Animal Style Burgers

My family loves In n Out burgers.  Every time we visit California, we make our traditional stop at In n Out on the way to the airport.  Usually this results in some sort of spill in the car, but it is totally worth it.  The sauce is what really makes the burgers.  That and the super fresh ingredients.  Texas finally has In n Out, but the closest one is a three hour drive, so I don't get to have them as much as I would like.  This is a recipe from Food Network and my only issue with it was that it made the patties a little too thick for doubling up.  I changed the recipe to halve the meat, which should produce a patty more comparable in size to what In n Out serves.

Animal Style Burgers

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for brushing
2 large onions, finely chopped
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
½ teaspoon white vinegar
1 pound ground beef chuck
4 hamburger buns, split
¼ cup sliced dill pickles
8 lettuce leaves
4 to 8 thin slices tomato
Freshly ground pepper
¼ cup yellow mustard
8 slices American cheese

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions and salt, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and soft, about 30 minutes. (If the onions brown too quickly, reduce the heat to low.) Uncover, increase the heat to medium high and continue to cook, stirring often, until caramelized, about 8 more minutes. Add ½ cup water to the skillet, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer, stirring, until the water evaporates, about 2 more minutes; transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Mix the mayonnaise, ketchup, relish and vinegar in a bowl; set aside. Shape the beef into 8 patties, about 4 inches wide and ½ inch thick.

Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat; lightly brush with vegetable oil. Toast the buns on the griddle, split-side down. Spread each toasted bun bottom with about 1 tablespoon of the mayonnaise mixture, then top with a few pickles, some lettuce, 1 or 2 slices tomato and another dollop of the mayonnaise mixture; set aside.

Season both sides of the patties with salt and pepper. Working in batches if necessary, put the patties on the griddle and cook 3 minutes. Spread about 1 ½ teaspoons mustard on the uncooked side of each patty, then flip and top each with 1 slice cheese; continue cooking about 2 more minutes for medium doneness. Top 4 of the patties with caramelized onions, then cover with the remaining patties, cheese-side up. Sandwich the double patties on the buns.

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