Juicy Butter Burger with Jammy Caramelized Onions Recipe

Embark on a sensory journey with our delicious Juicy Butter Burger topped with jammy caramelized onions. Indulge in the luscious symphony of rich, buttery goodness as perfectly seared beef meets the sweet allure of caramelized onions, creating a flavor-packed sensation for your mouth.

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The burger cooking portion of this recipe can be done on either a grill or using an oven-safe frying pan. If you’re like us, it might be a little too cold to fire up the grill. We opted to use cast iron cookware instead. If you don’t currently own a cast iron pan, we highly recommend investing in one (we linked the one we’re currently using). A perfect starter pan because of both price and durability, and also the one featured in this recipe, is the Lodge Cast Iron Pre-Seasoned Skillet (10.25 in). Do yourself a favor and order one!

Juicy Butter Burger Ingredients

• 1 lb. – 1 ¹/₂ lbs. ground beef; 80/20 for a stable, juicy burger (check out our Food Tip on choosing the correct ground beef)
  • Depending on quality and lean-to-fat ratio of ground beef, you may need to add a binder; we suggest ¹/₂ – 1 cup of panko breadcrumbs
• 1 large red onion; you can use any type, but caramelization might make sweeter onions too sweet
• ¹/₂ lb. sliced cheese
  • We used Cooper white American
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ¹/₂ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ¹/₂ teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorn; toasted (optional)
  • This recipe includes a how-to on toasting peppercorn; a unique cooking skill to have
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• ¹/₄ teaspoon course salt; we used Pink Himalayan
• ¹/₂ tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• Jalapeño pepper, optional (not included in this recipe)

Estimated Cooking Time

• Prep Time: 15-25 minutes
• Cooking Time: 10-20 minutes

Yield: 3-4 servings

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Preparing the Jammy Caramelized Onions

1. Peel and thinly slice the onion.
2. Add drizzle of olive oil to frying pan over medium-high heat
3. Place sliced onion into frying pan, cook until slightly golden; stir occasionally, 8-15 minutes
4. Once onions are slightly golden, add 1 tablespoon of water and ¹/₂ tablespoon sugar to pan; cook until onion mixture thickens; stir frequently; 1-3 minutes
5. Transfer jammy caramelized onions to small bowl; set aside

Toasting the Peppercorn and Crushing the Garlic

1. Heat small frying pan over medium-high heat
2. Add uncrushed black peppercorn, toast until fragrant, 1-3 minutes
3. Carefully move toasted peppercorn to mortar or small plate; crush with pestle or sturdy, flat object
   • Be sure to crush all of the peppercorns, or remove uncrushed
4. Add to small bowl; add smoked paprika and onion powder; set aside
5. Add minced garlic and course salt to mortar or small plate; crush with pestle or sturdy, flat object
   • Finished texture should be a slightly crunchy (crushed salt) paste (garlic)
6. Move crunchy garlic paste to small bowl with toasted peppercorn

Note: Use extreme caution if you are crushing the peppercorn and garlic on or with objects that can break/shatter (as we do in the below videos)

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Assembling and Cooking the Butter Burgers

1. In a large bowl, add ground beef
2. Add small bowl of spices and extra virgin olive oil to large bowl with ground beef (toasted black peppercorn, garlic, smoked paprika, onion powder)
   • If necessary, add binder
3. Gently mix ground beef and ingredients
   • Tip: Don’t overwork the beef mixture – this breaks down the proteins leading to a tougher and drier burger
4. Once beef mixture is combined, separate into 3 or 4 equal parts (approximately ^1/₄ lb. each)
5. Working one part at a time, further separate the beef into two; one large and one small (approximately a 5:1 size ratio)
6. With the larger piece, form into a burger shape; create indent on top of burger using thumb or spoon
   • Don’t make the indent too deep; just deep enough to hold butter slab (approximately ¹/₂ tablespoon); width of indent should be slightly larger than slap
7. Place butter slab into indent
8. Add small piece of beef over butter; gently pressing and pinching until covered and uniform
9. Repeat steps 5 through 8 for remaining beef parts

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Cooking the Juicy Butter Burger

1. Set broiler on oven to low
2. Add large drizzle of oil to an oven-safe pan (cast iron is the best) over medium-high heat
3. Place butter burgers into hot pan; cook for 3-6 minutes per site depending on preferred doneness

4. Carefully remove pan with burgers from heat
5. Top butter burgers with sliced cheese; carefully place pan onto middle rack of oven until cheese melts; approximately 1 minute

4. Carefully remove pan from oven; top melted cheese with caramelized onions
5. Place another slice of cheese on top of onions; carefully place pan back onto middle rack until top layer of cheese begins turning golden brown; 1-2 minutes
   • Optional: lightly brush hamburger buns with olive oil; place on foil/tray and set in oven for 1 minute, or until bun is slightly toasted
6. Turn off broiler and carefully remove pan from oven; serve on toasted bun

Last step: Enjoy this incredibly juicy butter burger!

We think a mac and cheese would probably pair well with these burgers! Be sure to check out R&R’s recipe – Homemade Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese

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