Perfect Patty Melt

If you are like me then when you go to a diner you like the same thing. When I go to Steak & Shake you can bet there will be a Frisco Patty Melt & fries with cheese sitting in front of me...but not for very long. I could devour that in minutes if it wasn't for a grunting baby next to me who has to eat quicker than I do.

I have tried making a patty melt a few times and it never had that diner taste. Well, the trials are OVER! I have done it! The perfect patty melt! So here is my secret:

Ingredients:
    (4 servings)
8 slices of bread
Spreadable butter
1 lb ground beef
4 slices Swiss cheese
4 slices American cheese
1 Chopped Onion
Garlic powder
Worcestershire
Sauce (optional)
    2 tbsp Mayo
    1 tbsp Ketchup
    pinch sugar
    dash kosher salt

First, heat up your pan to medium heat. Get your ground beef & add a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce in there then flatten out as much as possible. Place on a non-stick cookie sheet or plate. Sprinkle garlic powder onto each patty. Put in freezer for 15 minutes so they hold their form better.

While those are in the freezer go ahead and get out your onion & chop that up then throw it in your heated pan. Get those nice & browned then put them in a container to use in a bit. These onions are optional if you don't like them. My hubby loves them but, I don't so I opted for none on mine & it still tasted delicious. They do add more flavor though. Keep the pan on medium heat.

Go ahead and butter your bread evenly on 1 side of each slice. This will give it that nice toasted outside, so don't be stingy with the butter. Get an extra clean pan out & put on medium heat. Also mix your sauce.

Next, get your patties out of the freezer & place in the pan you used for the onions. Cover until it's nice & brown on the bottom & cooked about half way through. Then flip (Watch out for that grease! It burns like no other). Immediately spread your onions on the browned side of the patty then add swiss cheese over top the onions. Cover & let it melt. By this time my mouth was watering, and I had to refrain from digging in because it wasn't done. :(

While that's melting, place your buttered bread (buttered side down) in the clean pan. Put a piece of american cheese on it. Then smear a dab of sauce around the bread. A little goes a long way. Once your swiss cheese has started to melt on your patty then move it over on top of the bread in the other pan. Immediately place the top bread slice onto the sandwich. Cover & let it all melt & goo together. YUM! After a few minutes, once the bottom of the bread is a beautiful golden color, flip the whole sandwich. Be careful not to let the top half slide off. I used another spatula to hold it together. You can then press down on the sandwich with your spatula to flat it. Mine gushed out some cheese and sauce which made me consider how bad the burn would be if I ate it right then because it looked so darn good. Let that side brown & your good to go!

Sorry for the quality of the picture. My camera was dead & I'm pretty sure Raleigh hid the charger. I thought these tasted pretty close to Steak & Shake. I definitely had another one for lunch the next day. :)