This pub burger is made with fresh ground beef, caramelized onions, a homemade beer cheese, and a simple garlic mayo. Served on a pretzel bun, this gourmet pub burger recipe is awesome for when you want a thick and juicy griddle burger.
The smash burger is probably the most iconic burger to make on your griddle or flat top grill, and for good reason… a perfectly done smash burger is hard to beat.
But sometimes you’re in the mood for a thick and juicy burger instead of a thin patty. And that’s where the pub burger comes in!
I’ve had this pub burger recipe idea in mind for a while now, because if you know me or you’ve watched my YouTube videos, you know that I like to experiment with different flavors and come up with creative combinations. And anybody can open a package of sliced cheese and add it to a burger, but making your own pub burger cheese sauce… now that’s on a different level!
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Yes, it may take a few extra steps to make your own beer cheese dip to melt over these pub burgers on the griddle, but all of your effort will be well worth it when you take the first bite of this perfectly beer-flavored burger.
Here’s how to make this delicious and robust, thick and juicy burger:
Pub Burger Ingredients
Here’s a basic rundown of the ingredients that I used for my gourmet pub burger:
- Beef – We used a blend of freshly ground ribeye steak and beef short rib with a ratio of about 2:1 ribeye to short rib. I ground the beef myself using my KitchenAid stand mixer and this meat grinder attachment. You can also have the butcher at your local grocery store fresh grind your beef, or substitute ground sirloin instead.
- Burger Seasonings – Your favorite bold burger seasonings will work just fine. I personally mix my own steak seasoning that my wife insisted that I use, and I combined it with one of my favorite all purpose seasonings.
- Beer Cheese – The beer flavor in this robust burger comes from the homemade beer cheese. You can find the full recipe down below, but I used a blend of a few different freshly grated cheeses, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and of course, beer.
- Pub Burger Sauce – I made a quick 2 minute burger sauce using mayonnaise, dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, and black pepper. The extra kick of flavor from the burger sauce pairs perfectly with the pretzel bun.
- Caramelized Onions
- Pretzel Bun – I used the King’s Hawaiian brand Pretzel Hamburger Buns, and they were fantastic!
How to Make a Gourmet Pub Burger on the Griddle
This gourmet griddle burger is super easy to make on the Blackstone griddle. Here’s how to make this thick beer cheeseburger:
Step 1: Make the beer cheese dip.
Start by making the homemade beer cheese on the night before you plan on making these pub burgers.
To make beer cheese, start by making a blonde roux by melting half a stick of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is melted add flour and whisk well. Allow the roux to cook just a bit until it barely starts to bubble. Then, slowly whisk in these ingredients:
- beer
- milk or cream
- Worcestershire sauce
- dijon mustard
- garlic powder
- cayenne pepper
Once all of the ingredients (other than the cheese) are added, allow the mixture to cook and thicken just a bit. I like to use the “back of the spoon” trick for checking the thickness of my sauces. When the mixture evenly coats the back of a spoon in a thin layer, you’re good to go.
Next, turn the heat to low (or remove the pan from the heat altogether) before adding cheeses. If you add the cheese when the mixture is too hot, the cheese dip is more likely to become grainy. Add the shredded cheese and whisk until all the cheese is melted and the dip has a smooth consistency. It should look something like this:
NOTE – Be sure to shred your own cheese using the large holes on a box grater. Pre-shredded packaged cheeses contain additives to keep them from sticking together in the bag, so those cheeses are not good for this recipe. Also, my beer cheese sauce looks lighter in color because I used a White Vermont Cheddar in my cheese blend. Your beer cheese may appear darker based on the cheeses that you choose to use.
When the beer cheese has reached a smooth consistency, allow it to cool down. Then, transfer it to a food storage container and refrigerate overnight. I really love these food prep containers, especially for getting griddle recipe ingredients prepped inside to take outside to cook:
I chose to use these containers, because I was hoping that the cheese dip would solidify enough in the fridge to be able to slice it into round cheese slices for my burgers.
But even the best laid plans sometimes don’t pan out and you’ve got to make adjustments… The cold beer cheese wasn’t as easy to “slice” as I had hoped, so I ended up with more of a “cheese spread” consistency like this:
It may not look pretty, but the cold beer cheese dip melted beautifully over my pub burgers and it paired perfectly with the saltiness of the pretzel buns.
Step 2: Caramelize onions.
When your beer cheese dip has had a chance to harden in the fridge, you can start making your pub burgers on the griddle.
Start by caramelizing the thinly sliced onions first, because they will take the longest to cook. For this burger I recommend that you cook them until they are charred, because the flavors will continue to build the longer the onions sit on the griddle.
My griddle onions were pretty dark brown when I took them off the griddle… just how I like them.
You can also move the cooked onions to the cooler corner of your flat top grill to keep warm and continue to caramelize while your burgers are cooking.
Step 3: Make the sauce for your pub burgers.
Once you’ve got the onions on the griddle, go ahead and make the simple garlic mayo for your burgers.
