Making a Steakhouse-Style Burger at home has never been easier thanks to this recipe! It’s a gourmet burger loaded with bacon, cheddar, arugula, red wine onions, and aioli on a toasted bun. The perfect recipe for a night in, backyard BBQs, Father’s Day, or anytime a burger craving strikes!
Table of Contents
What’s a Steakhouse Burger, You Ask?
A steakhouse burger isn’t your average everyday burger. While I love a classic grilled burger served up at a BBQ, a steakhouse burger is so much more.
So what exactly is a steakhouse burger? It’s a burger featuring a quality grind of ground beef in a thick (usually 6-8 oz) beef patty that’s grilled to perfection. It should be served on a good bun, like brioche, and be loaded with quality toppings.
I’ve had steakhouse burgers with tons of different toppings, but my favorites are caramelized onions, bacon, cheese, arugula, and aioli. You end up with a well-rounded burger that’s bursting with flavor every time.
Invest in some quality ground beef, fire up the grill, and get these steakhouse burgers on the table in no time at all! All you need are some homemade sweet potato fries or potato wedges to serve up on the side!
Ingredients Overview (+ Substitutions)
You can find the full list of ingredients, quantities & method in the recipe card at the end of the page.
- Ground beef. For these steakhouse burgers, I recommend heading to your local butcher shop and picking up a burger blend (often chuck, short rib, and brisket blended) in a coarse grind.
- Buns. Invest in quality brioche buns for this recipe.
- Bacon. The best option here is quality thick-cut bacon. Try something fun like pepper-crusted bacon!
- Greens. I love topping this bacon cheddar burger with wild arugula, but you could also use any lettuces that you prefer.
- Red onion. Red onion has the best flavor when cooked down, but you could also use sweet or yellow onions.
- Red wine. Cooking the onions down in red wine gives them incredible flavor and color! Opt for something bold with good flavor.
- Thyme. A bit of fresh thyme cooked with the onions adds extra flavor and freshness.
- Aioli. Quality mayonnaise, whole grain mustard, and black pepper mixed together make the perfect burger sauce.
- Cheese. Sliced white cheddar is my go-to but any flavorful sliced cheese will work!
The Best Beef Blend for Steakhouse Burgers
Steakhouse burgers are all about the burger meat, so finding the right blend and quality is essential. Skip the grocery store on this one and head straight to your local butcher. Let your butcher know what you’re making and they’ll be able to direct you to the best products.
A lot of butcher shops will have their own burger blends (oftentimes a mix of chuck, sirloin, short rib, brisket, etc) and that’s definitely the way to go! If you can find a special burger blend for your steakhouse burgers, that’s always what I’ll recommend.
The alternative is grinding your own beef, and if you have a meat grinder or KitchenAid attachment, it’s so easy to do!
The last resort would be using some quality pre-ground chuck with 20% fat content.
Tools Needed
How to Make Steakhouse Burgers at Home
Jenny’s Tip: Steakhouse burgers are best grilled for flavor, but you can also cook them on the stove in a hot cast iron skillet or grill pan.
- Cook the onions. We’re essentially making shortcut caramelized onions here by cooking down the red onion slices in a little butter, sugar, and red wine. You want to end up with soft (not mushy!) onions and for the wine to have completely cooked off.
- Season and shape the burger patties. This recipe yields four thick burgers, so after dividing the ground beef hit it with a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce before shaping with a ring mold. Season both sides of the patties with salt and pepper — if you’re using quality beef, it doesn’t need tons of seasonings!
- Grill the burgers. For perfectly juicy steakhouse style burgers, grill the patties over direct medium-high heat for just 3 to 4 minutes per side. You want the burgers to be rosy in the middle, not fully cooked aka dry as a bone!
- Add the cheese. The cheddar needs just a minute or two to soften and drape over the patties.
- Rest before assembling. Yes, burgers need to rest too! After 5 minutes, you’re good to toast up those brioche buns, add the burgers, and pile on the toppings.
Tips and Tricks to Keep in Mind
- Don’t overmix. The goal here is to actually almost not mix the burgers at all. This keeps the texture intact. Carefully portion the meat and form into patties, just barely mixing in the Worcestershire sauce as you go.
- Don’t skimp on seasoning. These patties are thick and thus need lots of salt! Make sure you liberaslly season the outside of the burgers with kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper.
- Make an indentation. If you’ve never used this trick for shaping burgers, prepare to have your life changed! Usually when a burger cooks, it shrinks a bit and you end up with a thick middle and thin, overcooked edges. By making an indentation in the center of the patty before cooking, it helps the patty cook more evenly and keeps the shape intact.
- Don’t overcook. I’m sorry in advance to all you well-done meat lovers, but steakhouse burgers are best served at medium temperature! You can cook the burgers well done, but it’s not the best practice and I don’t recommend it for these burgers.
If you do give it a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about & seeing your SMF creations!
More Burger Recipes You’ll Love
- French Onion Burgers
- Greek Style Smash Burgers
- Grilled Cheeseburgers
- Southwest Turkey Burgers
- Always Juicy Chicken Burgers
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Steakhouse Burger
Ingredients
- 2 lbs coarsely ground beef (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 4 slices white cheddar
- 8 slices bacon, cooked
- 4 brioche buns
- 2 cups wild arugula or rocket
Red Wine Onions
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 2 red onions, thinly sliced
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 2/3 cup red wine
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Burger Sauce
- 1/2 cup high-quality mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the onions. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the sliced red onions and thyme to the skillet. Stir to coat all the onions in butter and lightly season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and starting to cook down. Add the wine and sugar and reduce the heat to low and cook until the onions are soft and all the wine has been absorbed. Set aside.
- Mix the aioli. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, whole grain mustard, and black pepper until well-mixed. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Prep the burgers. Divide the ground beef into four 8-oz portions. Hit each with a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce and form into thick 4" patties using a ring mold. Season both sides with kosher salt and coarsely ground pepper. Make an indentation in the center of the burger with your thumb.
- Grill the burgers. Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat and let the grill preheat for at least 10 minutes. Grill the burgers for 3-4 minutes per side until lightly charred on the outside. Add the cheese and let it melt onto the burgers. Rest for 5-10 minutes before assembling. Note: Steakhouse burgers are best served at medium temperature (140 – 145ºF).
- Assemble. Toast the buns with butter and spread both sides with aioli. Add the burger patty and top with onions, bacon, and arugula.
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