Shredded Beef Patty Melts

Grilled sandwiches are my absolute favorite. I blame credit my husband for this. He makes the best grilled cheese sandwiches on the planet. Really - they're amazing. I don't know what he does, but I can't replicate it no matter how hard I try. He somehow manages to achieve the perfect balance of melty cheese and crispy, not too greasy, bread. When I try, I usually end up with nice melted cheese, but my bread gets to be a soggy mess. It's rather pathetic.

I came up with the idea for this sandwich when I realized I had a bunch of leftover shredded beef in my freezer. I didn't want to do the same old thing with the beef, which is usually making it into a French dip style sandwich. Instead, I decided to try making it into a patty melt, of sorts. I was really impressed with the results. It was reminiscent of the French dip sandwiches I usually make, but the grilled bread gave it a little something extra. I'm looking forward to making these again the next time I have leftover beef.

Shredded Beef Patty Melts
Makes 2 sandwiches
Cook & Prep Time - about 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS
4 slices sourdough bread
6 slices Muenster cheese
shredded beef  (I recommend this recipe)
caramelized onions
butter 

DIRECTIONS
Caramelize one sliced onion in about 1 TBSP olive oil over medium-low heat. Season with just a little bit of salt to help draw out the moisture from the onions. Stir occasionally.

While the onions are caramelizing, heat up the beef in a medium pot to warm it through.  

Once the onions are caramelized, heat a large pan to medium heat. 

Build the sandwich in this order: Butter one side of each slice of bread. Place 1 1/2 slices of cheese on top of the bottom slice (non-buttered side) for each sandwich (or however much cheese you need to cover the slice). Put a layer of the shredded beef on top of the cheese and put the onions on top of the beef. Top with another 1 1/2 slices of cheese and put the top slice of bread on each sandwich. Transfer to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes on each side, or until the cheese melts and the bread is golden brown.

from: http://elizabethscooking.blogspot.com/2011/04/shredded-beef-patty-melts.html