The Frisco burger is a unique kind of cheeseburger, where the meat is sandwiched between a pair of sourdough Parmesan slices. The burger is topped with a tangy sauce containing the relish of sweet pickles.
The standout feature of a Frisco burger is that sourdough Parmesan slices, instead of a bun, are used to sandwich the meat. In addition, the burger contains two different kinds of cheeses, along with the ‘Frisco’ sauce that comprises French dressing, 1000 Island dressing, Worcestershire sauce and, like we mentioned, sweet pickles relish.
In this blog, we will discuss the Frisco burger recipe, and cover the details of how you can prepare this distinctive cuisine. In addition, we will speculate about the place of invention of the Frisco burger, and talk a bit about the Frisco sauce (also referred to as the ‘Frisco melt’).
Frisco Burger Recipe:
Preparing a Frisco Burger:
Preparing a Frisco burger involves using a griddle to grill one side of your sourdough bread. Once grilled, put the bread aside and place the seasoned patty on your griddle. Apply butter on the other side of the slices before sprinkling them with Parmesan and placing them on the griddle.
Next, take the Frisco sauce and spread it on the slices. After that, place the hamburger patty on a bread slice, and use cheese to top the meat. After ensuring that the bread has browned and the meat melted, put the burger on a plate, and use tomatoes and lettuces for the topping.
If you want to increase the sweetness of the burger, you can also add some caramel onion jam.
As far as the sourdough bread goes, you want something with a crumb that is tight enough to keep the sauce from leaking while also keeping some of the ‘tang’ intact.
Ingredients:
Frisco Sauce:
- ½ cup of 1000 Island dressing
- 2 tablespoons of ketchup
- ¼ cup of French dressing
- 1 tablespoon of sweet pickle relish
- Sriracha sauce
Burger:
- 1 pound of ground beef (85% fat)
- ½ teaspoon of black pepper
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ¼ teaspoon of granulated onion
- ¼ teaspoon of granulated garlic
- 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese (grated)
- 4 tablespoons of butter (divided)
- 4 slices of Swiss cheese
- 4 slices of American cheese
- 4-5 lettuce leaves
- 2 tablespoons of caramel onion jam (not mandatory; use only if you want to enhance the sweetness)
- 8 slices of Roma tomatoes
Instructions:
Step 1:
Start by mixing all the ingredients for the Frisco sauce. Once done, cover the mixture and refrigerate until it is ready to use.
Step 2:
Shape the beef into four burger patties. Season the patties using the granulated onion, granulated garlic, pepper, and salt. Once done, set the patties aside.
Step 3:
Apply some butter to one of the sides of the bread. Heat up the griddle and put the bread slices on it. Grill until the slices have been browned.
Step 4:
Take the bread out from the griddle, and apply the remaining butter on the other side of the bread slices. Next, sprinkle the Parmesan (make sure that the sprinkle is evenly spread).
Step 5:
Put the burgers on the griddle, and grill until thoroughly cooked (four to five minutes for either side of the burger should be good enough).
Step 6:
Take the meat out of the griddle, put it onto a plate, and set the plate aside.
Step 7:
At this point, the un-grilled bread side needs to be placed onto the griddle. Take the Frisco sauce and spread it evenly across the bread slices. Put one hamburger patty on each bread slice, and use the Swiss and American cheese to top the patties.
Step 8:
Use the caramelized onions to top the cheese.
Step 9:
Keep cooking until the bread has turned brown and the cheese has melted.
Step 10:
Serve with a topping of tomato and lettuce.
Where was the Frisco Burger Invented?
While it is hard to be sure, the Frisco burger was likely invented at some South Californian diner many years ago. Why a Californian diner? Probably because the state is home to renowned burger diners like In-n-Out, Original Tommy’s, Pie’ n Burger, and Twohey’s.
Pasadena claims to have been the origin of the Frisco burger. In fact, the city even has a cheeseburger week, every year.
The burger was probably invented during the time when sourdough bread was being rediscovered. San Francisco played a key role in keeping the sourdough tradition from going extinct – the town had many bakeries that continued to use sourdough bread, even when most of the country had moved on to other options.
Having said that, to think that San Francisco invented the Frisco burger, is likely not smart. For one, you will never hear the word ‘Frisco’ from any self-respecting resident of San Francisco – unless they deliberately want to offend their fellow residents.
What is Frisco Sauce?
The Frisco sauce is a sauce made using mayonnaise, along with many different kinds of flavorings and spices. It is quite similar to the 1000 Island Dressings.
As far as taste goes, the Frisco sauce is tangy, creamy, salty, and sweet. It also offers a sense of heat and depth. The Frisco sauce is simply delicious, and is, quite unsurprisingly, an extremely sought-after menu item. Even though the Frisco sauce cannot be purchased separately, you can easily make one for yourself, using the ingredients and method discussed above.
Our Final Thoughts:
To sum up, the Frisco burger is a distinctive kind of cheeseburger, and one that has become immensely popular throughout the USA. While there are many places in the country where you can find a mouth-watering Frisco burger along with the Frisco melt, you can use this guide whenever you feel like preparing one for yourself, your family, or any other loved ones.
To learn more about the different kinds of burgers and how to make them, please feel free to check out some of the other blogs on our website.
