Homemade Griddled Onion & Brie Burger
The perfect gourmet griddled onion and brie burger doesn’t exist? Hold my beer.
Every element in this burger recipe builds upon the previous one’s flavor. High-fat beef patties create a strong enough base to anchor the burger’s flavor. Then, a toasted brioche bun and griddled onions give a hint of sweetness and buttery char. The cracked pepper and lime aioli adds a zing of tart lime and richness. And the brie and arugula give the burger an interesting earthiness, with the arugula echoing back the zip of pepper in the aioli.
This is a copycat recipe from my favorite burger restaurant. The owners retired, so I’ve resorted to recreating their amazing recipes at home. Because it’s what I do, and I cannot live without this burger. There’s a sister burger to this one I am also working on, so if you’re excited now, just wait!
I’ve written this recipe so that you can make every element of this burger from scratch. But don’t get too overwhelmed by the ingredient lists. I’ve also provided storebought substitutions, to make things easier, if you want to get right to the good stuff.
Get the Recipe: Homemade Griddled Onion & Brie Burger
Ingredients
Brioche Buns
- ¾ cup warm milk
- 2 tablespoons honey of choice
- ½ tablespoon active dry yeast
- ½ tablespoon kosher salt
- 4 large eggs (≈ 200-220g) + 1 egg (≈ 50-55g) , divided as written (for optional egg wash)
- 3¾ cups all-purpose flour, (plus, more for shaping and dusting)
- ¾ cup European-style unsalted butter, softened (plus, enough to prep the proofing bowl
Burger Mix for Patties
- 1 lb boneless short rib , (well-marbled chuck or brisket)
- .8 lbs oxtail, meat and fat, (1.5lbs with bones, see notes for purchasing)
- .2 lbs sirloin , (eye/bottom/top round roast)
Cracked Pepper and Lime Aioli
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk (≈ 70g)
- 1 teaspoon lime zest , (1 lime)
- 2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
- 4 cloves garlic, roasted (12.5g) (or 2 fresh, 6g)
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard or ground yellow mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
- ½ cup neutral oil (canola/vegetable)
Gourmet Griddled Onion and Brie Burgers
- 8, ¼ lb burger patties
- 8 brioche hamburger buns
- 2.5 cups sliced sweet onions , (2 onions, 1/4c or g per burger)
- 16 slices of brie cheese, (2 per burger)
- ½ cup cracked pepper and lime aioli , (1 tablespoon or 15ml per burger)
- 3 oz arugula, (.4oz/10g per burger)
- ½ cup butter, (for sautéing onions and toasting buns)
- salt & pepper, to taste
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer
- 1 kitchen scale
- measuring Cups
- Measuring spoons
- 2 large bowls
- cling wrap or a shower cap
- 1 silicone or bristled pastry brush
- 1 chef knife
- cutting board
- 1 meat grinder or food processor (see FAQs)
- 1 small bowl
- 1 immersion blender or whisk
- cheese knife or paring knife
- 1 serrated knife
- 1-2 stainless steel sauté pans and/or a grill
- 1 burger flipper
Instructions
How to use this Recipe:
- This recipe is written so that every element of the burgers can be made from scratch, using whole ingredients. The buns, burgers, aioli, and even the onions can all be made ahead to save time. Once prepped, this burger recipe takes less than 30-minutes to cook and assemble, less if you do not use a grill. I have provided an FAQ with a timeline to help with cooking order and timing, if you want to make everything at once. I have also added information about store-bought substitutions/options. Enjoy!
Homemade Brioche Buns
- Making brioche buns requires about 90 minutes of prep, 25 hours for proofing, and 20 minutes for baking. If you make the buns more than a day ahead of time, immediately freeze them after they bake. They will stay fresh up to 2 months in the freezer, so you can defrost them at your convenience. I do not have a specific burger bun recipe written for the blog, but I do have a recipe that uses brioche dough (Classic Brioche Cinnamon Rolls). So, I suppose the burger bun recipe will live here for the time being. You can make between 8-10 buns from this recipe.
- First, begin bringing your butter and eggs to room temperature about 30 minutes before you start in earnest. Next, whisk the milk and honey together and warm them, in a sauce pot on your stove. If you see steam, you've gone too far. Pour the milk and honey into your stand mixer’s bowl and use a thermometer to wait until the temperature has fallen between 110-115°F (43-46°C). Once you are in that window, add in the active dry yeast and let it rest for 10-15 minutes, so it can bloom.
