Burger toppings and variations are endless. For the best burger recipe, you’ll want to try our General Muir Burger.
This specific burger is no longer offered at The General Muir restaurant in Atlanta, they have a different variation now. Don’t ask me why they would change such a classic, but in my family the General Muir burger is the best burger recipe and served often.
This post was updated November, 2018.
How To Make The Best Burger
If you don’t already have caramelized onions frozen and ready to use, then start by slicing the onions and getting the caramelization started immediately.
Remove the cheese, pickles and pastrami from the refrigerator so they are at room temperature when you are ready to use, the cheese will melt better that way.
Mix and form the burgers into balls, refrigerate until ready to cook. You’ll smash the burger balls into patties when cooking.
I keep patties formed and frozen, so they are ready for weeknight meals. You don’t even have to defrost the burgers, cook directly from the freezer. If cooking this way you’ll want to cook from a frozen state. Once you see the juice rising to the top of the burger you know it’s time to flip it. Then continue following the recipe directions. See here for how to form and freeze hamburger patties.
See link above for ways to form and freeze hamburger patties
Make the special burger sauce, aka Russian dressing. You can use store bought, but if you have a few minutes make your own homemade Russian Dressing. You’d be surprised that you probably have all of the ingredient in your cabinets.
The caramelized onions should be getting a rich dark brown by now. Remove to a plate. If you’d like to make the caramelized onions ahead of time and in a time saving slow cooker, see recipe here.
When the onions are completed, melt butter grill the cut buns in the cast iron pan to give a nice crispy golden color.
Form the burgers into ball shape, place in hot cast iron pan. Press with the back of an oiled glass to about 1/4″ thick and grill for about 3 minutes. Do not move the burgers. Flip and top with cheese, cook about 1 more minute.
One of the best directions I can give you is how to build the burger.
Start by spreading the special burger sauce on the bottom bun. Add the pastrami slice ,the pickles (optional) and then the caramelized onions. Top with the cheeseburger. Spread some more special burger sauce on the top bun and finish off your burger. Burger perfection!
The longer you cook the onions the darker and sweeter they will be
Best Meat For Grilled Burgers
If you can find grass fed it has a brilliantly clean taste, I love grass fed beef and buy the equivalent of a ¼ cow from Med Long Farms every year which lasts my family about a year frozen.
From the grocery you’ll want to look for ground chuck (15%-20% fat) or sirloin (about 10% fat). If you are concerned about calories don’t buy the really low fat ground beef, you’ll just end up with a dry burger. Substitute the ground beef for ground chicken or turkey. Or better yet just use a boneless, skinless chicken thigh and add the toppings for the General Muir burger.
Best Burger Sauce
Of course you have to have a special burger sauce, don’t all great hamburger recipes have one? The first special sauce I remember started with the Big Mac Sauce and rolled from there. You’ll see “special sauce” on fancy restaurants and they are yet again, a variation on Russian dressing, just as the Big Mac sauce is. Click here for our recipe for the best burger sauce…our version of homemade Russian dressing. Or use a bottled Russian dressing from the store, it won’t be as good as homemade Russian dressing, but hey, sometimes we need that time saver.
Secret Ingredient Added To The Best Burger Recipe
Hmmmmm, what do you think is the special ingredient that General Muir adds to top their burger? I’ll give you a hint. General Muir is an Atlanta restaurant that looks and acts like a New York style Jewish deli. So, Pastrami of course! Made in-house and delicious at The General Muir.
I buy pastrami at the deli counter, ask them to slice it about ¼” thick. The Pastrami is a topper, not mixed into the burger meat.
I actually used homemade bacon which you’ll see in the picture below. Oftentimes I use regular ole bacon from the grocery store.
I’m frying homemade bacon here. If you buy thick cut pastrami from the deli give it a quick flash fry just to heat it through. You can also use regular cooked bacon for the burgers.
Substitutions For The Best Burger Recipe
Meat – As I stated above, try using grass fed first. If not that, then ground chuck or ground sirloin. Skip the low fat ground beef, if you’re going to eat a burger than you may as well go all out. When I serve these to my family I often substitute a grilled chicken thigh for myself. You can also follow our recipe using ground chicken or ground turkey.
Gruyere Cheese – Gruyere is creamy and melts well, but there are plenty of substitutes that are easier to find and less expensive. I use Gruyere because that is what’s called for at the restaurant.
Swiss cheese is the closest cousin to Gruyere. Many people like American (melts the best) or cheddar. Any cheese will do.
Caramelized onions – if you don’t have time to make the onions or don’t have some in the freezer (oh, you should always have these gems in the freezer, see here for instructions) then substitute sliced raw onion. You won’t get that deep sweet flavor of caramelized onion but at least you’ll get the bite.
