In the 6 years I’ve been doing this blog, I’ve made very few hamburgers. This is my 7th burger in the time I’ve been doing this blog, and the reason I don’t make them very often is that they often fail. (Like this one. And this one. Aaaaand this one.) Of course, sometimes, they more or less work. (Like this, this, and this.)
But now there’s another one to add to the win column. And this one is a solid win!
The trouble I usually have with burgers is that I don’t put enough binder in, and they fall apart. This one seemed like it was going to be one of those because the only thing that could potentially hold them together was grated onions. I figured it was another one of Rachael Ray’s tricky tricks.
But no! They held together and were delicious. It made a ton of the cheese sauce, so I’m also looking forward to putting it on some fries later.
Oh, and the recipe calls for pretzel rolls, but I don’t much like those, so I used some cheesy rolls. Delicious.
Pub Burgers with Hot Beer Cheese
Makes 4 burgers
Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs. 80% lean ground beef
3 Tbsp. grated white onion
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup beer (the original recipe calls for a lager; I used Guinness)
1 tsp. mustard
1 tsp. powdered garlic
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
8 oz. shredded sharp yellow cheese
Rolls
Toppings: Grainy Dijon mustard, dill pickle chips, lettuce
In a medium bowl, combine the beef, onion, and Worcestershire and season with salt and pepper.
Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Form the meat into 4 large patties and cook in the heated pan for about 8 minutes, turning occasionally.
While the burgers are cooking, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the butter. When it melts, whisk in the flour and add salt to taste. Gradually add the milk. Then cook, whisking, until the sauce thickens. Whisk in the beer, mustard, garlic, and cayenne.
Reduce the heat to low, then add the cheese a handful at a time, stirring to melt the cheese between additions.
Create your burger by putting mustard on the bottom bun, then adding pickles, the greens, the burger, the cheese sauce, and the bun top.
