How I love spending a warm summer day with friends, sipping on a cold drink and eating freshly grilled food. As you probably already know, cheeseburgers are especially my jam. With the summer in full swing and Independence Day upon us, I figured I’d share some tips to take your cheeseburgers to the next level.
These are tips you can use at a cookout or in your home kitchen. Truthfully I end up doing a lot of cooking on a grill pan during the week. Eh, that’s modern, working-professional life in the urban outskirts, I guess. But the holiday is a great reason to have a real cookout.
I’ve spent the past few months trying to capture In-N-Out’s famous Animal Style taste without having to travel all the way to Cali. (And yes, purists, I do put pickles on my burger because that;s the way I like it!) I was inspired by an excellent post at Serious Eats. It is very thorough, down to forming the patties and prepping the buns. If you’re a serious burger enthusiast, check out their recipe. If you’re okay with a less scientifically perfected burger that tastes awesome and is pretty foolproof, give my tips below a try:
In-N-Out Style Spread
The In-N-Out “secret” sauce is similar to Thousand Island dressing, but it’s smeared on a burger and/or fries rather than on some wilted iceberg lettuce at a sad salad bar. I prefer making mine with honey instead of sugar. Here are the main components, which you can adjust to taste:
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 3/4 tablespoon sweet relish
- 3/4 tablespoon vinegar (distilled white or rice wine)
- 1 teaspoon honey
Extra Melty Onions
Just stick to a single white or yellow onion for this burger. Red onions are my favorite, but I think the flavor is too strong here. Also, you can do whatever kind of small chop you want. Personally I prefer sliced or julienne onions instead of tiny minced pieces.
Heat about a tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion slices and cook until they are well browned. Once the onions begin to sizzle and get dry, add 1 tablespoon water to skillet and stir. (The water should sizzle). Continue to cook until the water evaporates, then add another tablespoon of water. Repeat process—generally 3-4 times—until the onions are melty and brown.
Mustard on the Patty
I never thought to do this before, but it added a really nice savory flavor to my burger. I quickly seared my plain, homemade beef patties to get them brown on the outside. Then I brushed on a smear of brown deli mustard—about half a tablespoon per side as the patties cooked. Cook your burgers as usual on a grill or grill pan to your desired doneness.
