Crispy, fried onions and a splash of Worcestershire sauce added to ground beef or turkey make for a super flavorful and better burger called Crunch Burgers.
Eddie Murphy once told a funny story about his mother’s homemade hamburgers (RAW, 1987) and how, as a kid, all he wanted was a McDonald’s hamburger but his mom insisted she could make him a better burger at home. He watches in horror as she pulls out a big black frying pan and proceeds to make a giant, bulky burger stuffed with green pepper, some onion and an egg stuffed in between two slices of Wonder Bread. Needless to say, he was not pleased with the end results that looked and tasted nothing like McDonald’s!
Can you relate? I sure can. Back in my ‘80 childhood, I remember the allure of McDonald’s when it arrived in my small hometown and those skinny, flat cheeseburgers on perfect buns. And like Eddie, I didn’t fully appreciate my mom’s cooking until after I grew up and left home—including her own version of a homemade burger.
Dish & Telling About Crunch Burgers
Crunch Burgers include just four ingredients added to ground beef or ground turkey for a super flavorful burger. A mix of seasoned salt, some pepper, Worcestershire sauce and crispy fried onions—yes, those same onions you put on your green bean casserole at Thanksgiving—mixed right into your burgers. If you are feeling fancy, you may even want to add some as a topping.
These burgers can also be made gluten-free if you are lucky enough to find gluten-free fried onions. Wild Harvest is a brand that my local grocer carries and has gluten-free fried onions. Oh happy day!
Crunch Burgers were part of our regular menu rotation when I was growing up, often with a side of Ore-Ida Crisper French Fries. My mom had a set of Tupperware Hamburger Keepers, a stackable storage system that could hold pre-portioned burgers, in which she would freeze Crunch Burgers so they were at the ready for a quick and tasty meal.
I stumbled upon a set of vintage storage containers and instantly put them to use to freeze my own Crunch Burgers.
Tips for Better Burgers
Here are a few tips I gleaned from flipping burgers back in my teen years at a very reputable burger joint in my hometown (not McDonald’s) as well as a great New York Times piece that I have followed to a “t” for years and always had good results.
- Use quality, ground beef or turkey with higher fat content e.g., 80 percent meat/20 percent fat ratio.
- Chill patties in refrigerator for 20 minutes before cooking.
- Place patties on a lightly greased, hot cast-iron skillet.
- Don’t fuss too much with the patties, let them cook about 3-4 minutes on each side (depending on how well done you like your meat) and use a heavy spatula to flatten them as they cook if you prefer a thinner burger. You really only need to flip them once.
- Simply season burgers with salt and pepper, that’s all that’s needed! Any additional ingredients, especially an egg, starts to resemble meat loaf. Crunch Burgers already have seasoned salt and pepper mixed into the patties so they don’t require any additional seasoning.
- Toast those buns!! Burgers are so much better on a slightly buttered, toasted bun. Just place buns face down in the hot skillet after cooking your burger for a minute or so.
