Classic Patty Melt Recipe

What is a patty melt — is it a burger, or a sandwich? To tell the truth, it's really a bit of both. Recipe developer Christina Musgrave describes the patty melt as "a sandwich similar to a cheeseburger," but it does look a bit different from the standard burger in that rye bread takes the place of a bun. There's also a specific set of toppings typically used in a patty melt: The cheese is usually Swiss and sautéed onions may be considered de rigueur. While actually caramelizing onions is a very long, slow process that may take an hour or more of constant stirring over low heat, Musgrave uses a shortcut that gives her onions a caramelized-type flavor in only half the time: She adds brown sugar, explaining that this ingredient "adds sweetness to the onions in this sandwich."

One thing you'll appreciate about the patty melt if you're not a fan of washing the dishes (is anyone?), is that, as Musgrave points out, "The whole sandwich comes together in one skillet." First you use the frying pan to cook the onions, then the burgers, then you toast the bread and melt the cheese right there in the same pan. Pretty convenient, and the sandwich is awfully tasty, too.

To make a patty melt, you'll need burger meat, of course, plus Swiss cheese, rye bread, and onions. You'll also need salt and pepper, butter for cooking the onions and bread, and brown sugar to sweeten up the onions. Musgrave says of the onions, "The flavor really comes through in the sandwich" and she feels the sugar helps them contrast nicely with the meaty burger.

You'll need to start things off by peeling and slicing the onion. Then, melt a tablespoon of the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions to the melted butter and cook them for 15-20 minutes, until they are soft and brown, but not too brown (turn down the heat if they start to burn). Stir the sugar into the onions and cook them for another 5 minutes, then remove them from the pan.

Form the ground beef into 2 patties and season them with salt and pepper. Cook the burgers over medium heat for 4 minutes, then turn them over and cook them for another 4 minutes. You may wish to adjust the time up or down a minute or so, depending on how well-done you like your burgers. Once they are cooked to your satisfaction, remove them from the pan.

Melt the remaining butter in the pan, then add 2 slices of bread. Cover each slice of bread with a slice of Swiss cheese and a burger patty, then add half the onions to each burger. Finish the sandwiches off with another slice of cheese and the remaining bread. Check the bottom slice of bread on each sandwich — if it looks toasted, flip the sandwich over and cook it until the other bread slice is toasted and the cheese is melted. Cut the sandwiches in half to make for less messy eating.

Musgrave feels that "French fries and potato chips are great sides for a patty melt," as indeed they are with any burger. (Or sandwich.) As the patty melt is a retro diner classic, you could also go the full-on nostalgia route with a malted milk to drink and Jell-O or rice pudding for dessert.