onion burger?

[old.guy]

Is there some place in or around Tulsa that serves authentic Oklahoma onion burgers?

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Smitty’s onion burger is ok, but it doesn’t compare to Tucker’s in OKC.

Ask for grilled onions at Arnold’s. The slicing and preparation is different but it does upgrade the burger from good to great.

 

[Gmoney4WW]

Is there some place in or around Tulsa that serves authentic Oklahoma onion burgers?

I thought that's the way most good burger places did it, or gave you the option.(Onions grilled in the burger option.)

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I thought that's the way most good burger places did it, or gave you the option.(Onions grilled in the burger option.)

There’s a big difference between an Oklahoma Onion Burger and a Old-Fashioned burger with grilled onions.

A authentic onion burger comes from the depression era and has more onions than meat.

 

[HuffyCane]

There’s a big difference between an Oklahoma Onion Burger and a Old-Fashioned burger with grilled onions.

A authentic onion burger comes from the depression era and has more onions than meat.

And the flavor from decades of cooking those onion burgers on the same grill makes all the difference in the world.

 

[Dr. Peter Venkman]

My family's all from El Reno, the epicenter of the onion burger phenomenon. I'm a 1st gen Green Country-ite, but have plenty of onion burger experience.

Smitty's is the closest I've seen, but not right. IMO, the onions aren't as finely cut, and are under-cooked so they're soggy, not caramelized.

 

[Gmoney4WW]

There’s a big difference between an Oklahoma Onion Burger and a Old-Fashioned burger with grilled onions.

A authentic onion burger comes from the depression era and has more onions than meat.

I thought it was supposed to have equal parts onion and meat or thereabouts.

I was thinking they did the mashing and all, but I'm not an onion burger aficionado to know the difference of enough onion. Not sure I've even had an onion burger before, to even know what half meet and half onion is like in consistency. I know the onion cooks down, but half onion cooked down is how much onion? I figured it wasn't enough.

 

[HuffyCane]

I thought it was supposed to have equal parts onion and meat or thereabouts.

I was thinking they did the mashing and all, but I'm not an onion burger aficionado to know the difference of enough onion. Not sure I've even had an onion burger before, to even know what half meet and half onion is like in consistency. I know the onion cooks down, but half onion cooked down is how much onion? I figured it wasn't enough.

FWIW, For a third pound burger, I’ll do about a half of a large onion sliced as thin as possible on the mandoline. You can see through them. It’s roughly 60/40 onion to beef as I start to cook and it pretty much matches the El Reno experience except my griddle is no where near the type of seasoned surface you want to experience. Done right, you don’t want anything on them except butter on the grilled bun.

 

[TUcandoit]

Not only as what they stated above but a true onion burger is cooked different than a lot of other burgers as well. Its grilled to a point then steamed the rest of the way.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I thought it was supposed to have equal parts onion and meat or thereabouts.

I was thinking they did the mashing and all, but I'm not an onion burger aficionado to know the difference of enough onion. Not sure I've even had an onion burger before, to even know what half meet and half onion is like in consistency. I know the onion cooks down, but half onion cooked down is how much onion? I figured it wasn't enough.

We like to hit Tucker’s at the Classen Curve center whenever we go to a Thunder game. Order the full pound “Cheesy Mother Tucker” and the whole staff will stop and shout “Watch Your Mouth” at you.

For an added treat, you can order grilled jalepenos which are surprisingly hot.

As mentioned by Venkman, Smitty tries their best to make an onion burger but it’s just not quite right.

 

[Li'l Eric Coley]

I didn’t realize an onion burger could be this much fun.

 

[TUcandoit]

I didn’t realize an onion burger could be this much fun.

oh there is an art form to a true onion burger. You think it is a simple burger.....nope! Plus so many little things you can do to just add your own signature to it. Sometimes I like adding BBQ sauce to the onions while they cook. Ive been known to use worchestershire sauce as the steaming agent with a tiny bit on brown sugar. However, I am still a fan of just straight salt and pepper seasoning.

