The Classic Patty Melt takes you back in time, with juicy meat, melty cheese, and golden caramelized onions sandwiched between buttery, toasted bread. A gastronomic homage to comfort and delight.
Ingredients
For the Onions
3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium Vidalia or Walla Walla onions
• 3 pinches salt
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon (1/2 oz) salted butter
For the Patty Melt
• Peanut oil or mild vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 pounds freshly ground beef (preferably 80%)
• Salt
• Salted or unsalted butter
• 8 to 10 slices crusty bakery bread or seeded rye
• 8 to 10 slices American cheese (or melty cheese of choice)
Instructions
Cook the Onions
1. Warm olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
2. Slice onions into thin rings and add to the skillet. Cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Add salt, stir, and then add wine. Cook until liquid evaporates.
4. Reduce heat, add butter, and cook until onions are golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate.
Make the Patty Melt
1. Wipe out the skillet and add enough oil to coat the surface over medium heat.
2. Shape ground beef into patties, season with salt, and cook until browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare.
3. Place burgers on a wire rack. Butter one side of each bread slice.
4. In the skillet, place a slice of bread buttered side down, add cheese, patty, onions, more cheese, and another bread slice (buttered side up).
5. Cover and cook for 2 1/2 minutes, then flip and cook for 1 more minute.
6. Remove the patty melt from the skillet and repeat with remaining ingredients. Devour hot
Recipe Card

The Classic Patty Melt
Ingredients
For the Onions
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium Vidalia or Walla Walla onions
- 3 pinches salt
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon 1/2 oz salted butter
For the Patty Melt
- Peanut oil or mild vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 pounds freshly ground beef preferably 80%
- Salt
- Salted or unsalted butter
- 8 to 10 slices crusty bakery bread or seeded rye
- 8 to 10 slices American cheese or melty cheese of choice
Instructions
Cook the Onions
- Warm olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
- Slice onions into thin rings and add to the skillet. Cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add salt, stir, and then add wine. Cook until liquid evaporates.
- Reduce heat, add butter, and cook until onions are golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate.
Make the Patty Melt
- Wipe out the skillet and add enough oil to coat the surface over medium heat.
- Shape ground beef into patties, season with salt, and cook until browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare.
- Place burgers on a wire rack. Butter one side of each bread slice.
- In the skillet, place a slice of bread buttered side down, add cheese, patty, onions, more cheese, and another bread slice (buttered side up).
- Cover and cook for 2 1/2 minutes, then flip and cook for 1 more minute.
- Remove the patty melt from the skillet and repeat with remaining ingredients. Devour hot
-
Southern Potato Salad: The Ultimate Guide to a Picnic Table Legend
No summer barbecue, church potluck, or family reunion south of the Mason-Dixon Line is complete without it. It sits proudly alongside smoky ribs and buttery cornbread—a creamy, tangy, deeply comforting pillar of Southern side dishes. This isn’t just a salad; it’s Southern Potato Salad: a harmonious blend of tender potatoes, rich dressing, and crunchy, savory…
-
Chocolate Mousse Cake
The Foolproof Passion Fruit & : Your No-Bake Ticket to a Showstopping Dessert Imagine a dessert that silences the room. A spoon cracks through a dark, mirror-like shell of chocolate ganache into a cloud of bright, tropical passion fruit cream, all resting on a simple, buttery crumb base. This is the Foolproof Passion Fruit &…
-
Butternut Cookies
In the vast constellation of holiday cookies, some are bold and showy—thick with chocolate, glittering with sprinkles, dripping with icing. Then there are the quiet classics, the cookies whispered about with a sense of nostalgic reverence. Butternut Cookies belong to this latter category. To the uninitiated, the name might suggest a squash-based treat, but for…


