Recipe courtesy of Del Rio Bar

The Det Burger

  • Level: Intermediate
  • Yield: 4 burgers
In the early '70s a cook named Bob Detweiler got tired of making "just burgers," so he made up this recipe (his wife, Julie, the manager, suggested the cheese topping). It became an instant hit, and they've had it on the menu ever since.
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Ingredients

The Det Mix:

1/3 cup drained, sliced canned whole green chiles

1/3 cup sliced pitted oil-cured black olives

1/3 cup sliced sauteed cremini mushrooms

For the hamburgers:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 James Beard's Favorite Hamburger patties, recipe follows

4 slices onion

1/4 cup beer, plus more as needed

4 slices cheddar cheese

4 toasted hamburger buns

James Beard's Favorite Hamburger

Recipe courtesy Beard on Food, Running Press, 2000

2 pounds chopped beef chuck or round

1 onion

1 tablespoon heavy cream

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Unsalted butter

Vegetable oil, as needed

Kosher salt, to taste

Directions

  1. Make the Det Mix: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
  2. Make the hamburgers: Heat the butter and oil in a large cast iron skillet over high heat. Add the hamburgers and cook halfway through and turn over. Cover each with about 1/4 cup of the Det Mix and top with the onion slices. Pour in the 1/4 cup beer and cover with a lid. Steam a couple of minutes until the onion is translucent. Re-steam with beer a couple of times. Top each hamburger with a slice of cheese and cover until melted. Transfer the hamburger to the buns and serve.

James Beard's Favorite Hamburger

  1. Spread the meat out on a board and grate 2 to 3 tablespoons of onion into it¿use a fairly fine grater so you get just the juice and very finely grated raw onion. Now mix in about a tablespoon of heavy cream and some freshly ground black pepper. Form into patties¿a 6 to 8-ounce patty for an average serving.

Let's Get Cooking!

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Anonymous

Absolutely the BEST tasting Burger EVER!!! It's well worth the effort to make this one. Have been making it for years!

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