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SERVES 6

To ensure that this dish is seasoned to your liking, cook a small sample of the meat mixture before forming the patties; then taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary. Stan Bobak's wife, Stella, often flavors the meat with Vegeta, a store-bought mix of salt, spices, and vegetables.

4 tbsp. butter
3 medium yellow onions (2 thinly sliced, 1 finely chopped)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1⁄2 cup milk
2 slices white bread, torn into pieces
2 lbs. ground pork
1⁄2 lb. ground veal
2 1⁄2 cups fine dried bread crumbs
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 eggs
1⁄4 cup canola oil
Sliced rye or brown bread
Mustard

1. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sliced onions and salt and pepper to taste; cook until caramelized, about 25 minutes. Keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, put milk and bread into a bowl; let soak briefly; break up with your fingers. Add remaining onions, pork, veal, 1⁄2 cup bread crumbs, garlic, eggs, and salt and pepper to taste; mix. Form mixture into 10 patties. Transfer remaining bread crumbs to a dish; coat each patty with bread crumbs.

3. Heat 2 tbsp. of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add half of the patties and cook, flipping once, until browned, 12–14 minutes total. Transfer to a plate; keep warm. Repeat with remaining oil and patties. Serve burgers on sliced bread, with reserved caramelized onions, and mustard, if you like.

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #105