International Pub Cheese Burger Recipe

For the Onions:

• 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil 
• 2 onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 jalapeno peppers or Fresno peppers, halved, seeded and thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• Salt

In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter and add remaining ingredients and season with salt. Cook until onions are light tan and soft, about 20 minutes. Turn off heat and reserve. Reheat briefly when burgers and buns are ready.

Beer Cheese Pub Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 ounces of cream cheese, cubed
• 1 tablespoon mustard of choice, I like brown ballpark mustard
• About half a bottle of lager beer
• ½ cup whole milk or half n half
• 2 cups shredded yellow sharp cheddar cheese 

Melt butter over medium heat and whisk in flour.  Melt in cream cheese in chunks. Whisk in mustard.

Whisk in beer and reduce by half. Whisk in milk or half n half and let thicken a bit.  Stir in grated cheese to melt and stir until sauce is smooth.

Cover and reserve until ready to serve. 

For the Burger Patties and Building the Burgers:

• 2 pounds ground sirloin (80% lean ground beef)
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and black pepper
• Canola or olive oil spray
• 6 pretzel rolls, split 

Garnishes:

• Mustard of choice
• Pickle chips
• Leaf lettuce
• Cooked bacon, optional
• Reserved onions and beer cheese pub sauce 

Preheat the oven to 375 F. 

Combine beef and Worcestershire and season meat with salt and pepper. Form 6 patties of equal and even size. Shape the patties so they are a bit thinner in the center so that they cook evenly.

Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium to medium-high heat and spray with oil. Cook patties for 7 minutes for pink centers or 8 minutes for medium-well. 

Heat buns for 5 minutes in the oven.

To build the burgers, spread mustard on the bottom bun then top with pickle chips, lettuce, burger patties, bacon, if using, cooked peppers and onions, pub cheese sauce and the top bun.