By The looking. David and I visited two facilities this week — I drove to both, David met me there, and we walked through the hallways and the rooms and the common areas with the detached clinical attention of people who are evaluating a product, not choosing a home for their husband and father. The detachment is protective. The detachment is necessary. If I allowed myself to feel what these hallways actually mean, I would not be able to walk down them.
The first facility was in Garden City — too far, too sterile, too much like a hospital and not enough like a home. The second was in Cedarhurst — closer, warmer, with a common area that had windows and a garden and staff who used first names and who spoke about their residents with the casual affection of people who know them, who see them every day, who care. I noted the Cedarhurst facility. I wrote the name down. I did not make a decision. The decision is not ready. I am not ready. But the looking is happening, and the looking is a kind of preparation, and the preparation is a kind of acceptance, and the acceptance is a kind of grief, and the grief is the cost of love, and the love is not negotiable.
I came home and made brisket. Six hours at low heat. The brisket does not know about the looking. The brisket does not know about the facilities in Garden City and Cedarhurst. The brisket knows only what it has always known: onions, garlic, tomatoes, broth, time, heat. The brisket is the one thing in my life that does not change, and I cling to it with the desperation of a woman who needs one unchanging thing in a life where everything is changing.
The brisket carried me through that evening, but it’s not always a six-hour braise that brings me back to myself — sometimes it’s something faster, simpler, something that asks almost nothing of you and gives everything back. Wisconsin Butter Burgers have that same quality: humble ingredients, a short list, no pretense, just fat and heat and the smell of something good in a pan. After a week of walking through hallways I wasn’t ready to walk through, I needed a recipe that didn’t ask me to think — just to cook, and to eat, and to remember that the kitchen is still mine.
Wisconsin Butter Burgers
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef (80/20 blend)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 4 soft hamburger buns
- 2 tablespoons softened butter, for buns
- American cheese slices (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the onions. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10–12 minutes until soft, golden, and lightly caramelized. Season with a pinch of salt. Remove and set aside.
- Form the patties. Divide the ground beef into 4 equal portions. Gently press each into a loose, flat patty about 3/4 inch thick. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Do not overwork the meat.
- Cook the burgers. In the same skillet over medium-high heat, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the patties and cook for 3–4 minutes per side for medium, or until cooked to your desired doneness. If using cheese, lay a slice on each patty in the last minute of cooking and cover briefly to melt.
- Toast the buns. Spread softened butter on the cut sides of each bun. Toast in the skillet or under a broiler for 1–2 minutes until golden.
- Assemble. Place each patty on a toasted bun and top generously with the buttered onions. Serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 610 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 42g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 680mg