Chef Tom fires up the Kamado Joe for an old school classic, the Patty Melt!
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Caramelizing onions in beef tallow: Cooking the onions in rendered beef tallow instead of butter or oil ties their sweetness back to the same beefy flavor as the patty, rather than introducing a separate fat profile.
- Smashing the patties to match the bread: Flattening each burger puck out to the diameter of the rye slices means every bite gets patty all the way to the crust, instead of a smaller round patty lost inside a bigger sandwich.
- Two different cheeses, two different jobs: Topping the patty with Swiss while it's still on the grill, then layering American Swiss against the bread, melts one cheese onto the meat and one against the toast for a more cohesive melt throughout.
- Toasting in butter as the final step: Finishing the assembled sandwich in butter on the soapstone crisps and browns the rye on both sides, the way a diner griddle would, instead of serving it merely melted and assembled.
Patty Melt
Tom Jackson
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Entree
Cuisine
American
Servings
4
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
20 minutes
Calories
755
Treat yourself to a delicious meal by cooking the classic Patty Melt with Chef Tom and the Kamado Joe Ceramic Grill! Enjoy the old school flavor in your own home and savor the amazing taste.
Ingredients
-
4 (1/4 lb each) Creekstone Farms Brisket Blend Burger Pucks
-
Obie Cue’s Steakmaker Seasoning
- 4 slices Swiss cheese
- 4 slices American Swiss cheese
- 8 slices rye bread
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
-
2 tbsp beef tallow
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced thin
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
-
Yoder Smokers Beef Rub
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
-
3 tbsp Hoff & Pepper Smoken Ghost Ketchup
-
2 tbsp Kansas Flavor Bread & Butter Jalapeños
-
1 tsp Kozlik’s Triple Crunch Mustard Seeds
For the caramelized onions:
For the Thousand Island Dressing:
Directions
- Build a hot coal bed in your Kamado Joe Classic III. Install a soapstone cooking surface (or cast iron griddle) at the highest level of the Divide & Conquer System. Stabilize the temperature around 375ºF.
- Melt the beef tallow for the caramelized onions on the soapstone. Add the onions. Season with Obie Cue’s Steakmaker Seasoning. Carefully toss the sliced onions. Close the lid and let cook, stirring occasionally, until onions turn from translucent to lightly browned, about 15-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, using small squares of parchment paper on top of and below each burger puck, smash the puck out to roughly the diameter of your rye bread, and about 1/2” thick. Season the top sides with Obie Cue’s Steakmaker Seasoning.
- After removing the onions from the soapstone, open the airflow wide open to increase the grill temperature to 450ºF+.
- Place the patties seasoned side down on the soapstone. Season the unseasoned side (now facing up). Cook with the lid open until nicely seared. Flip and immediately top each with a slice of Swiss cheese.
- While the burger patties cook, spread the insides of the rye bread with some of the Thousand Island Dressing. Place one slice of American Swiss on half of the slices of bread. Place caramelized onions on top of the cheese.
When the bottom of the burger is seared, remove from the grill and transfer directly to the slices of rye with the American cheese. Add the top slice of bread.Your burger patty should now be sandwiched buy two slices of cheese and two slices of rye with caramelized onions on on the top half of the patty melt.
Melt butter on the soapstone. Toast the patty melts on both sides to finish. Remove and serve with extra Thousand Island for dipping.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why caramelize the onions in beef tallow instead of butter or oil?
Using rendered beef tallow ties the onions' sweetness back to the same beefy flavor as the patty, instead of introducing a separate, competing fat profile from butter or a neutral oil.
Why smash the patty out to match the size of the bread?
Flattening each burger puck to the diameter of the rye slices means every bite gets patty all the way to the crust, rather than a smaller round patty getting lost in the middle of a bigger sandwich.
Why put Swiss on the patty but American Swiss against the bread?
Melting Swiss directly onto the hot patty on the grill and layering American Swiss against the toast lets one cheese bind to the meat and the other to the bread, so the whole sandwich melts together instead of having cheese concentrated in just one spot.
What internal temperature should the burger patties actually reach?
This recipe doesn't state a target temperature anywhere, relying only on "nicely seared" as a doneness cue. Ground beef needs to reach a minimum internal temperature of 160°F to be safe — check with an instant-read thermometer rather than judging by sear color alone.
Why toast the assembled sandwich in butter as a final step?
Finishing the whole patty melt in butter on the hot soapstone crisps and browns the rye on both sides, the way a diner griddle would, instead of leaving the bread just soft and melted from residual heat.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
4 out of 5 — a stovetop cast iron griddle or skillet handles the onions, patties, and toasting just as well as the Kamado Joe; the grill mainly adds a bit of char, not a technique unique to it.
Recipe Highlights
Tallow-caramelized onions: Ties the onion topping's flavor back to the beef itself.
Bread-matched patty size: Every bite gets patty all the way to the crust.
Two cheeses, two roles: One melts onto the meat, one onto the toast.
Butter-toasted finish: Crisps the rye on both sides like a diner griddle.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 11.6 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 755
- Carbs
- 16 grams
- Protein
- 37 grams
- Fat
- 60 grams
- Sodium
- 1149 milligrams
