The Midwestern Trick to a Better Burger (2024)

Have you heard that there are people who put butter on burgers? Have you felt intrigued? Yes, maybe you already have your burger skills down pat. In these most dreadful, snow-laden months of the year, you’re cooking the burgers indoors, and you’re smashing them to off-of-the-griddle greatness. But that doesn't mean you've lost all sense of curiosity, all sense of childish wonder—there're always room for new burger loves in your life. And good thing because there’s one more step you might be missing, and it’s as easy as buttering toast.

What Is a Butter Burger?

The butter burger goes a little something like this: Take a knob of butter and pop it on top of the burger patty. Just right on top. Congratulations, you’ve made a butter burger, which is to say you’ve made a better burger. With a crown of butter, your burger has been transformed into buttery, Brett Favre–level Wisconsinite royalty.

The butter burger has been an institution of Wisconsin cuisine since 1936, when Solly's Grille in Milwaukee started using butter as a finishing touch for hamburgers. Around that time, Krolls in Green Bay used a charcoal grill to give their burgers a smoked flavor, patted their patty with a pat of butter, and lent a hand to burger history. Soon, more places popped up like Kopp's Frozen Custard in Milwaukee and (the now nationwide) Culver's in Sauk City, and turned it into a state tradition.

In name, Krolls still exists, but as two separate locations with different owners. Green Bay plays host to an almost turf war between Krolls West (located in the shadow of Lambeau Field) and Krolls East (on the other side of the river). Both crosstown rivals, both lovers of the buttery burger, and both bent on being the best.

"I've seen a lot of charcoal pits, but we've got something that works a little bit better," says Mike Wier, a manager of Krolls West. The restaurant has consistently used the same charcoal pit over its long history, which gives each burger a smoky flavor before it gets a helping of butter.

On the other side of the river, Krolls East (which boasts the original building, in its fourth generation) points to beef in building a great butter burger. The restaurant uses lean Black Angus ground beef, which owner (and grandmother) Betty Schauer says, "keeps the burger's juiciness from cooking out too much, so when you add the butter, it just gets even more juicy."

How to Make a Butter Burger

Now that you know the magic of the butter burger, you'll probably want to try the simple technique at home. Here's how to do it:

1. Toast Your Bun

Start with toasting a bun (both Krolls would recommend a semmel, also known as a kaiser roll).

2. Make a Burger

In a large bowl, use your hands to gently combine ground sirloin and brisket. Divide your mixture into four equal-sized, meat pucks about 2 1/2 inches thick. Then, heat a griddle, large cast-iron skillet, or large heavy stainless-steel skillet to high and add 2 tablespoons oil to the griddle or skillet. Heat your skillet until the oil begins to smoke. Working one at a time, add a patty to the griddle and immediately press one of the large griddle spatulas flat on top of the patty. Use the handle of the other griddle spatula to hammer the spatula down, smashing the patty until it's 1/2 inch thick. (You'll have to hammer harder and longer then you might think.) Press down and slide the spatula to remove it without tearing the patty; generously season patty with salt and pepper. Repeat this smashing process with your remaining patties.

Flip each patty once the first side is deeply browned and crisp with craggly edges—this should take 1 1/2 to 2 minutes for a burger cooked to medium. Season the cooked side generously with salt and pepper. Then add a slice of cheese (preferably Wisconsin cheddar) and continue to cook until melted, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes more.

3.Put Butter on the Burger

Add your cooked burger to your toasted bun. And just plop an extra pat of butter on top to give the burger a bit of fatty sweetness. The butter can also sometimes help to cover up any “imperfections” in the cooking, or to take the burger to steak-like sublimity.

"If the burger sits for 30 seconds to a minute—the time it takes to go out to the dining room—that gives it the time for the butter to melt and get that juiciness," says Schauer.

Sorry, folks, but even bacon can't do that.