Kelly’s Onion Burgers Is Oklahoma’s Version of the Smash Burger

Last week while perusing breweries for things to do over the weekend, we came across a mention of Kelly’s Onion Burgers on the Peticolas Facebook page. Always on the watch for a good burger, we tracked the truck down to see what an onion burger is about.

Just so happens that Amy McCarthy at Eater Dallas recently tackled the onion burger with a bit of history and a burger crawl in El Reno, Oklahoma, which is where this concept was born during the Great Depression. Kevin Alexander with the Thrillist calls this style of burger a “damn national treasure.”

That’s big talk for a small-town Oklahoma culinary creation. Kelly’s Onion Burger food truck is the first we’d heard of it. The family running the truck, the Kellys, are from Fort Worth, and every year they had a holiday tradition of eating onion burgers while visiting El Reno.

Andrew Kelly says they liked these burgers so much his dad, Mike, started making them at home.

“And that’s where our story begins,” says Andrew. “We decided to start a food truck because we wanted to share this amazing burger with our hometown and make them the way we thought they should be. We started our business during the thick of COVID and decided we wanted to be in control of when and where we could serve the community.”

Recently they’ve been stopping at breweries in North Texas; Turning Point and Martin House Brewery are regular stops.

Mike says the business attracts a good number of regulars who track them down, and also newbies.

“A lot of first-timers are confused about what an onion burger is, but we enjoy being the ones to introduce them to our version of the Oklahoma smash burger,” Mike says.

This food truck has a no-frills energy; nothing too complicated, a simple white food truck — sans a bright colorful wrap or giant onion on top. There are six food items on the menu: burgers (with or without onions and cheese, plus a double) and fries. That’s it.

Our orders came out pretty quickly, even though everything is clearly cooked to order.

An onion burger is essentially a smash burger with thinly sliced onions (lots of them) smushed into the meat. This marriage takes place on the grill, onions soaking up the sizzling fat from the burger. The result is a beef patty with a sizable coating of crispy caramelized onions. Some of these thin strands are charred with other parts are gooey. A layer of melted cheese is a gooey power boost.

Along with the toasted buttery bun, this made for a damn fine burger — oniony for sure, but nothing like that huge raw slice In-N-Out tries to pass off on everyone. The grill tames the flavors and creates a melange of textures and flavors: sweet, charred and beefy. A sprinkle of salt and pepper gives each bite a bit more flavor.

The only regret was not getting the onion cheese fries ($6). We’ll do that next time for sure.

A regular onion burger is $7.75, and a dollar more for cheese; a meal, which includes a drink and fries, is $12.50. There’s also a double onion cheeseburger for $10.75. And I’m really craving one now just thinking about it.