Description
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!
Ingredients
Patties
1½ lbs ground beef
1 TB Dijon mustard
1 TB Guinness
1 TB Worcestershire sauce
4 oz blue cheese, cut into four slices
4 pretzel buns
Cheddar Cheese Sauce
8 oz cheddar, shredded
¾ cups Guinness
¾ cups whole milk
1 TB Worcestershire sauce
3 TBs butter
¼ cup flour
salt and pepper
Caramelized Onions & Mushrooms
3 large onions, thinly sliced
1 pint of mushrooms, sliced
⅓ cup Guinness
2 TB olive oil, divided
Instructions
Make the Patties
In a medium bowl, mix together the ground beef with the Dijon mustard, Guinness, and Worcestershire sauce. Divide the meat evenly into eight pieces. Flatten one piece, place the blue cheese on it, and cover with a second piece of ground beef. Flatten and pinch the sides to seal. Repeat with the remaining four burgers. Set aside.
Make the Onions & Mushrooms
In a large frying pan, heat 1 TB olive oil over medium flame. When hot, add the onions and lightly salt. Stirring often, cook until the onions start to brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Deglaze the pan with water, if necessary, if the pan gets too hot and the onions start to burn, rather than brown.
Once the onions start to brown, add an additional tablespoon of olive oil. Add the mushrooms to the pot and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the mushrooms have started to turn golden and the onions have caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add in the Guinness in increments, stirring until the onions fully absorb the liquid before adding more. Turn the heat to low.
Cheddar Cheese Sauce
While the onions are cooking, melt butter over medium heat in a medium sauce pan. Once melted, whisk in the flour until fully absorbed. Continue to whisk for about one minute, or until the flour is a golden brown. Slowly add the Guinness, milk, and Worcestershire sauce, whisking to fully combine with the roux.
Once the sauce has thickened slightly, add in the cheddar cheese, whisking until fully melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Turn heat to low.
Cook the Patties
Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the patties. Cook 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and cover the pan with a lid for 3 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the burgers from the pan. Working in batches, place the buns face side down until lightly toasted, about 1 minute.
Place the patties on the buns, top with the cheddar sauce then with the caramelized onions and mushrooms.
Eat!
Keywords: Guinness Burgers, Guinness Cheese Sauce, Caramelized Onions, Burger Night, Blue Cheese Burgers