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What’s better than onions on a burger? Why, onion straws of course! And what’s better than ketchup on a burger? Why, Campfire sauce of course! Put the two on a hot-off-the-grill patty with good ole American cheese and you don’t have to call me twice for dinner. This copycat recipe for a Red Robin’s Haystack Tavern burger is mighty good stuff. Now, when you order it at the restaurant you usually get a double. I made mine a single. In hindsight I’m not sure why because one patty was great, but two would’ve been better!
Extra Sauce Is Extra Great For Stuff
You might have a bit of the Campfire left after you make your copycat recipe Red Robin’s Haystack Tavern burger. That’s a good thing. Slather it on sandwiches. Dip some fries in it. Put it on hot dogs.
Use a good quality mayonnaise and tasty, smoky BBQ sauce when making the sauce. You’ll taste the difference. I use Blue Plate mayo because it’s nice and creamy and tastes fantastic. For the BBQ sauce I went with Sweet Baby Ray’s Hickory and Brown Sugar sauce. Yeah it’s a little sweet but it also has a great smoky flavor!
Oh Those Onion Straw!
I recommend making a few extra onion straws. Half of them won’t last long enough to make it to the burgers. At least not around me they don’t. Oh, and they’re great dipped in the Campfire sauce too!
If you’re in a hurry and don’t want to make your own onion straws, you can use French-fried onions in a pinch. They aren’t quite the same. But you’ll get that deep-fried crunch and onion flavor still.
I like to use a burger press when I make burgers. It, in combination with some patty papers, enables me to crank out a whole bunch of equally-sized burger patties in no time at all with little cleanup.
- 3 in 1 Hamburger Press: The Burger press has…
- Premium Durable Material: Our hamburger patty…
Also try my copycat of Red Robin’s Royal Red Robin burger.
Red Robin’s Haystack Tavern Burger (Copycat Recipe)
Equipment
Ingredients
For the burgers
- 8 hamburger patties or 4 if making singles
- kosher salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 8 slices American cheese or 4 if making singles
- 4 sesame seed hamburger buns
- Campfire sauce from below, to taste
- onion straws from below
For the Campfire sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup Hickory BBQ sauce
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder
For the onion straws
- 1 large sweet onion skinned, halved, sliced thin
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons blackened seasoning or substitute Creole seasoning
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
For the burgers
- Season the patties with salt and pepper and cook as desired. Top with cheese.
- Toast the buns if desired.
- Slather the insides of the buns with the Campfire sauce.
- Add onion straws to bun bottoms. Add patties and top buns and serve.
For the Campfire sauce
- Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use.
For the onion straws
- Place onion rings in a bowl. Add buttermilk to cover.
- Heat oil to 350 F.
- In a resealable container or bag add the flour, seasoning and salt. Shake to combine.
- Working in very small batches so as to not have the onion straws stick together, take a few onions out of the buttermilk and shake off the excess.
- Add to the flour mixture, seal and shake to coat.
- Transfer to the hot oil and deep fry until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate or wire rack to drain.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.
