Beef Patties with Soft Onions

How to make it

1. Peel the potatoes and cut the largest ones in half so all the pieces are roughly the same size and become tender at the same time.
2. Put the potatoes in a pot with cold, well-salted water and boil them for 18-20 minutes, until a fork slides easily into the largest piece. Drain the water and let them stand covered with a lid. ⏱ 20 min · passive
   Chef's tip Starting in cold water lets the outside and center reach doneness together; dropping potatoes into boiling water leaves a mushy rim around a firm core. Salt the water until it tastes clearly of salt — the potato only seasons from the outside.
3. Peel the onions and slice them into thin rings about half a centimeter thick.
4. Melt the 40 g butter for the onions in a pan over low to medium heat and cook them for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep the heat low, since the onions should turn sweet and tender, not crisp. Salt them lightly along the way, and cook until they have collapsed completely, turned glossy and light brown, and smell sweet. ⏱ 20 min
   Chef's tip Below a gentle sizzle the onions release water and stew soft, and their sugars slowly concentrate; too high and they colour at the edges before the insides give way. Listen for a quiet, steady sizzle — hissing and spitting means turn it down.
5. Shape the ground beef into four patties and press them lightly flat so they are about two centimeters thick. Handle the meat as little as possible, since the more it's worked, the more compact the patty becomes. Season the patties with salt and freshly ground pepper on both sides just before frying, so the juices stay in the meat.
   Chef's tip Work with cold meat and a light hand — warm palms smear the fat through the mince, and the patty turns pasty and rubbery. The meat should only just hold together, not feel supple like dough.
6. Brown the 25 g butter for the patties in a pan over medium-high heat and fry them for 8-10 minutes, turning once halfway through. Ground meat should always be cooked through, so fry until the crust is deep brown and the middle is firm to the touch with no pink left — 75°C at the core if you have a thermometer, since the colour of the juices says nothing certain about doneness. ⏱ 8 min–10 min
7. Place the fried patties on a platter and cover them loosely with foil, but leave the pan drippings in the pan.
   Chef's tip Keep the foil loose; sealed tight, the steam collects and softens the very crust you just fried onto them. Those 5-10 minutes of rest let the juices settle so they don't run out onto the plate.
8. Melt the 30 g butter for the gravy in the hot pan drippings and whisk in the flour. Stir for 2 minutes, until the roux is light brown and smells toasted — the flavor from frying is in the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
9. Add the beef stock a little at a time, whisking constantly for about 3 minutes, until all the stock is incorporated and the gravy is completely smooth with no lumps.
   Chef's tip Add the first splash of stock in a small amount and whisk it to a thick paste before adding more — lumps form when flour meets more liquid than it can absorb at once. Warm stock incorporates more smoothly than fridge-cold.
10. Let the gravy simmer over low heat for 8 minutes, whisking occasionally, until the raw flour taste is gone and the gravy flows slowly off the spoon. Give it a dark color with gravy browning and season with salt and pepper; the stock already adds salt, so taste before adding more.
    Chef's tip Flour-thickened gravy needs several minutes at a simmer to lose its pasty taste and reach full thickening power — judge with the spoon, not the clock, and remember it thickens a little more as it cools on the plate.
11. Place a hakkebøf patty on each flat plate and spread a generous pile of soft onions over the meat. Place the drained potatoes alongside and spoon gravy over them. Put the gravy boat and the bowl of pickled beets on the table so everyone can help themselves; the pickled beets cut through the richness.