Friday, January 10, 2025

Just Good Eatin'

The patty melt is one of several rye sandwiches, all of which taste really good and are easy to make. That's all I need to say.

Restaurateur Tiny Naylor, who owned the Biff's Drive Inns and Tiny Naylor Coffee Shops in Los Angeles is credited with inventing the patty melt, a sandwich made with ground beef, caramelized onions, and Swiss cheese on rye bread. Tiny is believed to have created his popular open-faced sandwich in the 1930s or 1950s at his drive-in restaurant, Tiny Naylor's, on Sunset and La Brea in Los Angeles. Naylor's son, Biff, helped spread the patty melt's popularity by adding it to the menus of his family's other restaurants, including the Du-Par's chain.


The patty melt became a diner classic in the mid-20th century, and is still a restaurant, bar, and sit-down-diner staple today. It is an easy to customize alternative to a traditional burger, allowing diners and chefs to put their own spin on it. Bar food experts say Tiny also came up with the tuna melt which would put him in a solid position among the nation's greatest bar and grill sandwich creators in our nation's history

In the late 1970's I was the QC Inspection Manager for Baxter Lab's Hyland Diagnostics Division in Round Lake, IL. We processed the blood and serum based standards used to calibrate the blood analyzers used in hospital laboratories One town west of Round Lake was the town of Volo, Illinois. The premier eatery in Volo was The Town Pump which was owned and run by a classic Irishman with the last name “Murphy”. We dined with Murphy almost every day I worked for Hyland Diagnostics. I have no idea what Murphy's first name was. For him, Murphy was enough. Murphy was a great bar cook, who prepared everything he sold as food on a 3X6 flattop located right behind the ancient walnut bar that ran the length of his establishment. Murphy was a classic, red faced barman, who sold soft drinks, draft beer, five or six sandwiches (Ham and Cheese, Town Pump Bog Burgers on a pumpernickel bun, German Knockwurst franks, with mustard and kraut on a east coast style butter toasted sourdough bun, Grilled Roasted Pork with slaw on a sourdough bun and patty melts) I have no idea where Murphy sourced his rye bread, but it was marbled and marvelous. Murphy did not have a fryer in his bar and served chips with every sandwich. To me, Murphy growled the original angry, “Chips only, no Fries” comment that Saturday Night made famous. I bet I had a hundred patty melts during my lunch days at Murphy's Town Pump. Never had a bad one.

My version is very close to Murphy's and the original, except this time, I subbed ground sirloin for the ground round patty Tiny used because the ground sirloin looked nice the day I bought it and I thought the ground beef was too fat, so I guess mine is not very customized. If you want to make it your own style open face you could add dill pickles, sub onion rings for the caramelized onions, add ketchup with a little liquid smoke or Worcestershire mixed in, or maybe add lettuce and tomato for a real fancy take.

I like to serve mine with ruffles and green onion dip or simply plain chips. Having a cold beer with your patty melt is nice too.

Here is how I made this patty melt:


Patty Melt

Ingredients:

14 ounces Ground Sirloin
2 Medium Onions
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon Butter
salt to taste for onions
Garlic Salt and Black Pepper
2 Slices Dark Rye Bread
3 Tablespoons Butter
4 slices Swiss Cheese


Directions:

Peel and Slice onions and separate



Sauté until caramelized in olive oil and butter, with a little salt added for seasoning and to aid in browning, set aside to drain when done




Turn on broiler.

Form ground sirloin into 2 patties shaped an inch larger than the bread slices. Season with garlic salt and black pepper. Cook to medium rare and set aside.




Butter bread slices and toast in skillet.




Position toasted bread on baking sheet. Top with meat, onions, and cheese.







Cook under broiler until cheese melts.


Enjoy






Thanks for looking at my post.
God Bless you.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yet another home run by Mr. Bear.

Anonymous said...

That is seriously good eats, Chef Bear. Dark rye is better than marbled but I'll eat anything on any kind of rye bread. I'd make rye bread myself but it requires sourdough starter and I quit growing that in my fridge years ago. I'd put sauerkraut on that sandwich but that's probably just my Austrian/Germanic genes speaking up.

Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Medium rare for the ground beef? Is that safe? Does it finish to well done while under the broiler?

Anonymous said...

Sounds WONDERFUL! And how I miss rye bread! But I haven't consumed a slice of bread (or a banana, or even an orange), since 2019, when we went Keto. Sigh....


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Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, “How I sold out to da Man.” Robbie Bell again performs: “Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells” and “Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine”. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to “Dancing with the Stars”, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.

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In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


In order to help clean up the legal profession, Adam Kilgore of the Mississippi Bar will be giving away free, round-trip plane tickets to the North Pole where they keep their bar complaint forms (which are NOT available online). If you don't want to go to the North Pole, you can enjoy Brant Brantley's (of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance) free guided tours of the quicksand field over by High Street where all complaints against judges disappear. If for some reason you are unable to control yourself, never fear; Judge Houston Patton will operate his jail where no lawyers are needed or allowed as you just sit there for minutes... hours.... months...years until he decides he is tired of you sitting in his jail. Do not think Judge Patton is a bad judge however as he plans to serve free Mad Dog 20/20 to all inmates.

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This is definitely a Beaver production.


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Jackson Jambalaya is the home of Trollfest '07. Catch this great event which promises to leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Sonjay Poontang and his band headline the night with a special steel cage, no time limit "loser must leave town" bout between Alan Lange and "Big Cat"Donna Ladd following afterwards. Kamikaze will perform his new song F*** Bush, he's still a _____. Did I mention there was no referee? Dr. Heddy Matthias and Lori Gregory will face off in the undercard dueling with dangling participles and other um, devices. Robbie Bell will perform Her two latest songs: My Best Friends are in the Media and Mama's, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to be George Bell. Sid Salter of The Clarion-Ledger will host "Pin the Tail on the Trial Lawyer", sponsored by State Farm.

There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

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