepper.
Once you’ve got a browned crust, flip the patty.
Cook through (about 10 minutes in total, both sides) and add cheese. Patties are ready for plating.
Place buttered rye bread slices, butter side down, into a medium-high pan and griddle that until it’s gold brown.
Once ready, pile cooked onions onto the bottom slice of bread (grilled side on the outside—that’s your crunch factor).
Place the patty on top of the onions.
Cap that with the other rye toast, buttered/grilled side up and that is all she wrote. Deliciously seared thin patty, covered with cheese, on a crown of caramelized onion, nestled within a crunchy, simple rye bread sandwich. 100% better than a burger. A classic for a reason.
—Trish Hennessy
A Year in Sandwiches 