- While that’s working, measure out the flour and salt and set aside. Also, very lightly butter a large bowl for proofing the dough later.
- When the yeast has bloomed, turn on the mixer with the whisk attachment and add in the eggs. Once incorporated, add in salt and then flour a little at a time until it’s about the viscosity of pancake batter.
- Switch out the whisk attachment for a dough hook and continue mixing in the flour until it comes away from the sides of the bowl; It may take upwards of 15 minutes. At this point you can begin to add the butter pieces one-at-a-time. Once one mixes into the dough fully, you can add the next until all of the butter has been added.
- Continue mixing until the dough gets shiny and smooth and you can gently touch it without it immediately sticking to your fingers. It may need another 10 minutes of mixing to get to this stage. At any point, you can stop to do a windowpane test (see notes), to see if the dough is ready to proof. When it’s ready, scrape the dough into the lightly buttered bowl and cover with cling wrap.
- Set it on the counter for 1-2 hours or until it doubles in size. Then, gently (so as not to deflate the rise thus far) place it in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours. 24 hours is best if you have the time.
- After cold proofing, remove the dough from the refrigerator and scrape it onto a generously floured counter. Coat the dough just enough that you can place it onto a kitchen scale. Weigh the dough for a total weight and divide by the number of burger buns you’d like. (9 equal pieces should be ≈ 122g per piece)
- Shape the pieces of dough into small balls by pulling the bottom of the dough up and over towards the middle of the ball from all four corners. Then rotate it 45 degrees and fold from the bottom again. Turn the whole thing over making sure the folds stay tucked. Then, gently rotate and shape the dough finalizing your sphere and melting the seams, from the tucking, into the bottom of the spheres. Press gently down on the rounds of dough with your palm until they are about 3in (7.6cm) in diameter. Place the buns about 2in (5cm) from each other on a baking tray. Then, cover and rest the rolls on the countertop for 45-60 minutes for a second proof. They should puff up considerably.
- While proofing, pre-heat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and make an egg wash for the rolls. Whisk a whole egg with 1 tablespoon (15ml) of water and a pinch of salt until it’s homogenized. Set the wash aside for at least 15 minutes. Just before the buns go into the oven, brush on the egg wash. Bake the brioche burger buns for 15-20 minutes. The internal temperature of the buns should reach 190°F (88°C).
- Let the buns cool before cutting and toasting them for the cheeseburgers.
Homemade Burger Patty
- I provided my preferred cuts of meat for the burger mix because I have a meat grinder attachment for my KitchenAid mixer, and once I started using it, I never looked back.
- If you’d like to share in the magic that is fresh ground meat, buy these cuts and put them in the freezer when you get home from the store. When the meat is about half-frozen, chop the beef into 1in (2.5cm) cubes.
- Attach the meat grinder tool to your mixer using the medium plate (coarse and fine aren’t good for this applications) and place a bowl underneath to catch the ground beef. Turn the grinder on and add meat to the chute. Tamp down on the pieces, to ensure they don’t get stuck. Once all of the meat has been run through the grinder, gently fold and mix the three varieties of beef together to make sure the mix is uniform to the eye. It can be helpful to make a claw with your hand and circle it around the bowl, kind of like washing rice. It helps mix without compression.
- Next, weigh and shape the burgers. Each patty should be about .25lbs (113.5g) and 4.5in (11.4cm) in diameter. When shaping the patties, sandwich a weighed sphere of meat between both hands and press downward until you almost have the correct diameter. Then pinch and shape the edges of the patty, so there are no gaps or pieces that could break off while cooking. Set the burger down on a work surface and gently press the center of the burger down, so it goes gradually concave from edge to center, like a very shallow bowl. Place the finished burgers on a tray or plate. If you aren’t cooking them within 15 minutes, place the container in the refrigerator to wait. They don't need to be covered.
Homemade Aioli
- This recipe takes 5 minutes, makes enough for 8-10 burgers, and lasts for roughly 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
- For the aioli, add all of the ingredients a wide jar or cup and mix with an immersion blender for 1-2 minutes. It’s best to start at the bottom of the container and slowly lift the blender until the eggs and oil are all properly emulsified. Then, move the blender up and down until the mayonnaise forms into a thick paste the texture of soft peaked whipped cream. (If you don’t have a stick blender, see notes.)
Griddle onions
- Find the top of the onion, opposite of the roots, and chop it off to create a flat surface. Set the onion down, root-side up and slice the onion in half. From there, lay the onion down with the center on your cutting surface. Cut off the rooted top of the onion and then, make vertical slices from left to right. Repeat with the other half and then the second onion.
