Open-Faced Turkey Patty Melt Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What does a patty melt contain? ›

The sandwich consists of a ground beef patty topped with melted cheese (traditionally Swiss cheese) and usually with caramelized onions between two slices of griddled bread (typically caraway-seeded rye or marbled rye, though sourdough or Texas toast are sometimes substituted in some regions, including the Southern ...

Just like in a traditional meatloaf, you need something to hold the meat together. Try adding some dry breadcrumbs to the turkey mixture before you shape the patties. The crumbs will absorb the moisture and, together with the egg, will act like glue and help your burgers maintain their shape on the grill.

The patty melt is believed to have been invented sometime in the 1940s in Los Angeles, CA by Tiny Naylor. Traditionally, a patty melt is a cooked burger patty on toasted rye bread with caramelized onions and Swiss cheese.

If the mixture is too wet, add the panko. Place the patties on the grill or in the pan and cook approximately 5 minutes on each side or until they reach an internal temperature of 160°F. Remove the patties from the heat and let rest until reaching a temperature of 165°F.

Mix up your special sauce by combining Primal Kitchen Mayonnaise, ketchup, yellow mustard, relish, white vinegar, and white sugar. Finally, build your burger with some brioche burger buns, sliced American cheese, and sliced bacon.

In its most basic form, a patty melt is a thin beef patty cooked between two pieces of toasted bread with cheese and onions.

Bread crumbs: these help everything to stick together and also take some of the stickiness out of the turkey meat. They help your patties stick together and make the meat mixture easier to handle.

Use a Binder

Fresh breadcrumbs (made from fresh bread pulsed in the food processor or torn into small bits) are best here, as they retain some moisture which helps to keep them from drying out the burger.

What do you use to keep turkey burgers from falling apart? You need a binder to prevent turkey burgers from falling apart. I used whole wheat breadcrumbs in this recipe, but gluten-free panko would also work.

Like burgers, patty melts include ground beef, cheese, and onions, but instead of a circular bun, patty melts are typically made using toasted rye bread. Two more key differences are that a patty melt's meat is square shaped, and while burgers can go crazy with toppings, a patty melt's magic is in its simplicity.

Why are patty melts so good? ›

Diner customers often order the patty melt for its meaty, crispy and melty combination. Each sandwich starts with a beef patty formed by hand and seasoned. From here, it's layered with cheese – Swiss is preferred – and the tangy sweetness of caramelized onions.

The biggest difference between burgers and patty melts is that burgers have buns and patty melts have bread. Not everyone agrees; there are those who argue that a patty melt is a subspecies of burger. I think, though, that the sandwich shares more with the grilled cheese than it does with a burger on a bun.

For turkey burger success, you must first make peace with the obvious: Ground turkey isn't ground beef. It's very wet—71 percent water versus 66 percent for beef—which makes it hard to work with, yet it can easily cook up dry. That's because ground turkey must be cooked to 160 degrees.

Don't overwork the meat.

Although it's important to work the ground turkey enough to form patties, overmixing will leave the burgers dry. Add your seasoning and mix just until everything's incorporated, then form the patties and don't work them any further.

If the temperature of the turkey, as measured in the thigh, has reached 180°F. and is done to family preference, all the meat — including any that remains pink — is safe to eat.

The biggest difference between burgers and patty melts is that burgers have buns and patty melts have bread. Not everyone agrees; there are those who argue that a patty melt is a subspecies of burger. I think, though, that the sandwich shares more with the grilled cheese than it does with a burger on a bun.

A traditional Patty Melt has a cooked burger put on sliced bread (not a bun) has grilled onions and cheese, then the sandwich is grilled like a grilled cheese sandwich would be. A cheeseburger is a burger on a bun with a slice of cheese added.

However, unlike a cheeseburger, a patty melt has no hamburger buns, which is probably the easiest way to separate the two.