Onions and hamburgers

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I would like to make a perfect copy of a fast food restaurant hamburger just to be able to do it. It's not something that I would cook and serve at my house often but if I could do one of those taste tests where the kids have to determine which is the Daddy Burger and which is from McDonalds and they couldn't I would count that as a win.
 
To the OP question: I love onions on my burgers - usually a slice of raw onion. I don't mind a sharp one - bold flavors have always been my preference for a good sandwich. I try to use sweet onion when I can get it, but plain yellow onion is fine too.

When eating out at a brewpub or similar restaurant, I often have one that comes with deep fried onion straws. They add a different texture that I like.

After reading this thread today, I went to our local place just down the street for lunch. I had a patty melt burger with caramelized onions, Swiss cheese, 1000 island dressing on toasted light rye. :yum:
 
Jeez, man..we're going backwards, here..:wacko:

If you want a milder onion, as said, find a sweet one. Fry them up on med heat and do not brown...let cool and microwave them when you want to use them....
 
I don't think there is any special trick that fast food places use to mellow out their onions, I think it's because they use subprime onions, prepped in bulk and sat in a container for who knows how long.
 
I don't think there is any special trick that fast food places use to mellow out their onions, I think it's because they use subprime onions, prepped in bulk and sat in a container for who knows how long.

I know that when I use part of an onion for something and put the rest in the fridge, it's not as sharp the next time I use it. It doesn't take more than a day to start to lose some of it's potency.
 
I almost always use white sweet onions on grilled burgers, and just use a couple of thin rings (raw) on the burger while I'm putting the other condiments on it. :) That way I get a little taste of the onion every few bites or so, rather than a slice of overwhelming onion in every bite.

Now I want a grilled burger. :yum: :LOL:
 
My BIL is a regional manager for a company that runs machines which process foods for, among other things, the fast food industry.

I once asked him this exact question, about the mellow taste of fast food "raw" onions.

He said that once the onions are sliced, they go through a quick rinse of hot water before being dried off and bagged for shipment.

The hot water is to make sure they're clean before being shipped. It helps them last a bit longer as well, plus it mellows their flavor.

He also mentioned that fast food companies prefer uniform ingredients so they can serve a consistent product, so I guess mellow onions are more uniform.
 
So...maybe blanch them quickly in hot water, drain and pat dry and store in tupperware? I may give that a try. I tried zapping them in the microwave with mixed results. I prefer non-sweet onions.
 
I've often done the cold water but it never occurred to me to use boiling water.

Thanks for the tip!
You're very welcome, dragn! At least I know someone bothered reading my post. It only took another 26 for Caslon to get with the program. ;) ;) ;)

Just kidding, Caslon. It's just that there are times I feel my contributions are typed with invisible...bits????? Pardon my whining...
 
keeping onion in boiling hot water, or even simply very hot water for few minutes will help to mellow onion.
 
Revisiting onions on burgers. We plant two types of onions. Sweet and long storage onions. The long storage ones are much stronger tasting but they last through to the next year. The sweet ones are Candy Onions and Walla Walla onions. They are not hot, they are sweet, but they only last about 3 months before they sprout. Usually when that begins happening I peel and chop them and freeze them in gallon sized bags. The sweet onions are also larger than the long storage onions, most approaching a pound each, the size of a softball.
 
Thanks GG. Again, I never thought of slicing them that thick. Guess I was worried about how long they would take to cook. But obviously it works! I'll give it a try. Think I have small skewers that wouldn't rip them apart but I do have wooden skewers.

Thanks again!

hmm, cool side of the grill, right? :rolleyes:

I leave the skin on and slice them about 3/4 inch thick. I have a set of metal skewers I use to keep them from falling apart as they cook (there's a teaspoon, for scale). I found them years ago at a local kitchen store. Toothpicks or small bamboo skewers might also work.
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They look like “trussing” needles. I think I have some somewhere from way back (new bride) when Julia demonstrated how to truss a bird. I think I used them once to truss a stuffed veal breast shut. LOL

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I’ll have to search for them. Thank you GG for the idea.
 
Or the restaurants pour hot water over sliced onions to remove some of the sharp taste and wilt the onion slices. I've done a cold-water soak to take some sharp flavor out, but I've also done the boiling water to limp them up.

Exactly. Hot water is the best way to treat the onions.
 
We will either have raw onion on our burgers or I'll sauté some with or without mushrooms instead.
 
I like them sautéed in the with the burger dripping after I flip them. I do also like them raw sometimes.
 
We've sautéed a large quantity of mushrooms and onions and frozen some in serving-sized packets for future use.
 
Gosh, I did not realise it was in old thread. Actually personally I love my onions sauteed with a lots of mushrooms. Spread that on the top of hamburger, cover with a slice of cheese, wait till cheese melts lucking the onions and mushroom inside so they don't fall off the hamburger when you eat. Serve. Yum. The best.
 
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