“Diner-style” beef patty melt: Is less butter better?

“Tell the truth,” MT said when I told her which recipe I’m writing this week. Well, I always do for these Test Kitchens, or there would be no disappointments to write about — and there certainly have been.

MT was referring to the reaction she and her mom had when I tried this offering from America’s Test Kitchen, but you should get the full story. At first she almost beamed as she said it brought back memories of Boscov’s restaurant. She and I often had lunch there during work and really liked both the food and the service. It didn’t make much of a dent in our wallets and it was a convenient, refreshing break from the newsroom. We’ve missed it ever since it closed.

Even after her first bite she still seemed to like it, saying it was as good as the similar burgers we occassionally got at Boscov’s. But the shine wore off quickly, and soon she started to say it tasted “greasy.”

That was a bit of a surprise because I ignored the recipe, which called for using 80% lean ground meat. We always use leaner stuff, and the last time I used 80% as per a recipe, both of us felt it had a heavy texture to it. So I used 93%. Where could her objection be coming from?

We agreed it was probably the butter. The recipe calls for using four tablespoons for two patties. Since I made four patties, I ended up using a full stick of the stuff. While I didn’t mind it, I can see how it bothered MT and her mom. Indeed, in the days of dining at Boscov’s, “Nanner” used to request that the similar burgers be cooked without buttering the bread.

Obviously, you could make these with a lot less butter, particularly if you use a good, modern non-stick pan.

Either way, I thought the combination of thin patty, rye bread, caramelized onions and especially the sauce offered a good mix of flavors.

Two notes. First, the work done to caramelize the onions after the patties are fried can mean the meat, as thin as it is, may cool a bit. This was a bigger problem because I made four patties, two at a time. I set the oven on warm and kept the patties inside until it was time to complete the sandwiches.

Second, obviously you can adjust the amount of Swiss cheese to taste. I had two varieties on hand, one very thin and the other thicker, so while I did the recommended two pieces of cheese on one slice of bread, when I ran out of that I decided a single piece of the thicker cheese was plenty for the other slice of bread.

Dobru chut!

Diner-style beef patty melts (America’s Test Kitchen)

4 slices seeded rye bread

6-8 slices Swiss cheese

8 ounces 80% ground beef

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

½ cup water

Salt

Pepper

4 tablespoon butter, divided in 1 tablespoon uses

For the sauce:

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup water

Very lightly toast rye bread, to dry it a bit but not really brown it.

Put two slices Swiss cheese each onto two slices of bread.

Split beef in half and press onto parchment paper cut for each patty, to make flat patties a bit bigger than the bread and no more than ¼ inch thick. Mix ¾ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper, and use half to season one side of each patty evenly.

Heat cast iron skillet over medium high for about 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon butter, melt and swirl around skillet. Put patties in pan, seasoned side down. Season the side that is up. Cook 1 to 1½ minutes, until bottom is really brown and crisp. Flip and cook another minute until brown and crisp. Put onto cheese-covered bread slices.

Add 1 tablespoon of butter to skillet, melt and add the onions. Add ¼ cup water, 1/4 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Stir with wooden spoon to scrape up browned bits. Cover with lid and cook 3-5 minutes until softened.

Make sauce by mixing ketchup, cider vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and ¼ cup water in a bowl.

Put two slices Swiss cheese on other two slices of bread.

Remove lid from skillet and cook onions another 3-5 minutes until caramelized. Add sauce and stir to loosen fond, cook 1-2 minutes. Divide evenly between two sandwiches. Rinse and wipe skillet. Heat over medium, add 1 tablespoon butter and swirl. Put other slice of bread/cheese on top of the sandwiches, put in skillet and cover. Cook 3-5 minutes to brown bottom. Flip, add 1 tablespoon butter between sandwiches, swirl and move melts onto butter. Cook 1-3 minutes, covered. serve.

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