Wisconsin Butter Burger
Culver’s is well know as the fast food home of the Butter Burger. But for a real Butter Burger experience you need to head to Wisconsin to visit a cafe or bar & grill that makes them the old way from scratch, with lots of butter.
Solly’s Grill in Milwaukee has been making Butter Burgers since 1936 and is considered by many to be the original home of the Butter Burger. This recipe is based on the original Solly’s recipe, via the folks at Cook’s Country and Ballistic BBQ. These are so good, they don’t need anything else on them.
This recipe keeps it simple. Ground beef, salt & pepper, yellow onions, butter, plain white buns, American cheese, no fancy ingredients here other than a little wine.
The onions take the most time so start on them right after putting the patties in the fridge; the burgers will take about 5 minutes. For the best results, use high quality ground beef (Solly’s uses ground Sirloin) and grill them on a cast iron skillet or flat top.
Wisconsin Butter Burger
Ingredients
- 1# of good quality ground beef
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 shake of salt
- ½ cup white wine
- ½ cup beef broth
- 1 stick of softened butter
- 4 white hamburger buns
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 slices of American cheese
Instructions
- Make 4, ¼# patties about ½” thick
- Season both sides of the burgers with the salt & pepper.
- Place the patties in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- While the patties chill, chop the onions.
- Heat a sauce pan over medium heat and add the oil
- Add the diced onions to the oil and stir
- Add the salt to the onions, cover and cook for 3 minutes to let them release their juice.
- Add the beef broth and wine and cook for another 5 minutes over medium heat to steam the onions.
- Remove the lid and turn up the heat to reduce the liquid. Add 2 Tbsp (a 1/4 of the stick) of the butter to the onions and stir through.
- Place the buns on a sheet pan and lightly toast them under the broiler.
- Remove the buns from the broiler and butter each top bun generously with the rest of the softened butter.
- Check your onions, don’t let them dry out or burn. You want them soft and creamy.
- Heat your skillet over high heat and add 2 Tbsp vegetable oil.
- Place the patties in the skillet, don’t touch them for 3 minutes so that they brown properly.
- After three minutes, flip and cook for one minute on the other side.
- Add a slice of cheese to each burger for another 30 seconds.
- Place the burgers on the bottom buns, place ¼ of the onions on each burger, and then place the top bun on top of each burger.