by cheese1227
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1 lb 85/15 ground beef (yes, I use grass fed, which I don’t believe Friendly’s does)
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2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
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1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
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½ teaspoon kosher salt
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¼ teaspoon ground pepper
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3-4 Tablespoons butter, softened and divided
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6 button mushrooms, sliced
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½ sweet onion, sliced thin, half-moon slices
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4 slices of oval-shaped, light rye bread
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4 ounces, thinly sliced Gruyere cheese
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Mayonnaise (optional)
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Pickles (absolutely crucial garnish)
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Mix ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper thoroughly. Divide mixture and form into two, oval patties. I like to make thinner patties, but shape them so that when they are fully cooked, they cover almost the whole bottom piece of rye bread as this is a sandwich in which each bite should have all the elements. Refrigerate the patties for about an hour or so.
Ask the hotline about this step!In a large frying pan, melt one tablespoon of butter over medium high heat and add the mushrooms. Make sure all the of the mushrooms get coated with butter, but then leave them untouched for 3-4 minutes so that one side gets some nice color before you stir them around so the other side can get some color.
Ask the hotline about this step!Remove the mushrooms from the pan. Add 2 tablespoons butter and the onion to the pan and cook slowly over medium to low heat for 10-15 minutes until the onions are soft and somewhat caramelized. Remove the onions from the pan and keep them warm with the mushrooms.
Ask the hotline about this step!Increase the heat to medium high and fry the burgers to desired doneness. I like mine medium rare, which typically takes 3-4 minutes per side to achieve.
Ask the hotline about this step!While the burgers are cooking, put a second skillet over medium heat and butter one side of each piece of rye bread. Put the bread buttered side down on the hot skillet until you see some nice color. On two of the slices of bread, place two ounces of Gruyere cheese.
Ask the hotline about this step!When the burgers are done and the bread nicely browned, assemble your burgers: Bottom piece of bread with cheese, beef patty, onions, mushrooms, optional mayonnaise and top piece of bread. I like to give them a firm press and then slice each in half before serving with a pickle.
Ask the hotline about this step!This was delicious. With a freezer full of our own grass fed beef, I am always looking for something different to do with the hamburger (a quite large proportion of a side of beef is hamburger!). The rye bread is essential---mmm, rye from Maine's Borealis Bread. A sliced cucumber and dill salad from long and skinny Suyo cucumbers (seed from Johnny's Selected Seed Co in Albion, ME) rounded things out, along with Latham raspberries for dessert.
A whole freezerful? Wow, I am jealous!
I just heard back from Leah Zomek, a guest service rep: Friendly's did not come up with the names for either sprinkles or jimmies. These names were already established before Friendly's became a company. Mystery not solved.
You are too funny!
Beef + Worcestershire + Mustard: this is the symphony of my childhood! My mother STILL seasons everything from steak to burgers with mustard and worcestershire. We should own stock in Lea and Perrin! Adding mushroom, sweet onions, and Gruyere....I vote for this burger - hands down. What a perfect combination. Pass the pickles, please!
Thanks! SO glad you liked it.
I agree, Midge. There is hardly such a thing as a BAD home crafted burger. Made with top quality ingredients and love. imho one of the great foods of the world. ;)
oh Friendly's, so many happy memories from that place! I've even taken my own daughter once or twice, this likes a great recreation of their classic! :)
I love patty melts! made one the other night with Point Reyes Blue Cheese. ;) Have always preferred my burger on toasted rye to a bun. I grew up on the North Side of Chicago, and went to college at Northwestern, so my earliest patty melt memories are from Hackney's -- which I understand still exists.
It most certainly does! I made a pilgrimage in my brief stint home from Mexico for a Hackney's burger!
I will have to try Hackney's the next time I am in Chicago.
I'm 12 again, in my purple two piece, eating before I go back into the pool without waiting an hour.
My mom only required a half hour.
My senior year in high school, I worked at our local Friendly's, and I must say that yours looks much better than any I ever made! It's the mushrooms, I think...
My sister worked at Friendly's, but never on the grill.