- Set the onion slices aside and bring a stainless-steel pan to medium-high heat on your stove top. Once hot, add in a pat of butter and the onions. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the onions, while mixing, to help pull out their moisture. In roughly 5-7 minutes, the onions will start turning translucent. Continue for another 7-10 minutes and turn the heat down to medium heat if you see too much charring on the edges of the onions. Additionally, if the onions are sticking to the bottom of your pan or a fond (brown crust) starts to form on the bottom of the pan, deglaze it with a little bit of water. The water will help steam and cook the onions faster, incorporate the flavor from the fond, and give the onions their signature brown color.
- Stop when the onions have softened considerably, but the centers of the larger pieces still look light in color. The onions should both be floppy but retain their structure enough to not be mushy. They will have just enough sweetness to balance the burger with a slight crunch to their texture still. Set the onions aside for assembly.
Gourmet Burger Assembly
- If you plan to grill your burgers, prep your grill before you do anything else, so it has time to pre-heat. If you are cooking your gourmet griddled onion and brie burgers on your stovetop, preheating time isn’t really necessary.
- To make a burger, gather the rolls, patties, griddled onions, aioli, arugula, and brie. Set the patties on a plate or pan and sprinkle them with kosher salt and cracked pepper on both sides. Let the patties rest at room temperature for between 15-30 minutes. Now, slice the buns in half and spread butter on the cut sides. To prep the cheese, slice the brie into thin strips (between 1/8-1/4in or .3-.6cm depending on how much you like brie) to top the burgers.
- Burgers and buns on the grill: Now that your grill and burger ingredients are prepped, place the burgers, indent side up, on the grill and close the top. Let the burgers cook for 3 minutes and then open the grill lid. The center of the burgers should have juice accumulated there if they are ready to turn. Flip the burgers over and cook for another 3-5 minutes depending on your preferred doneness. In the last 1-2 minutes of cooking, top the burgers with the brie slices. Add the buns, butter side down, to the grill and toast them at this point as well. Remove everything from the grill when ready and assemble the burger.
- Burgers and buns on the stovetop: Bring a stainless-steel pan to medium heat on your stove top and toast the buns, butter side down for 30-60 seconds. I like to do a single piece at a time, right in the center of the pan, but if you have the space feel free to toast more. When the buns are done, add 4 burger patties at a time to the pan. Cook them indent up until the centers have accumulated juice, about 4 minutes. Then, flip the burgers over to cook the other side. Cook the patties for another 3-5 minutes, adding the slices of brie in the last 2 minutes of cooking. When done, move the finished burger patties off of the pan and repeat until all of them have been cooked.
- Now, you can build your burgers. Spread about 1tbsp (15ml) of aioli onto the bottom half of the bun. Then, add a nice helping of griddled onions. Top the onions with the melted cheese patty and cover that with a small bunch of arugula, topping the whole thing with the rest of the toasted bun. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you forget to take the eggs out of the fridge before making the dough, you can add them to a large bowl of tepid water to warm up quickly.
- To soften butter quickly, fill a glass jar with tap-hot water for a minute, pour it out, and then place the empty glass over the butter. The air temperature in the glass will help soften the butter without melting it. You can also, cut your butter into 1tbsp (14g) pats and arrange them on a plate with little overlap so they soften faster. More surface area means faster heat transfer between the butter and the ambient air around it.
- If you don’t want to or you can’t grind your own beef patties, purchase burgers from your local supermarket. Look for ground beef with similar cuts of meat listed, i.e. ground chuck. Or look for the fattiest option available. Where I live, I believe, the best ratio is 75% lean, 25% fat.
- When buying meat, make sure you consider the weight of the bones for the oxtail and possibly short ribs. For the oxtail, look for packaging that has the largest ratio of meat and fat to bone, with the fewest amount of smaller segments. You won’t have to purchase as much.
- To trim oxtail, use a boning knife if you have one (something thin). Remember the vertebrae alternate top and then bottom as you work around the spinal column.
- If you don’t have an immersion blender for the aioli, here are a few other options: 1. a regular blender; 2. a hand beater; 3. a stand mixer with whisk attachment; 4. a whisk; and 5. shake the ingredients in a lidded jar (yep, that’s an option!).
- I have an easier version with storebought mayo in the FAQs.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure do! Here is a countdown for my Homemade Griddled Onion and brie Burger, from start to finish, that is chronologically from starting the buns the day before to assembly time!
