Elevated Patty Melt With Brandy Caramelized Onions Recipe

Any burger lover has a soft spot for patty melts. Like a hamburger without the commitment of a hamburger bun, a patty melt is the lunchtime equivalent of the classic Americana food. Usually found in diners and greasy spoons, a patty melt consists of a burger patty, melted cheese, and grilled onions between slices of toasted rye bread. Though those elements can vary, patty melts rarely deviate from being half burger, half grilled cheese – in other words, a perfect invention.

Take your patty melts to the next level with recipe developer Michelle McGlinn's elevated version. The onions are softly caramelized in brandy for a rich, decadent flavor, then piled on top of a seared patty and plenty of gooey Fontina cheese. Best of all, this patty melt is slathered with herby aioli and stacked on top of thick, garlicky Texas toast. The tall sandwich is toasted in the oven, melding all of the rich and indulgent flavors together effortlessly. Though this sandwich has all the traditional flavors of a classic, the brandy, Fontina, aioli, and toast will remind you that it's not just your average patty melt — it's much better.

To make the caramelized onions, you'll need butter, a couple large Spanish (or yellow) onions, and a few tablespoons of brandy. From there, you'll need ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, oil, salt, and pepper to make the patties, then mayonnaise, garlic, chives, parsley, and lemon juice to put together the aioli. To finish the melts, you'll just need a box of frozen Texas toasts and a block of Fontina cheese for grating.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.

Add the thinly sliced onions and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, slowly, until softened, about 10 minutes.

Once the onions begin releasing their liquid, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until browned and soft, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the brandy to the pot when the onions are mostly caramelized and let simmer until absorbed and jammy, about 10 minutes.

While the onions are cooking, prepare the patties. Mix the beef, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and Worcestershire sauce until well combined.

Divide the beef into 4 patties.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.

Once hot, add the patties and cook on either side until browned, about 2 minutes per side.

Remove and reserve the cooked patties and onions.

Whisk together the mayonnaise, garlic, chives, parsley, lemon, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Arrange the Texas toast onto a sheet tray.

Add a dollop of herb mayonnaise and a cooked patty to 4 of the pieces of bread.

Add the Fontina.

Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted.

Add onions to each sandwich, then top with a second piece of toast. Serve immediately.

Texas toast is, in its simplest form, a type of bread that has been sliced at twice the thickness of regular white bread. It can be sold in a loaf exactly like that or seasoned with garlic and even sometimes loaded with cheese. The flavored versions are sold frozen and are more crusty, almost like a French bread, because they are usually used for garlic bread to serve with pasta dinners. This recipe calls for the frozen Texas toast because the crustiness and garlicky flavor complement the juicy burger, though the fresh bread will work just as well, too. 

Though the garlic bread adds a flavorful, unique element to this patty melt, it is not required and can easily be swapped for other bread options. Another way you can elevate this patty melt is with a crusty Italian loaf or fluffy ciabatta. Brioche and challah bread work well, as they can both be thickly sliced and can hold the weight of the patty and onions. Avoid crumbly breads like focaccia for that reason — and as a last resort, use a thickly sliced white bread, making sure to toast it well so it doesn't fall apart.

If you've caramelized onions before, you likely know that they don't require anything but a little bit of butter (or oil), and possibly some sugar or salt. Caramelizing onions isn't really about the ingredients, but rather, the technique, which requires a lot of patience — almost an hour's worth, in fact. The goal in caramelizing onions isn't just to brown the onions, but rather, to extract the sugars and caramelize them, in turn browning the onions into a sweet, jammy taste and texture. All you need for this is heat, but adding alcohol can make them a little bit more fun.

Adding brandy to caramelized onions speeds the process slightly, but more importantly, deglazes the pot, offering the citrusy-sweet taste of the brandy to be absorbed by the browning onions. It's simply another layer of flavor, which can be done with beer, wine, or other similar liquors like cognac or sherry. The brandy isn't doing the work of caramelization, but rather, adding a richness to the mostly-caramelized onions. Add the brandy in at the end, but allow enough time for the alcohol to cook off to avoid a bitter, boozy onion.