Sarah's Oklahoma Onion Burger

1. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add butter and oil; heat until butter is melted. Add onion and garlic. Cook until onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, divide ground meat into 4 portions and shape into patties. Season with salt and seasoning.

3. Heat a large skillet or flat-top over medium-high heat for a few minutes. Place patties into the hot skillet and smash with a spatula or bacon press. Hold patties down for 30 seconds, then cover each patty with some of the cooked onion. Cook for 2 minutes. Carefully flip burgers, making sure to scrape the browned bits off the skillet.

4. Press down on the flipped patties to sink the onions into the meat.

5. Meanwhile, add sliced mushrooms to the skillet used for the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

6. Season patties with salt and pepper and place a slice of cheese on each. Cook until burgers have reached the desired doneness, 2 to 4 minutes more. Top each patty with leftover onion and mushrooms and serve on buns.

Cook's Notes:

You can use yellow or white onion in this recipe.

Instead of ground beef, you can also use a combination of ground venison or ground bison with ground bacon.

I use a seasoning from Trader Joe's(R) called "21 Seasoning Salute", but feel free to use what you have on hand.

If you like, heat another pan until hot and melt some butter in it to toast the buns before you use them. About 30 seconds should get you a nice toasty brown.