Hold My Beer...Tennessee French Onion Burger

I’m back in the South this week for a bit of a mash-up, but one that seems pretty logical.

Tennessee Onions are usually served as a side dish, baked with sweet onions, cheddar, smoked Gouda, butter, and spices until hot and bubbly. They’re rich, cheesy, comforting, and honestly pretty hard to stop eating straight from the pan.

Last weekend, while making burgers, I looked at that casserole and thought: why is this only a side dish?

I decided to lean even harder into the French onion soup idea. I added a little beef bouillon to the onions while they baked and swapped in some Gruyère along with the other cheeses.

That changed everything. The onions became deeper, richer, and almost soup-like under all that melted cheese. So naturally, instead of serving it on the side like a reasonable person, I piled it onto double burgers.

. The sweet onions, smoky cheese, and buttery sauce melted right into the burger. It tasted like French onion soup and a cheeseburger somehow got together and made a very unhealthy but very delicious decision.

INGREDIENTS

Cooking spray

1 1/2 pounds Vidalia or sweet onions (about 2 large), sliced thin

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

2 ounces mild cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1/2 cup)

2 ounces smoked Gruyere cheese, shredded (about 1/2 cup)

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)

METHOD

Heat oven to 350 and lightly coat an 8x8-inch baking dish or loaf pan with cooking spray.

Put 1 1/2 pounds sliced Vidalia onions into rings and toss with 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon each dry mustard, garlic powder, and smoked paprika, plus a pinch of cayenne if desired.

Layer half the onions in the dish and sprinkle with 1 ounce each shredded cheddar and Gruyere. Repeat with remaining onions and cheeses. Top with Parmesan and dot with 2 tablespoons diced butter. (If you use a loaf pan as I did, it will be three layers so adjust a bit how much you put in each of the three layers.

Cover with foil and bake about 45 minutes until bubbly and softened. Uncover and bake 25 to 30 minutes more until golden and lightly browned. Garnish with parsley if desired.

This is a great Southern side dish but if you want  something down and dirty, grill some buns, smear with mayo and layer: burger pattie, 1 slice American Cheese, burger pattie and onions.

This is definitely a “grab extra napkins” kind of burger. Messy in the best possible way.  You could easily add bacon too, but honestly it already borders on ridiculous. Which, in this case, is exactly the point.

Would I make it again? Absolutely. Probably sooner than I should.