I don't order burgers when we go out for dinner. It's not that restaurants don't make fine options, it's more about the way making them at home has spoiled me and made going out for one rather ho-hum. So I save burgers for a homemade meal and order something else when out. And when I do make burgers at home, one of my absolute favorite ways to do that is making patty melts on buttery toasted brioche and topped with sautéed mushrooms coated in a tangy, creamy blue cheese mustard. Made this way, they make my crave list.
Don't know what a crave list is? It's pretty straight forward - it's just a list of menus or items you regularly find yourself craving. For me, making sure I have something from my crave list every couple of weeks or so is how I keep a healthy eating profile more or less the rest of the time. Bet you didn't think a post about burgers would end up giving a nod to healthy eating, did you? But that's my point. Don't cut all the things you love out of your healthier eating goals for 2020. Just give them a smaller corner than you might have before and make sure the majority of what you eat is good for you and don't eat too much of anything. We tend to eat way more than we need. So instead of a super full plate, consider a super tasty plate. Play up bold flavors, embrace your crave list, and consider water as your main beverage. Then move more. Nearly all of us could use that. That's it. That's all I do and it does the trick.
But back to these glorious patty melts. You can use whatever mustard makes you happiest (or another sauce of your choice), but the blue cheese mustard from Trader Joe's is amazing. I grab a bunch of it while it's available because my family will nearly eat it with spoons! What to have with these melts? I like roasted taters and an oil and vinegar dressed cole slaw. Keep it simple and lighter so you can lean into those melts. After all, when it comes to me and my family, it's what we crave!
Blue Cheese Mustard-Mushroom Patty Melts
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 T. butter, divided
- 1 T. mustard - I used blue cheese mustard from Trader Joe's
- 8 slices brioche bread
Split the ground beef into 4 equal portions and form into rectangular patties to fit the bread you have chosen. Season the meat on both sides with salt and pepper; let rest.
Prepare the mushrooms by melting 1 tablespoon of butter in a nonstick skillet. Add the mushrooms and sauté they are browned on the edges and fully cooked through. Add the mustard of your choice in the last minute of cooking and stir to evenly coat the mushrooms; remove from the skillet to a bowl and keep warm.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to the skillet and melt over medium-low heat. At the same time, heat a heavy skillet (I use a cast iron skillet) over medium-high heat. When the nonstick skillet with the butter is ready, add your pieces of brioche to the skillet and toast the bread on one side, repeating the process until all of the bread is toasted. When the cast iron skillet is hot, add the rectangular patties and fry them without moving them for 2-3 minutes per side, pressing gently with a spatula to encourage browning of the patties, repeating the process until all of the patties are cooked.
To assemble a patty melt, place a patty on a toasted piece of brioche (toasted side down) and top each patty with a generous serving of the mustard-coated mushrooms. Place another toasted piece of brioche over the top of the mushrooms (toasted side up) and serve immediately.
- Yields: 4 servings
- Preparation Time: 25 minutes