Patty Melt With Sweet Onions, Swiss and Rye That Actually Crisps

12:15 on a Saturday, you are hungry in the specific way that only a diner booth can fix, and the nearest booth is a forty-minute drive. This patty melt recipe puts the whole thing on your stove in 29 minutes: a thin beef patty, a mound of caramelized onions and a slice of Swiss between buttered rye, griddled until it crackles. It is a burger and a grilled cheese that finally admitted they were into each other.

Thin patty, sweet onions, melted Swiss and toast that shatters: the sandwich that stops the afternoon.

You slice two onions into thin strips and cook them in butter over medium-low heat until they go soft and brown. Then you press the beef into four thin patties, season them and sear them in the same skillet, so the onion flavor stays in the pan. Butter one side of each rye slice, stack patty, onions and Swiss between two slices, and grill the sandwich three minutes a side. Cut it in half, and watch the cheese give up.

How to make it

1. Slice both of the 2 onions into thin strips, about 5 minutes.
2. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a skillet and cook the onions over medium low heat for 12 minutes until caramelized.
3. Form the 1 lb ground beef into 4 thin patties and season with salt and black pepper.
4. Cook the patties in the same skillet 3 minutes per side.
5. Butter one side of each of the 8 slices rye bread using the remaining 2 tbsp butter.
6. Assemble each sandwich with a patty, caramelized onions, and 1 slice swiss cheese between two slices of bread.
7. Grill the sandwiches 3 minutes per side until golden.

Notes

Cooked leftovers keep three to four days refrigerated, per USDA FSIS. Keep the onions in their own container if you can, and rebuild the sandwich fresh, because rye that has sat around with melted cheese goes limp.

Day two belongs to the onions. Caramelized onions keep well in the fridge, so double the batch if you like, and spoon it onto burgers, eggs or toast later in the week.

A fully built patty melt does not freeze well, since the rye turns damp when it thaws. If you want a head start, freeze the cooked patties on their own and reheat them before you assemble.

The patties in this patty melt recipe are thin on purpose. Press the beef out wider than the bread, because it shrinks as it cooks, and make a shallow dimple in the center to keep it from puffing up like a dome. Season both sides with salt and black pepper before they hit the pan.

Ground beef is cooked when it reaches 160 F inside, according to USDA. Thin patties cook quickly, three minutes a side in the pan, and they spend another six minutes in the sandwich, so check one with a thermometer if you are unsure.

The skillet you used for the onions is the skillet you use for the beef. It is the closest thing to a one-pan romance you will find at lunchtime, and the leftover onion flavor is what makes the patties taste the way they do.

Swaps that actually work

The onions are the point of any patty melt recipe. Two onions look like a lot until they cook down, and the long, gentle cook is what gives the sandwich its sweetness. Leave the amount alone.

Swiss is the cheese that gives you a mild, nutty melt. If you want to swap, Gruyere is a richer substitute, and provolone and American both melt well, though the flavor shifts toward a regular cheeseburger.

Rye is what makes it a patty melt and not a burger. Marble rye or a seeded rye both work. If you have only white or sourdough, use it, and it will taste good, but it will be a different sandwich.

Beef can stay as it is, or you can use a mix of beef and a little ground pork if you want a juicier patty. Cook it to the same safe temperature, which is 160 F for ground meat.

A spoonful of mustard or Russian dressing on the bread adds tang if you want it. That is optional and not part of the ingredient list.

The swap that costs you the dish is skipping the butter on the outside of the bread. That butter is what turns rye golden and crisp in the pan, and without it you get dry, pale toast around a perfectly good filling.

If it goes wrong

The onions are pale and sharp. They did not cook long enough, or the heat was too low. Keep them going over medium-low until they turn soft and golden brown. If they start to stick, add a splash of water and scrape the pan.

The patties are tough and dry. They were pressed too thick, or you cooked them too long. Press them thin, keep the cooking to three minutes a side, and pull them as soon as they are cooked through. A dry patty is a bad first impression that the rye cannot talk its way out of, so be gentle with the heat and quick with the spatula.

The cheese did not melt. The sandwich went in cold or the heat was too low. Cover the pan with a lid for a minute to trap the heat, or turn the heat up a little and cook the sandwich a minute longer on each side, watching the bread.

The bread burned before the cheese melted. The pan was too hot. Turn it down to medium, give the sandwich the full three minutes a side, and press it gently with a spatula so it sits in contact with the pan.

What to serve with it

The default for a patty melt recipe is the sandwich cut in half, with a pickle on the plate and nothing else to distract you.

A better version of the default is a pile of salty fries or chips on the side, and a cold drink. It makes lunch feel like a proper stop.

The thing in the fridge that lifts it is a jar of pickles, or a bowl of coleslaw. Something sharp and cold against the rich beef and cheese cuts through it.

It works as lunch, which is where it belongs, and it is better eaten the day you make it. Rebuild leftovers fresh, with the cold patties warmed through and the bread buttered and griddled again.

Why this one earns its place

Some lunches are a chore, and some feel like being looked after. This patty melt recipe is the second kind: a grilled sandwich, a seat at your own counter, and a plate that makes the rest of the day look more manageable.

Swipe it into your week and the agent can shop the beef, the rye and the Swiss, so all you have to decide is whether to cut it in half or eat it whole.

If you are still choosing, homemade In-N-Out double double is the burger version of the same craving, French onion soup meatballs lean on the same onions, and how to shop for a new recipe is the post for the first time you try something like this.

More like this: all American recipes in Crave Corner.