I Made This Thrifty Depression-Era Onion Burger

During the Great Depression, cooks had to get creative when it came to making tasty meals with limited ingredients. Enter the deceptively delicious onion burger.

Necessity is the mother of invention, correct? The Neat Depression forced home cooks to exist creative when ingredients were scarce or difficult to afford. Only that didn't stop thrifty cooks from making delicious nutrient. A perfect (and elementary!) case is this recipe for Depression-era hamburgers, often referred to equally onion burgers or Oklahoma burgers.

These burgers are cooked upwards with almost half an onion per burger, as a way to stretch the more expensive basis beef—without skimping on flavor.

How to Brand Low-Era Onion Burgers

Ingredients

• four tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
• 1 pound ground beefiness, formed into four equal-sized balls
• 1 or 2 medium yellow onions, sliced very sparse with a mandoline slicer or a sharp knife and divided into four equal portions
• Salt, to sense of taste
• four slices American cheese
• four hamburger buns, sliced in half and toasted

Susan Bronson for Taste of Home

Initial Thoughts

Footing beef is an ingredient I always have on hand, and then I was game to endeavour this simple mode to stretch a pound of meat. The actual cooking actually but consists of 2 ingredients–footing beefiness and onions. I'm a huge fan of uncomplicated recipes, then this is right upwardly my alley.

Getting Started

Stride one is to prep your onions by slicing them paper-thin. A mandoline slicer is the perfect tool for the job–just make sure you lot follow all these safety tips. If y'all don't have a mandoline, yous can always use a very sharp knife; be certain to mind your fingers!

Then, divide your beef into four balls. You tin can brand this repast actress thrifty by stretching information technology into half dozen portions. Just exist sure to piece an extra onion.

Making the Burgers

To make sure y'all don't crowd the pan and the burgers cook evenly, make your burgers in batches. I used a ten-in. bandage iron skillet on the stovetop.

Commencement, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium loftier heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add together two beefiness assurance and quickly flatten with the dorsum of your spatula until they are quite thin. Cook for one minute.

Then add a portion of the onions on top of each burger and flavor with common salt. Flatten again with the spatula to incorporate the onions into the burger and let cook for an additional minute.

Carefully flip the burgers, being sure to scrape up any of the browned meat from the pan as you get. Add a slice of American cheese on top of each burger. Cook until the onions are crisp and caramelized, the burgers are cooked through and the cheese is melted. Serve immediately on toasted buns.

Love burger night? Here are the copycat recipes for restaurant burgers you need to try.

Susan Bronson for Taste of Home

The Final Production

If y'all dearest the flavor of onions, you will love these burgers! Served aslope a hearty portion of steak chips, these juicy and flavorful burgers are an easy (and inexpensive) style to get dinner on the tabular array whatsoever night of the week.

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Source: https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/depression-era-onion-burger/

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