Burgers are the perfect balance between meat, cheese, bread and a small amount of veggies.  French Onion Soup burgers add a splash of decadence to an already delicious meal.  There is a special spot in my heart that I hold for Gruyere cheese and any time I get to add it to a meal, it just makes the meal more special.  The caramelized onions add a depth a flavor that a burger can sometimes be lacking.  The onions take a lot of time to cook down but they are totally worth it!

 

Ingredients

1 lb room temperature, 80/20 ground beef

1 Vidalia onion, thinly sliced

1 tbs. balsamic vinegar

3 tbs. butter

1 tsp. dried thyme

2 tbs. Worcestershire Sauce, divided

1/4 lb. Gruyere cheese

4 potato bread burger buns

Spinach

1 Tomato

Kosher Salt

Pepper

 

Recipe

Preheat the grill to high.  Take the ground beef out at least 30 mins before you cook the meat, this brings it to room temperature and helps cook the meat evenly.  Thinly slice the Vidalia onion.  To a sauce pan add the butter until melted and shimmering.  Add the onions and coat with the butter.  Reduce the heat to medium and begin to caramelize the onions. Salt and pepper the onions. When the onions begin to turn a caramel color, add the dried thyme and sauté for 1 minute.  Add 1 tbs. of the Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar and cook until the liquid has been absorbed.  This whole process will take around 30 minutes.

Put the ground beef into a bowl and add the salt, pepper and remaining Worcestershire sauce.  Form the meat into four burgers.  Slice the Gruyere cheese so that you have enough cheese for each burger.  Bring the meat to the grill and salt and pepper again and then place on the grill.  Do not move the meat around on the grill, set it down and leave it alone!  Depending on how well done you like your burger, flip when you are ready.  Once you have flipped the burger add the cheese to each paddy.  Once the cheese has melted take the burgers off the grill and let them sit for a minutes.  To assemble the burger add the spinach and tomato to the bottom bun, place the burger on top of the veggies and then add the caramelized onions to finish the burger.  I am not a fan of mayo so I do not add it to my burgers, but apparently some people like to add it to their burgers.

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I did!