Recipe Background
The Cheeseburger Skillet — country home-cooking with a classic diner feel! Juicy, savory beef packed with notes of deeply rich tomato and sour pickles, tastes just like the best kind of burger. Of course, it wouldn't be a Cheeseburger Skillet without just so much melty, sharp cheese! That this dish comes prepared with crispy tots and a burger sauce? Well that just ensures you don't miss out on any of the best burger experiences!
The Cheeseburger Skillet — country home-cooking with a classic diner feel! Juicy, savory beef packed with notes of deeply rich tomato and sour pickles, tastes just like the best kind of burger. Of course, it wouldn't be a Cheeseburger Skillet without just so much melty, sharp cheese! That this dish comes prepared with crispy tots and a burger sauce? Well that just ensures you don't miss out on any of the best burger experiences!
Ingredients
- 1 (28-ounce) bag frozen tater tots
- 1 medium red onion chopped, divided
- 3 tablespoons jarred pickle juice divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- 2 teaspoons steak seasoning
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons beef bouillon base
- 1 1/2 cups water warm
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese coarsely grated
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 4 Campari tomatoes chopped
- 6 pickles chopped
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- On a rimmed baking sheet, add the tater tots and spread them out into an even, single layer.
- Bake the tots until they are browned and crispy, about 25-30 minutes.
- In a small bowl, add 1/2 of the red onions and 2 tablespoons of the pickle juice.
- Let the onion mixture sit, while tossing the onions occasionally, until ready to use.
- In a large, cast-iron skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil.
- Add the remaining red onions to the hot oil and cook, while stirring occasionally, until tender and golden, about 6-7 minutes.
- Add the beef and the steak seasoning to the hot oil and cook, while crumbling the beef, until it is no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste to the beef mixture and cook, while stirring continuously, until it is caramelized and darkened, about 2-3 minutes.
- Sprinkle the beef mixture with the flour and cook, while stirring, until the raw flour smell disappears, about 1 minute.
- In a small bowl, add the beef bouillon base to the warm water and stir to combine until the bouillon is completely dissolved.
- Gradually add the bouillon mixture to the beef mixture while stirring gently.
- Bring the beef mixture to a simmer and cook, while stirring occasionally, until it is slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes.
- Transfer the skillet from the heat.
- Sprinkle the beef mixture with 1 cup of the cheese.
- Top the cheese layer with the tots.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese over top of the tots.
- Bake until the cheese is melted and the filling is bubbling, about 5-6 minutes.
- In a small bowl, add the mayonnaise, the ketchup, the mustard, and the remaining pickle juice and whisk to combine.
- Drain the pickled onions, discarding the pickle juice.
- Scatter the pickled onions over the cheese layer in the skillet.
- Sprinkle the tomatoes and the pickles over the top of the cheese-pickled onion layer.
- Serve with the sauce mixture on the side.
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