Burgers with Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Sauce

"This is quite possibly the best burger I've ever eaten."

No joke. That's what Jeff said to me following the "mmmmm" after his first bite. I'm not going to kid myself, it's not true. It couldn't possibly be the best one he's ever eaten. He's eaten a lot of good quality burgers. Like the burgers at Ted's and Bub's. But they seemed to all be forgotten last night. I would have to agree with him that it was a pretty awesome burger, and that's a good thing because it took more prep work than usual. This wasn't just a slap some ingredients together, mold into a patty, and grill kind of burger. The sauce takes a good half an hour to make. But boy is it worth it!

The original recipe called for blue cheese to be incorporated into the sauce. We've tried blue cheese burgers before and neither of us like them, so I left it out and just sprinkled some Asiago shavings on top. Glad I did. They were seriously perfect, and quite possibly the best burgers we've ever eaten.




Burgers with Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Sauce
Adapted from Closet Cooking

2 Tbsp. butter
1 medium onion sliced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tsp. fresh thyme chopped
6 oz. sliced cremini mushrooms
salt & pepper
glug of red wine (original recipe calls for brandy - we don't keep brandy in the house)
1/3 cup beef broth

3/4 lb. ground beef
salt & pepper
1 Tbsp. shaved Asiago cheese (optional but necessary all at the same time)

1. Melt the butter in a pan.
2. Add the onion and saute at medium heat until caramelized, about 20-30 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and saute until tender, about 10-15 minutes. Be careful here not to burn the onions. I lowered the heat a tad and stirred quite frequently.
5. Add the wine and broth and deglaze the pan (scrape up all the brown delicious bits from the bottom).
6. Simmer until it has reduced and thickened, about 3-6 minutes.

For Burgers:

1. Season ground beef with salt and pepper to your liking. Mix well with hands (seriously get over it and use your hands).
2. Form into two equal patties.
3. Grill over high flame 3-5 minutes each side depending on how well you like your burgers done.
4. Lightly toast sandwich buns on grill.
5. Top toasted buns with burger and spoon sauce over burger.
6. Feel like a million bucks when your family swoons.