26 hours… start brioche
25 hours… proof brioche and make aioli
4 hours… trim and freeze beef
3 hours… shape and proof brioche buns
2 hours… grind meat and shape patties
1.5 hours… bake buns
1.25 hours… slice onions and sauté onions
30min… salt and pepper patties
15 min… slice brie and cook burgers
10 min…toast buns
My preferred doneness is between medium and medium well.
Not everyone likes their burgers cooked medium. And that’s okay! If you happen to fall into that boat, here’s a chart with different levels of doneness and their corresponding internal temps, before and after carryover cooking.
Surprisingly, carry over cooking with burgers is about the same as with steaks, so if you are already well versed with cooking steak or roasts (like Dry-Brined, Reverse-Seared Prime Rib), you are good to go! 
The only difference is the rest time. Resting should be about 5 minutes. It’s plenty of time for the juices to reabsorb and the fat to cool a bit. The protein fibers in burgers are less dense than in steaks, so rest time is also less.
You have 2 options:
1. Chop by Hand: It takes a bit of time, but, with a sturdy knife and perseverance, this method gives you a lot of control over the size of your final “grind”. It also keeps the fat intact better than the second option.
For hand-chopping, I suggest working in batches of .5lbs (227g) or less at a time so the meat doesn’t get too chaotic. (It’s kind of like chopping chocolate in that respect) I still recommend having the meat partially frozen. It makes it soooo much easier to cut without compressing the meat and fat together.
2. Chop in a Food Processor: Reputable chef J. Kenji Lopez-Alt (James Beard Award winning author of The Food Lab and Wok) suggests you can grind meat in a food processor. And if it’s good enough for him then it’s good enough for me.
Work with the chilled meat, by first cutting it into 1/2in-1in (1.3-2.5cm) pieces. Once cubed, let the meat come to a defrosted but still very cold temperature, if it is not already there. Work in batches of .5lbs (227g) or less and pulse the food processor until you have a grind size similar to store bought ground beef. According to Kenji (Writing just his first name like this is weird. OMG!), It will likely, not be uniform in size. Extra option: If you want to follow up with a little knife work, you can fix that issue.
There is a subtle textural difference between the two. Pan cooking a burger means that the whole surface touches direct heat. The crust is across the entire top and bottom of the burger. When cooking on a grill, only the grill marks get seared. The rest is cooked by ambient heat. Is this a big deal? Not at all.
The biggest difference between the two styles of cooking is actually in the flavor. A burger cooked on the stovetop or Blackstone tastes exactly like cooked beef and nothing else. Burgers cooked on a grill are going to taste smokey.
I personally prefer this burger from a cooktop and not a stove. But there are enough strong flavors that they won’t get overwhelmed even with the added flavor from your grill. Choose what you like best!
My recommended method is to freeze and vacuum seal the burgers for up to 4 months.
To do this, place the burgers (so they aren’t touching) on a silicone baking sheet lined baking tray. Cover the tray with cling film and put it in the freezer until the burgers have frozen all of the way through. Then, cut and seal one end of several bags to fit your preferred number of burgers per meal. Slide the burgers into the bag(s) and vacuum seal. Label the bag and place it in the freezer for safe keeping.
Of Note: You can also individually freeze the burgers on a tray and then store the patties in a resealable bag in your freezer. These will keep well 1-2 months.
A windowpane test helps you see how well the gluten structure in your dough has developed.
For a windowpane test, get your hands slightly wet and pull some of the dough up from the bowl. Stretch it out until it’s thin enough to see light through the dough. If the brioche dough stretches smoothly and gets thin enough without breaking, it’s ready.
Of course! Here’s a recipe for the burger sauce when the base is pre-made mayo.
Mix 1/2 cup (120ml or 120g) plain mayo with 1/2tsp (1.2g) cracked pepper, zest from 1 lime (1g), 1/2tbsp (7.5ml) fresh lime juice, 4 cloves roasted garlic, (12.5g) (or 2 fresh, 6g) (optional additions of sumac or black lime powder are also nice.) Do not use Kewpie mayo. It’s too rich.
Of Note: Making mayonnaise is super easy. And when you can use base ingredients, it also makes it much easier to tailor it to your tastes or to better balance a recipe. The ratio of eggs: oil: acid (lime juice): salt: and mustard powder is the base of the mayo. All the additions can be substituted and/or changed up! Feel free to experiment with vinegar, lemon juice, other spices, etc. to your heart’s content.
Sweet onions, like Vidalia, really are the way to go, but I suppose you could also use yellow onions or shallots if you don’t have any sweet onions.