Special Burger Sauce – our sauce is super-fast to make, but if you don’t care for the flavor of Russian dressing or don’t want to make the special burger sauce then substitute with chili sauce, ketchup or plain old mayonnaise.
Pastrami – Buying thick ¼” sliced pastrami from the deli counter is really worth it, the taste is hard to duplicate. I used homemade bacon which is a close substitute but have made the General Muir burger plenty of times with regular cooked bacon. Use regular flavor or Applewood smoked bacon for a nice taste. Use the Applewood smoked bacon especially if you aren’t using the caramelized onions, this way you’ll get some of the sweetness that is missing.
Good quality bun – Baker buns are usually good, especially from Publix. Brioche is a good choice, it’s a rich egg roll and delicious. If you don’t have a good quality bun then buy my favorite sandwich roll which is potato hamburger buns. Martin’s makes some good ones.
Pickles – Bread and butter pickles are optional, I personally think they are the crowing touch to the burger.
How To Make The Best Burger Recipe Portable & On-The-Go
The General Muir burger can be a little messy. The best way to make this burger easy to eat on the go is to place it in a parchment bag or wrap it in parchment paper. This way the parchment catches the juicy drips.
Also making sliders is a good option. The smaller the burger the easier it is to eat on the go.
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Best Burger Recipe The General Muir Burger
This healthy burger recipe is topped with pastrami, cheese, special sauce and caramelized onions. Burger perfection!
Ingredients
Best Burger Sauce or use bottled Russian dressing
- 1 1/4 pounds Grass fed ground beef or ground chuck or sirloin, chicken or turkey
- 4 Slices Gruyere cheese
- 1/2 Cup Caramelized Onions notes below if you don't have caramelized onions on hand
- 4 Slices Thick cut pastrami about 1/4 pound
- 12 Slices Bread and butter pickles optional
- 1/2 Cup Russian dressing bottled or homemade
- 4 Good quality buns or potato buns
- 1 Tablespoon Unsalted butter
- 4 pinches kosher salt and pepper
Instructions
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If you don’t already have caramelized onions (I keep them frozen all the time), then you’ll have to start by cutting 2 large sweet onions into thin slices. Add 1 Tablespoon oil to a cast iron pan and heat over medium heat. Add onion slices and cook until starting to caramelize, about 20 minutes.
Stir often and add pinches of salt as the onions cook.
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While onions caramelize, gather all your other ingredients.
Using a 1/2 cup scoop, lightly form your burgers into a loose ball. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
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Halve the buns. Once the onions are done and removed to a plate, carefully wipe the pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter, then grill the buns, cut side down, until nice and golden.
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Using a clean paper towel, wipe out cast iron pan and then set over medium-high heat. (If you used a different pan for the onions then you’ll want to preheat the cast iron for about 10 minutes). Once hot, brush pan with just a little oil to lightly cover the surface.
Immediately place burgers onto the hot surface and squash to ¼” thickness with the bottom of a wide glass, oiled on the bottom to keep the burger from sticking.
Season by sprinkling a large pinch of kosher salt on each burger and a small pinch of freshly ground pepper.
Cook for about 3 minutes first side, flip. Cook for a minute, top with slice of cheese and cook for another minute. Remove to plate or continue to cook to your desired doneness.
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Toss the pastrami slices in the hot pan for a few seconds to heat through. Just about 10-15 seconds each side. Remove to plate.
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To assemble the burger:
Start with the grilled, buttered bottom bun. Spread with a tablespoon of Russian dressing. Then the caramelized onions, pastrami, 3 pickle slices and finally the cheese burger. Spread another tablespoon Russian dressing on the top bun. And now you have a masterpiece.
Recipe Notes
Notes: The General Muir original burger is part ground brisket and part short rib. Delicious combo. I substitute grass fed ground beef because I always have that on hand.
Assembly: It may seem backward to you that I put the “toppings” on the bottom. This is a messy burger and the heaviness from the actual burger patty keeps most of the toppings on the bun instead of sliding off the top of the burger into your lap.
The General Muir uses a double stacked burger. I find it hard to get the burger thin enough to make a double stack. If you choose to serve two burger patties, place the caramelized onions between the two patties. It’s just a little bit less messy.
Want to make your burger special? Make your own special sauce from this recipe. Easy and only takes a few minutes with ingredients you probably already have.
Don’t have Pastrami? Then use cooked bacon.
Time Savers: You can form the burger patties, make the homemade Russian dressing and caramelized onions the day before. The burger patties and caramelized onions can be made anytime and frozen.
When removing the caramelized onions, burgers and pastrami to a plate, I like to keep paper plates around for easy clean up. Otherwise keep a large baking tray around and put all the cooked ingredients on that. I also put the other toppings on a paper plate as well, meaning the cheese and pickles.
Pastrami slices aren’t huge, they should measure roughly 2” X 4”, they won’t cover the burger completely.
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