Blue Cheese & Caramelized Onion Steakhouse Burger
Beef burger with tangy blue cheese, caramelized onions, crispy bacon, arugula, and a balsamic reduction on a brioche bun.
- Prep
- 15min
- Cook
- 1 h
- Total
- 1 h 15min
- Serves
- 4
- Calories
- 1000per serving, est.
By Time for Burgers, updated
Bacon, a brown-sugar finish on the onions and a few drops of reduced balsamic push this burger toward steakhouse territory, and the patties are thicker to match, 6 ounces (170 g) each. Peppery arugula takes the place of lettuce and cuts through the richness.
Cook the bacon first, then caramelize the onions in the same skillet so they take on some of its smoke. The patties need 5 to 6 minutes per side to reach 160°F (71°C), and a shallow dent pressed into each center keeps them flat instead of domed. A toasted brioche bun soaks up a little of the balsamic without going soft.
Blue Cheese & Caramelized Onion Steakhouse Burger
Prep 15 min, cook 60 min, total 75 min. About 1000 calories per serving.
timeforburgers.com/recipes/blue-cheese-caramelized-onion-steakhouse-burger
Serves 4.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to paper towels and set aside.
In the same skillet, melt 3 tbsp butter over medium-low heat, add sliced onions, and cook slowly for 35-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft, jammy and deep golden brown. Add 2 tsp brown sugar during the last 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then set aside.
Season ground beef generously with salt and pepper, then form into 4 thick patties with a slight indentation in the center.
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat and cook patties for 5-6 minutes per side, until an instant-read thermometer in the center of a patty reads 160°F (71°C).
During the last minute of cooking, top each patty with crumbled blue cheese and cover briefly to soften.
Simmer 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan for 2-3 minutes until slightly syrupy. Toast brioche buns until golden, then drizzle the reduced balsamic over the bottom buns.
Assemble burgers: place arugula on bottom buns, add beef patties with blue cheese, top generously with caramelized onions, add the bacon, and crown with top buns. Serve immediately.
Tips
- Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of bacon fat before the butter goes in. With all the fat left in, the onions fry and turn greasy instead of caramelizing.
- Hold the brown sugar until the last 5 minutes. Added earlier, it scorches before the onions have softened.
- Two tablespoons of balsamic reduce fast. Use your smallest pan, pull it off when it coats a spoon, and expect it to thicken more as it cools.
- Push the thermometer into the side of each thick patty so the tip sits in the center, and look for 160°F (71°C).
Substitutions
- Store-bought balsamic glaze instead of reducing your own: skip the simmering step and drizzle it straight onto the toasted bun.
- Stilton or Roquefort instead of a milder blue: saltier and stronger, so use a little less.
- Turkey bacon instead of pork bacon: leaner, so add an extra knob of butter to the onions.
- Gluten-free: use a gluten-free bun and toast it well before the balsamic goes on.
Make ahead & storage
Cook the bacon and onions up to 3 days ahead and keep them covered in the fridge; rewarm both in a skillet. The balsamic reduction can be made ahead too and loosened with brief warming. Cooked patties keep 3 to 4 days; reheat to 165°F (74°C).
