Guinness Blue Cheese Burgers with Guinness Cheddar & Caramelized Onions & Mushrooms

Burger Night! As I’ve said, burger night is a big deal in our house. The Guinness burger is the top two contender, vying for number one against our Korean burgers. My husband’s favorite is probably the Korean burgers, while the Guinness burgers are hands down my son’s favorite burger. I personally love my Greek burgers. Listen, you can’t go wrong with burger night in my house because they’re all fantastic and they’re constantly being reimagined.

So, the Guinness burger. There’s a little bit, or a lot, of Guinness throughout this burger. In the meat, in the cheese, and in the onions… a through and through Guinness burger. I always like to add ingredients to my patties, depending on the style I make. With this burger, a little Guinness, Worcestershire sauce, and Dijon mustard keep the burger moist and flavorful, and then fold it around a slab of blue cheese.

There is some coordination required for this meal. I throw the onions on first because caramelizing onions always takes longer than I think, and I get amnesia by the time I make caramelized onions again. It also always looks like you are making too many onions, but by the time they cook down, it’s the perfect amount… or sometimes, you wish there was more! Caramelizing onions is easy. One trick is that if the onions are starting to burn, rather than brown, is to deglaze the pan. Deglazing the pan sounds fancy, but it’s just pouring a little water into the pan and then stirring to kick up any stuck, browned bits. The water helps cool the pan.

When the onions are almost caramelized is when I throw on the mushrooms. Mushrooms don’t take long to brown, usually only a couple of minutes. Then, slowly adding in the Guinness, the onions soak it right up, giving them a lovely flavor.

So, the coordination part… while the onions are cooking down, I like to make the Guinness cheese sauce. This comes together super quick. It starts with making a roux with butter and flour and then slowly adding in the liquid ~ milk, Guinness, and Worcestershire. Don’t pour the liquid in all at once. Do it slowly, whisking. Initially, the roux will soak up the liquid, but slowly it’ll start blending and the liquid will thicken. This is when you add in the cheese and continue whisking until melted. Salt and pepper to taste, put the heat to low, and basically ignore it until you’re ready to serve. Just give it another quick whisk and it’s ready to go.

You can wait until the onions are caramelized before starting the burgers, or you can guesstimate and start the burgers around the 30 minute mark if the onions are looking like they’re getting close. I cook the burgers 4 to 5 minutes a side. My son and I prefer our burgers a little more rare, whereas my husband likes his more thoroughly cooked. Even well-cooked, because of the Guinness, Worcestershire sauce, and Dijon mustard, the burger stays super moist.

I always cook my burgers on a cast iron pan, popping a lid on for two to three minutes to ensure the center cooks. I find that cooking on a cast iron pan retains the moisture, whereas, cooking on a grill, all that moisture drips off. I also prefer using 90% fat free ground beef. 80% fat free ground beef has too high of a fat content, which creates a huge grease puddle in the cast iron.

This burger is great on top of a pretzel roll! Don’t count your calories on Guinness burger night, just enjoy!