30-Minute Weeknight Skillet Burgers with Onions and Horseradish Sauce
Garlicky burgers seared in one skillet, then onions browned in the drippings, with a quick sour cream and horseradish sauce, on the table in 30 minutes with no grill.
Most American burgers are made on a weeknight in a skillet, not on a grill. This one comes from America's Test Kitchen's 30-minute collection: garlic kneaded into the beef, a divot in each patty, and the fat left in the pan put to work browning onions, while a two-minute horseradish sauce stands in for ketchup. It's the burger that answers the backyard grill (our Classic Backyard Grilled Cheeseburger recipe) with one pan and no charcoal.
🇺🇸 This one is American
Garlicky burgers seared in one skillet, then onions browned in the drippings, with a quick sour cream and horseradish sauce, on the table in 30 minutes with no grill.
🇩🇪 The original
Germany's Frikadellen are pan-fried patties of beef and pork with a soaked roll, onion and parsley, eaten with mustard and potato salad, with no bun. The burger's name points to Hamburg, though how it got there is disputed. See the German Frikadellen (Hamburg-Style Meat Patties) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Drippings do double duty
The fat the burgers leave behind browns the onions in minutes and carries the beef flavor into them.
A sharp, cold sauce
Horseradish and lemon cut through the rich beef the way ketchup and mustard do, with no bottle needed.
Step by step
- Step 1
Stir the sour cream, horseradish, chives and lemon juice together in a small bowl, season and set aside.
- Step 2
Knead the beef, garlic, salt and pepper together gently until combined. Shape 4 patties 3/4 inch thick and press a shallow divot into the center of each.
- Step 3
Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking, about 2 minutes. Add the patties and cook 4 minutes, until well browned.
- Step 4
Flip, turn the heat to medium and cook 5 to 6 minutes more, until the center reads 160°F. Move the burgers to a plate and tent with foil.
- Step 5
Pour off all but 1 tbsp fat from the pan. Add the onion and cook over medium-high heat 6 to 8 minutes, stirring, until browned. Toast the buns in a toaster or under the broiler meanwhile.
- Step 6
Set the burgers on the bottom buns, top with the onions and a spoonful of horseradish sauce, close and serve.
30-Minute Weeknight Skillet Burgers with Onions and Horseradish Sauce
Serves 4 · 4 burgers · 30 min total
Horseradish sauce
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 tbsp prepared horseradish
- 1 tbsp minced chives
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- Salt and black pepper
Burgers
- 1 1/2 lb ground beef (85% lean)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, halved and sliced thin
- 4 hamburger buns
Method
- Stir the sour cream, horseradish, chives and lemon juice together in a small bowl, season and set aside.
- Knead the beef, garlic, salt and pepper together gently until combined. Shape 4 patties 3/4 inch thick and press a shallow divot into the center of each.
- Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking, about 2 minutes. Add the patties and cook 4 minutes, until well browned.
- Flip, turn the heat to medium and cook 5 to 6 minutes more, until the center reads 160°F. Move the burgers to a plate and tent with foil.
- Pour off all but 1 tbsp fat from the pan. Add the onion and cook over medium-high heat 6 to 8 minutes, stirring, until browned. Toast the buns in a toaster or under the broiler meanwhile.
- Set the burgers on the bottom buns, top with the onions and a spoonful of horseradish sauce, close and serve.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, "Skillet Burgers with Sautéed Onions and Horseradish Sauce" (published November 2, 2011), serves 4. The sauce, the garlic in the beef, the 3/4-inch patties with a divot, the 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and the onions browned in 1 tbsp of the fat for 6 to 8 minutes are ATK's. ATK stops at 120°F to 125°F (medium-rare) after 3 to 4 minutes a side; our lower heat after the flip and 5 to 6 minutes on the second side reach 160°F. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (1)
Tips
- Shape the patties and make the sauce up to a day ahead; cover and refrigerate.
- Add a slice of cheese after the flip if you like; Swiss or cheddar suits the horseradish.
- Lowering the heat after the flip keeps the outside from burning while the center reaches 160°F.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Garlic in a burger. Folklore: some cooks say only salt and pepper belong in the meat; ATK kneads garlic in here.
- A skillet burger needs no divot. Disputed: ATK's tip article says a skillet burger puffs less and the dimple can be skipped; this ATK recipe uses one anyway.
- Medium-rare is safe at home. Disputed: ATK stops at 120°F to 125°F; USDA says 160°F. We use 160°F.
Every other burger
German Frikadellen (Hamburg-Style Meat Patties)
Germany's pan-fried meat patties, made with half beef and half pork, a stale roll soaked in milk, sweated onion and parsley, then fried slowly to a deep brown crust and served with mustard.
Japanese Hambagu (Hamburg Steak with Red Wine Sauce)
Tender oval patties of beef and pork bound with panko, milk and sautéed onion, steamed in red wine and finished with a glossy pan sauce of butter, ketchup and tonkatsu sauce.
The Louis' Lunch Hamburger on Toast (New Haven)
A square patty of ground chuck and sirloin with an onion slice pressed into it, cooked over a hot fire and served the New Haven way: between two slices of white toast with tomato, onion and a sharp cheese sauce, and no ketchup.
The Classic Backyard Grilled Cheeseburger
Thick, juicy patties of 85 percent lean beef with a dent in the center so they grill flat, topped with American cheese and stacked on soft buns with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, ketchup and mustard.
The Smash Burger
Two small balls of beef chuck smashed paper-thin onto a screaming-hot pan, scraped up with every bit of brown crust, and stacked with a slice of American cheese melting between them.
The Oklahoma Fried Onion Burger
A small ball of beef smashed thin on a hot skillet with a mound of paper-thin onions pressed into it, flipped so the onions fry and caramelize, then topped with American cheese and a bun steamed right over the onions.
The Juicy Lucy (Minneapolis Cheese-Stuffed Burger)
Two thin beef patties sealed around rounds of American cheese, seared in a cast-iron skillet until the cheese inside turns molten, and served on a potato roll with buttery onions and pickles.
The Wisconsin Butter Burger
Lean ground sirloin enriched with cold butter seasoned with a little soy sauce, seared in a hot skillet and topped with a thick pat of the same butter and a spoonful of soft stewed onions, so the butter melts down into the bun.
The New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger
Thick ground-chuck burgers grilled over a two-level fire, topped with melted cheese and a heap of freshly roasted, peeled and chopped New Mexico green chiles, on soft buns with tomato and lettuce.
The Australian Burger with the Lot
A seasoned beef patty with onion, garlic and parsley, piled into a toasted roll with barbecue sauce, lettuce, cheese, canned beetroot, a pineapple ring, tomato, a fried egg, bacon and red onion.
Vada Pav (Mumbai's Potato Fritter "Burger")
A spiced mashed potato patty dipped in chickpea batter and deep-fried, tucked into a soft white roll with green chutney and a crunchy dry garlic, coconut and peanut chutney.
Double-Double Style Burger, Animal Style, Inspired by In-N-Out
Inspired by, not official: two thin mustard-seared patties with American cheese, deeply caramelized onions, pickles, tomato, lettuce and a pink Thousand Island-style spread on a toasted bun.
Meatballs of the World
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Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
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Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
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Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
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Lion's Head Meatballs
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