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Steakhouse Burgers

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
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Steakhouse Burgers

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This is the ultimate Steakhouse Burger recipe! A restaurant-worthy burger loaded with bacon, cheese, arugula, red wine onions, and aioli on a toasted bun.

Making a restaurant quality burger at home has never been easier with this recipe! A Steakhouse Burger is the perfect recipe for a night in, backyard bbq’s, Father’s Day, and more.

The Ultimate Steakhouse Burger

I’m sure you’ve been to a steakhouse or restaurant and had an incredible burger that probably cost about $20. And if the restaurant was worth its salt, the burger was probably worth the price tag!

There’s just something that feels decadent and special about a flavorful and loaded burger recipe. Instead of heading out for dinner, these steakhouse burgers are sure to satisfy the craving from the comfort of your home.

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 is some homemade sweet potato fries or potato wedges to serve up on the side!

Steakhouse burger

What is a Steakhouse Burger?

A steakhouse burger isn’t just your average any-day 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? A steakhouse burger is 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 quality 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.

How to Make Steakhouse Burgers

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.

Tools Needed

Ingredients and Substitutions

  • 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 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 Process

  1. Cook the onions. Melt 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Prep the burgers. Divide the ground beef into 4 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Assemble. Toast the buns with butter and spread both sides with aioli. Assemble your steakhouse burgers and add the burger patty and top with onions, bacon, and arugula.

Tips and Tricks

Making steakhouse burgers at home is easier than ever, but there are always tips and tricks for making them the best they can be. Here are my essential pro-tips for making the best burgers every time.

  • Use the right ground beef. Steakhouse burgers require the best quality ground beef! Don’t head to your grocery store this time and instead head to a local butcher first. See if you can purchase a qualiy burger blend of ground beef that’s coarsely ground.
  • 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.

Steakhouse Burger

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 simple meat grinder or kitchen-aid attachment, it’s so easy to do!

The last resort would be using some quality pre-ground chuck with 20% fat content.

Steakhouse burger

The next time you’re looking for steakhouse-style dinner at home, give these Steakhouse burgers a try! They’re packed with flavor and perfect for grilling season! 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 Steakhouse-Style Recipes

Steak Tartare
Steak au Poivre
Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese
Oysters with Mignonette

This post may contain affiliate links from which I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Affiliate links allow me to keep providing great recipes for free and I never recommend products that I don’t love and personally own.

Steakhouse Burger
Main Dishes

Steakhouse Burger

This is the ultimate Steakhouse Burger recipe! A restaurant-worthy burger loaded with bacon, cheese, arugula, red wine onions, and aioli on a toasted bun.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Makes: 4 burgers

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 4 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.
  • Assemble. Toast the buns with butter and spread both sides with aioli. Add the burger patty and top with onions, bacon, and arugula.

Notes

*For this burger, I highly recommend heading to your local butcher shop to purchase coarse ground beef. If they have a blend (usually a mix of brisket, chuck, sirloin, short rib, etc), I recommend going with that!
Steakhouse burgers are best served at medium temperature. 

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