This past Sunday I survived teaching my first cooking class and the patty melt was a hit! Fifteen people in attendance, seated around the demo kitchen counter at Luci’s Healthy Marketplace. I was nervous and wound tighter than a tick from fear of the unknown, but I’ve grown accustomed to the discomfort of growth recently. Grin, bear it, and be proud of following through. All that to say, I had the time of my life. Sure, it wasn’t perfect. Yeah, there was a grease fire. No, I didn’t burn the place down. Yes, we all laughed a lot. Heck yes, I can’t wait to do it again.
What did we make? It was a 50s Diner theme, so I went classic with Patty Melts, Oven Baked Fries and Malted Milkshakes. According to the attendees, these were mighty tasty. I can’t say I disagree.
Classic Patty Melt Recipe
(Full printable recipe at the bottom)
Start by caramelizing the onions. Slice a white or yellow onion into thin strips and add to a hot pan over medium heat with 1 Tbs oil. Fair warning, these take time. It’s a slow process of the sugars to creep out and mix with the heat and turn that nice, caramely golden brown. Don’t rush the onions, my friend. Stir them around occasionally until they get nice and golden. This will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
In between stirring onions, prepare your patties. I used an 80/20 mix of ground beef and added in 1 Tbs of Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 tsp granulated garlic and 1/4 tsp Lawry’s seasoned salt. Mix that together and then divide into fourths. Each quarter of the beef, roll into a patty and flatten, making it oblong so as to mirror the size of your bread.
After that, cook your patty in a pan on the stove to desired doneness. I’m a mid rare girl, myself. After that, and when your onions are nice and caramelized, you’re ready to assemble and griddle.
Each of your bread slices, schmear one side of each with mayo. Some people like to use butter, but mayo actually works better because the egg browns up the outside nicely and adds a certain crispiness. Think like in French Toast.
After the breads are schmeared, place one slice schmear side down, layer on a slice of swiss cheese, a heap of onions, a cooked patty, another slice of cheese and another piece of bread, schmear side up. The schmear is up because you’re going to flip the sandwich once the bottom is browned and crisped.
Once both sides are browned, cut your patty melt in half and serve. Side note, if you want the cheese to get extra melty, place a pot lid over top of the sandwich to trap in the heat and cause some extra melting to happen.
[tasty-recipe id=”6641″]
This recipe originally posted at JoanieSimon.com from Joanie Simon.