I think you are dead on with the pickle comment. There is no sandwich without a pickle. Congratulations! This looks soooo delightful.
I just had some pickles last night made from courgettes. Kind of like bread and butter pickles. They were served with a rillette made from pork belly and neck. They were a perfect compliment.
Yum! I don't know "Friendly's Patty Melt" (must be your neck of the woods), but I do love a good Patty Melt, congratulations on the EP and good luck as a finalist...voted.
I did not realise the Friendly's was an east coast wonder. Thanks for the best wishes, I will need it given the competition.
OhMyGosh - This looks so so good. I, too, was a child who adored the Friendly's Patty melt, and you just transported me back in time. Cannot wait to make this. Maybe tomorrow.
Hope you like it Cathy!
Congrats cheese1227!! My husband LOVES patty melts; this is definitely on our menu for this week! I just taught a cooking class (my second class!) at a farm last weekend which featured grilling grass-fed beef. So glad you're using it too!
Congrats on the classes. I've got my first one out at the CSA farm I support in early Sept. I"ve got to come up with some recipes for fall pastas. I'd love some suggestions if you have any.
Looks delicious!
Thanks!
Omigosh! This sounds like the "Bistro Burger" at Big Nick's (a must try 24-hour diner on the Upper West Side in NYC). I was fretting ever leaving this city because I love that burger so much, now it seem I have the recipe. THANK YOU! P.S. Cheese1227, hopefully you don't catch any patty melt backlash like Katie Lee did ;) http://ny.eater.com/archives/2008/10/nywff_remainders_katie_lee_finally_defends_burger_win.php
Oh boy. I hope mine does not follow suit in terms of raising controversy.
I knew you had a winner when I saw this recipe! Congratulations on being a finalist!
Thank you, drbabs!
Fabulous!
I just realised I've got too much meat for two burgers. This should only read 3/4 lb ground beef.
Love patty melts! Thanks for reminding me of their exsistence. I have never had mushrooms on it, but I am will to try. Sounds good.
Sounds GREAT - maybe WinnieAbs lacto fermented pickles for the non-negotiable garnish?
Certainly!! Just having a pickle on the plate is the requirement. Having a really good pickle on the plate can only make the experience that much better!
Oh, yum! I love a good patty melt and this one sounds delicious!
I have a very important linquistical question for you. Jimmies? Or Spinkles?
More geographical, that one. Around these parts of NY, we call them "sprinkles".
I'm with you. The switch, I think, happens somewhere around Springfield. My husband was raised in the Boston suburbs and swears by "Jimmies". I think I will call Friendly's headquarters in Wilbraham and settle this argument for ever.
We called them "jimmies"....mostly I grew up in Rhode Island with one set of grandparents in the Boston area and the other in New Haven. Loved these as a girl.
Thank you lastnightsdinner!
Did you folks up Boston way ever get a potluck organized? I have a good friend who needs to rekindle her food creativity with people who could inspire her. She lives in Needham (works in Cambridge) and I'd love to encourage her to join in.
No Boston-area potluck yet. I'm actually in Providence but willing to travel up for one if someone arranges it. :)
I adore a good patty melt! Yours sounds wonderful.
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Grass-fed beef, Worcestershire sauce, mushrooms, Gruyere, onion, pickle, rye bread, Dijon mustard, and butter.
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The rye bread is key.
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You begin by adding mustard, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce to the ground beef.
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Merrill wipes the mushroom caps with a damp paper towel. Now that is love.
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Amanda attempts to shape the patties to match the size of the rye bread slices. Merrill inspects her progress.
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Not bad for government work.
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Le patty.
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We saute the mushrooms in a cast iron skillet.
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Mushrooms, don't mess with us.
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You want to keep the heat pretty high so the mushrooms brown without stewing.
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Onions' turn.
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Merrill butters one side of each slice of rye bread.
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Toasting the rye bread, butter-side-down.
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Cooking up the burgers.
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Melting the cheese in sync with the burger cooking. We learn this takes practice.
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Don't forget the pickle -- you need the occasional flash of acidity and crunch!
Oh my god- I want this RIGHT NOW! :)