“A burger patty in between two buns,” is what Aidan Wahlert said is what he thinks of when he hears the word hamburger.

When you go out into the world of burgers you can find some very unique and interesting things that can stray far from a classic burger that you would imagine. Enter, the Hawaiian, Loco Moco.

The Loco Moco is a plate of rice topped with an onion fried burger, with gravy and a fried egg topping that. The origin story of this burger is actually very interesting. This was a creation by football players in the late 1940s in Hilo, Hawaii. The story goes that a group of high school football players walked into a grill and requested this, which makes sense looking at the ingredients.

Experimenting with different kinds of burgers can be fun. Fellow burger lover and maker Roman Sudimac says, “Many people, including myself at first, only thought of burgers as one specific thing but this shows that there are so many fun easy things to do with a burger.”

You should always try new things and this recipe for the Loco Moco is a great place to start.

The Loco Moco Equipment: a cast iron skillet, a stiff spatula, and a  small non stick skillet

Ingredients (Makes enough for four servings):  Vegetable oil;  1 pound of 80/20 ground beef; 1 medium or large onion sliced into super thin rings; salt; 2 cups of cooked white rice; Gravy (Can be store bought)

Recipe:

1. Set your gravy to the side.

2. Cut your onions super thin rings and set aside.

3. Preheat your cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add a drop or two of oil and use your spatula to coat the surface of the skillet.

4. Using your hands, split the beef into four equal balls. Place the balls into the hot skillet. (You may only have enough room for 2 burgers at a time.)

5. Sprinkle a good amount of salt on each ball of beef. Then grab a golf ball size pile of your thinly cut onion and push it into the center of the ball of beef so that it sticks. It is ok if some falls off.

6. Use your stiff spatula to press directly down onto the balls of beef. Make sure to use a great amount of force so that they are smashed into thin, wide patties. When smashed the onions should fuse into the patty. Once they are smashed don’t touch the patty again until they are ready to flip. Leave for 5 minutes.

7. While burgers cook, pile a quarter cup of warm rice onto all four plates.

8. When red moisture begins to form on the patties, flip and let sit for another 2 minutes.

9. While this is happening, use a clean non stick pallet, fry the eggs over easy. You want the yolk to be runny

10. Place the cooked burger patty onto the plate of rice, followed by your gravy and fried egg. Serve immediately.

When served, that first bite should taste like, as Erin Munez describes it, “An explosion of flavor for your mouth.”

This burger is just a taste of how unique and amazing burgers can be if you stray from the norm and experiment with something like this. Widen your horizons, trust me, it’s worth it.