Skip to main content

Dairy State Buttered Burgers

3.3

(12)

Many cooks of Wisconsin and Minnesota consider it patriotic to add extra butter to a dish whenever possible. At drive-ins in these two states, butter is not considered merely a hamburger condiment but an integral component. After studying a slew of burger flippers at work in Milwaukee, we devised the following recipe:

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 6 burgers

Ingredients

1 pound ground chuck
6 hamburger buns, split
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus 3 tablespoons additional if using onion
2/3 cup chopped onion (optional)

Accompaniments:

tomato slices
shredded lettuce
condiments such as ketchup and mustard

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Fashion beef into 6 patties no more than 1/4 inch thick and season each patty with salt.

    Step 2

    Spread bottom half of each bun with 1/2 tablespoon softened butter.

    Step 3

    On a griddle or in a large heavy skillet fry onions in additional 3 tablespoons butter over moderately high heat, stirring, until barely softened, and push to side of griddle or skillet. Fry burgers, flipping once, about 2 minutes on each side for well-done.

    Step 4

    Transfer burgers to buttered bun bottoms while still hot (to melt butter) and top with onion, tomato, and lettuce. Spread condiments on bun tops.

    Step 5

    Serve burgers with plenty of napkins.

Read More
Like tiny tomato galettes and chimichurri grilled shrimp.
Punchy, make-ahead chimichurri adds a bright, fresh finish to this easy summer dinner.
With a crisp crust, garlicky mayo, and a juicy slice of tomato.
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
Filberts, goobers, scaly bark nuts: Explore the world beyond almonds in this guide.
Attention, martini drinkers and spritz drinkers: Please for a single line.
Use the beer, not the can, for this citrusy take on a classic that nods to mojo criollo.
Loosely inspired by pasta Amatriciana, a few pounds of zucchini stand in for tomatoes.