The Finest Onion Burgers in Oklahoma Metropolis and El Reno

As somebody who grew up only a 15-minute drive throughout the border in Northeast Texas, I’ve achieved my justifiable share of shit-talking in regards to the state of Oklahoma: “The wind blows so arduous in Texas as a result of Oklahoma sucks,” and so forth. However as fortune would have it, I fell in love with and married an Okie, which has necessitated spending much more time within the Sooner State over the previous decade — and much more time with the Oklahoma onion burger.

For many who are unfamiliar with the shape, the Oklahoma onion burger is straightforward: A haystack of onions, shaved skinny on a deli slicer, are piled atop a beef patty and cooked collectively on the griddle. Because it cooks, the juices from all these onions maintain the meat moist and add taste. As soon as one facet is cooked, the patty is flipped, and the onions are violently smashed into the burger, and it’s left on the griddle to sear till the meat is completely charred and the onions are evenly caramelized. It’s a really ingenious option to put together a burger, and it’s having a little bit of a second proper now. It’s popping up on burger menus throughout the nation, most notably at New York Metropolis’s Hamburger America, the place burger scholar George Motz smashes and griddles patties to order — and to rave evaluations.

Like many strokes of genius, the Oklahoma onion burger was born out of Despair-era necessity. Legend has it that the burger was invented on the Hamburger Inn in El Reno, a 20-minute drive from Oklahoma Metropolis, within the Twenties in an effort to maintain costs down. Including onions to the patty meant that proprietor Ross Davis might use much less meat in his five-cent burgers. Although the Hamburger Inn has since closed, the onion burger lives on at three longtime institutions, all inside spitting distance of one another in downtown El Reno.

Over the course of two grease-soaked days, I accomplished the final word onion burger crawl round El Reno, attempting burgers at three of town’s icons — Johnnie’s, Robert’s, and Sid’s Diner — plus a visit to Oklahoma Metropolis to take a look at Tucker’s, the brand new chain that’s serving to maintain the magic of the Oklahoma onion burger alive.

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Johnnie’s Hamburgers and Coneys

A brief drive outdoors of Oklahoma Metropolis, there may be not a lot to El Reno. It’s a small, sleepy city alongside what was once the legendary Route 66. One of many first belongings you see upon getting into downtown is the nondescript constructing that homes Johnnie’s, which has been open there since 1946. The burgers listed here are somewhat thicker than the opposite onion burgers we tried and improbably juicy.

The onion strings are somewhat extra charred than grilled, however barely burnt onion remains to be a superbly welcome taste in a burger. Hand-grated cheese melts properly atop the char-grilled patty, and the large onion rings that I ordered alongside my burger didn’t really feel like overkill. There’s no such factor as an excessive amount of onion.

Sid’s Diner

Sid’s Diner is arguably essentially the most well-known of the Oklahoma onion burger slingers in El Reno, thanks partly to appearances on reveals like Man Vs. Meals. As its identify may point out, Sid’s serves a full diner menu, full with omelets and rooster fried steak for breakfast, however the true draw is the onion burger.

The burgers listed here are skinny and loaded with onions which can be someplace alongside the spectrum from grilled to burnt. They’re additionally dressed with mustard and pickles until in any other case specified (you shouldn’t specify in any other case) and served with crispy hand-cut fries. Even in the course of a burger blitz, I believed I had reached onion burger nirvana at Sid’s, because the assertive char on the patty blended with the sweetness of the gentle, barely buttery onions and acidity of the mustard.

300 South Choctaw Avenue, El Reno, OK 73036

Amy McCarthy

Robert’s Grill

The oldest burger joint in El Reno, and possibly in the entire state, Robert’s Grill has been regularly slinging onion burgers since 1926. It’s nearly unfathomable that this tiny restaurant survived the Mud Bowl, the Nice Despair, and practically 100 years of different assorted types of chaos, however Robert’s remains to be kicking. A number of burgers into the crawl, my pleasure had waned up till the precise second that I walked inside Robert’s.

It’s a easy, tiny area, with barely sufficient room for just a few tables. I ordered an onion burger and fortunately waited, someway nonetheless intoxicated by the aroma of grilled onions. Mercifully, this burger was fairly a bit smaller than its opponents, however no much less scrumptious. This was the Oklahoma onion burger for me, due largely to its griddled patty and ideally suited onion-to-meat ratio, to not point out the historical past that lives inside these soot-stained partitions.

300 South Bickford Avenue, El Reno, OK 73036

Tucker’s Onion Burgers

In Oklahoma Metropolis, the place the onion burger remains to be a typical participant on diner menus, I pulled into the drive-thru at Tucker’s, an entire new technology of onion burger purveyor. After first opening its doorways in 2011, this fledgling chain operates 4 areas in Oklahoma Metropolis and one in close by Norman. The menu is decidedly extra 2020s than the opposite onion burger joints, with turkey patties and Unimaginable meat as choices alongside beef. The fries are crispy and double-fried, excellent for dipping right into a thick chocolate shake.

Upon getting into the restaurant, the scent of grilled onion invades your nostril — in a great way. I ordered a basic cheeseburger, dressed with pickles and mustard, and impatiently waited whereas it was cooked to order. As soon as it arrived, the rationale for the hype was instantly clear. The burger was juicy, with a superbly smashed exterior coated in char and a mountain of grilled onions sitting on high. I ate it in most likely three bites whereas sitting in my automotive. It could not have had the identical dingy classic attraction as Sid’s or Robert’s, however Tucker’s will seemingly play an vital position in conserving this 100-year-old custom alive. It’s increasing the attain of the onion burger, each geographically and generationally.

324 Northwest twenty third Avenue, Oklahoma Metropolis, OK 73118

Amy McCarthy

As my burger pilgrimage got here to an finish, I admittedly didn’t odor nice. I had onion juice oozing out of my pores, and I believed I’d by no means need to see one other patty between two buns ever once more. However regardless of what number of you’ve had, regardless of how a lot of a proud Texan you might be, there may be completely no denying the common attraction of an Okie onion burger.