Ramones Bad Breath Burger

Frankly, the Ramones could be just about any burger. One friend of mine suggested they are the 2 Cheeseburger meal at McDonalds. That’s actually spot on. But for this, I’m sharing a unique recipe for a burger I made when I cooked at The Weary Traveler Freehouse in Madison Wisconsin. I can recreate most of it, but the original has a signature bun made in the bakery located in the basement of the restaurant. This burger will always be best enjoyed back in that establishment with their garlic potatoes and side of greens. But if you’re not in Madison and you feel so inclined to recreate it at home, give this a go.

Hamburger meat ingredients

• 1 lb hamburger meat- (if you can, get 1/2lb ground chuck, 1/4lb ground short rib. 1/4 ground brisket).

• 1 clove minced garlic

• 1t mustard powder

• 1t salt

• 1t black pepper

• 1T chopped flat leaf parsley

Mix all of these ingredients together and form out 3- 4 patties.

Toppings

• caramelized red onions

• Pickapeppa sauce, (in a pinch, and A1 style steak sauce will also work)

• cream cheese, formed into a patty

• sliced tomatoes

• Green Goddess dressing- (or plain old goddess, or even thousand island as a last resort)

First things first- slice up a red onion and put it on a skillet with a glug of olive oil. Start out cooking on medium-high heat. Stir and/ or flip them so they don’t burn. Cook for 10 minutes and turn heat to low. Cook for another 20 minutes if you have time. This will make a nice, soft and tasty caramelized onion. In the meantime, you can prepare your burger meat and slice up tomatoes.

After your onions are caramelized, heat up a skillet as hot as you can without burning the house down and place the hamburger patties on there. A hot grill is also a great option. Enjoy that sizzle and smell. For a medium finish, cook 3 minutes on one side, flip, and cook three more minutes. Don’t flip it again, if you can control yourself. If you want it well done, cook it longer, smart guy.

When burgers are cooked to your liking, place meat on a (potato) bun. Add your caramelized onions. Splash some Pickapeppa sauce on there. Then, add the cream cheese patty. Next, tomatoes, and a splash of green goddess dressing. Then, enjoy a delicious burger, Dee-Dee Ramone’s favorite food, (mine too).

-recipe stolen and altered by Nathan Palan