 

[HuffyCane]

oh there is an art form to a true onion burger. You think it is a simple burger.....nope! Plus so many little things you can do to just add your own signature to it. Sometimes I like adding BBQ sauce to the onions while they cook. Ive been known to use worchestershire sauce as the steaming agent with a tiny bit on brown sugar. However, I am still a fan of just straight salt and pepper seasoning.

Makes me want to try this with HP or 57 sauce. Thanks!

 

[mmckell]

I lived in Tulsa after I graduated from TU in 2005 and had no idea there were any good burgers spots in town. Are these places new or fairly old?

 

[Gmoney4WW]

I lived in Tulsa after I graduated from TU in 2005 and had no idea there were any good burgers spots in town. Are these places new or fairly old?

You talking about the ones mentioned in 'Best Burger in Tulsa', or this thread, or both? If both, the answer is most places mentioned have been around forever.

 

[TU 1978]

I believe that Fred’s hamburgers (on the east side of Harvard south of 11th street) would make this type of burger in the 1960s.

 

[old.guy]

I found a number of videos on YouTube that purport to show how to make onion burgers but I was hoping to find a restaurant that serves the genuine article.

 

[Henry Kendall]

I found a number of videos on YouTube that purport to show how to make onion burgers but I was hoping to find a restaurant that serves the genuine article.

Yes, I was surprised at the number of YouTube videos on how to make an Oklahoma onion burger. Now my stomach is growling and that’s all I can think about at work.

 

[mmckell]

You talking about the ones mentioned in 'Best Burger in Tulsa', or this thread, or both? If both, the answer is most places mentioned have been around forever.

Both.

 

[Gmoney4WW]

Both.

Weber's Root Beer 1891
Johnny's Jip Joint/Hardens Hamburgers 1939
Hanks Hamburgers 1949
Lot-a-Burger 1951
Van's/Claude's Hamburgers 1950/54
Brownie's Hamburgers 1956
Bill's Jumbo Burger 1960
Goldie's 1962
The Burger House 1963
Ted's Hamburgers 1963
Hanks/Mark & Tammy's/Freddy's Hamburgers 1967
JJ's Burgers Early 70's?
Ron's Hamburgers and Chili 1975
Ty's Hamburgers 1983
Arnold's Hamburgers 1986

 

[HuffyCane]

Tulsa is the undisputed heavyweight champ of roadside burger joints.

 

[mmckell]

Weber's Root Beer 1891
Johnny's Jip Joint/Hardens Hamburgers 1939
Hanks Hamburgers 1949
Lot-a-Burger 1951
Van's/Claude's Hamburgers 1950/54
Brownie's Hamburgers 1956
Bill's Jumbo Burger 1960
Goldie's 1962
The Burger House 1963
Ted's Hamburgers 1963
Hanks/Mark & Tammy's/Freddy's Hamburgers 1967
JJ's Burgers Early 70's?
Ron's Hamburgers and Chili 1975
Ty's Hamburgers 1983
Arnold's Hamburgers 1986

When I have a free moment, im going to put these all into Google maps and see how close they are to TU. This is devastating how many there are and how much i love burgers.

 

[Henry Kendall]

So last weekend I made my own version of onion burgers, as close to the Johnnie's formula as I could get. Sliced an onion on the thinnest setting of my mandolin, pressed into a quarter pound ball of ground beef...the 20% fat kind. On a screaming hot griddle on my grill. American cheese, steamed the buns on top.

They were exceptional. Not a grilled flavor, since they never saw the flames. More like a rich, greasy diner type of burger. I had one burger, my pipsqueak-sized gf had 2 1/2 burgers. They cook really fast. And the huge pile of onions cooks way down. Definitely recommend watching YouTube videos and replicating it.

 

[chito_and_leon]

Looks like the BBC is reading this site for story ideas now.

The 'Depression Burger' of Route 66

 

['Cane-man]

I used to have Claud's fry the chopped onion into the meat. Really good. But not an official onion burger. Man, I miss Claud's.