I recommend that you make the sauce before you move on to the other steps so that the flavors have a chance to marry together. In fact, this pub burger sauce will taste a bit different from the time you first mix the ingredients together to about 15 minutes later when you’re ready to add it to your pretzel buns.
For the sauce, simply mix together mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, minced garlic, and black pepper in a small bowl. (Recipe down below.) Then, set the sauce to the side while you make your pub burgers.
Step 4: Make the pub burger patties.
Pub burgers are typically very thick, so you’ll want your ground beef patties to weigh about 8 ounces each. Remember, with a higher fat content, the burgers will shrink up a bit as they’re cooking.
To make the patties, form the beef into balls first and then lightly press and mold the balls into thick patties. Next, season both sides of the beef patties with your favorite burger seasonings.
Step 5: Cook the burgers on the griddle.
When your griddle is hot, it’s time to start cooking your burgers. Lay the burger patties down on the griddle, and use the back of your spatula to gently press down on the burgers so that there is even contact with the griddle surface.
Don’t press too hard, because you definitely don’t want to “smash” the patties. Your burgers should look something like this:
Then, allow the burgers to cook untouched on the first side until they’re about halfway cooked through. If you just leave the patties alone, rather than flipping them continuously or checking them often for doneness, they’re much more likely to develop a good crust.
And be patient… These burgers are thick, so they’ll definitely take longer to cook than your traditional smash burgers. In fact, my patties cooked for a full 5-7 minutes on the first side.
Once you flip the burgers to the second side, add the sliced (or in our case, chunked) beer cheese to the top of each patty. Because the cheese dip is cold and in more of a solid state, it will take some time to heat and melt on top of your burger.
You may also need to add a squirt of water to the griddle surface around your burgers to create steam, and then dome the burger patties with a melting dome like this to help the cheese to melt:
When the burgers are cooked to your preferred doneness, go ahead and remove them from the griddle and let them rest for about 3-4 minutes.
Your burgers should look something like this before coming off the griddle:
Step 6: Assemble your pub burgers.
Nest, it’s time to assemble!
To finish off my burgers, I added a spread of the garlic mayo burger sauce to the bottom of the toasted pretzel bun, and topped it with the caramelized onions. Add your thick burger patty with the beer cheese, and you’re ready to enjoy these awesome homemade burgers.
And YES, they are as delicious as they look!
Pub Burger Recipe
Want to try this griddle recipe when you’re in the mood for something other than a smash burger? You can print the recipe card down below:
Pub Burgers with Beer Cheese
Ingredients
For the Beer Cheese:
- ½ stick unsalted butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 cup whole milk or half & half
- ⅔ cup beer
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 4 oz pepper jack cheese
- 4 oz white cheddar cheese
- 12 oz sharp cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
For the Pub Burger Sauce:
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- salt and pepper to taste
For the Pub Burgers:
- 2 lbs ground chuck or substitute a blend of ground ribeye and ground beef short rib
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- burger seasoning of your choice
- pretzel hamburger buns
Instructions
For the Beer Cheese:
- Freshly grate the block cheeses using the large holes of a box grater. Set cheeses to the side. *Note – Packaged pre-shredded cheeses are not recommended for this recipe.
- Heat butter in a medium sauce pan until melted. Add flour and whisk together well to make a blonde roux. Allow the roux to cook until it just starts to bubble, about 3 minutes.
- Slowly add milk to the blonde roux, whisking continuously. When all of the milk has been added, slowly whisk in the beer. Allow the mixture to heat in the saucepan for about 2 to 3 minutes, whisking often.
- Add cayenne pepper, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk well and allow to heat until slightly thickened.
- Turn the heat to low (or remove pan from the heat) before adding cheeses. If you add the cheese when the mixture is too hot, the cheese dip is more likely to become grainy. Add the shredded cheese and whisk until all the cheese is melted and the dip has a smooth consistency.
- Allow the beer cheese to cool down, and then transfer to a food storage container. Refrigerate beer cheese overnight.
For the Pub Burger Sauce:
- Add all sauce ingredients to a small bowl and mix until well combined. Set to the side.
To Make the Pub Burgers:
- Preheat griddle on low to medium low until griddle temp reaches about 400-425°F.
- Saute sliced onions on the griddle until well caramelized. When onions are done cooking, move them to the side of the griddle to keep warm.
- Remove beer cheese from the fridge and cut into slices/chunks.
- Form ground beef into 4 equally sized thick patties, about 8 oz each. Season both sides of each burger patty with your favorite burger seasoning.
- Place the burger patties on the hot zone of the griddle and allow to cook untouched on the first side until about halfway cooked through. Then flip burgers to the second side and immediately add beer cheese to the top of each burger. Place pretzel buns on the griddle cut side down to toast.
- Allow the pub burgers to cook until done to your liking. The beer cheese will heat and melt as your burgers cook, but you can also cover the burgers with a melting dome to help speed up the process.
- Remove burgers and buns from the griddle. Assemble pub burgers by adding some of the burger sauce to the bun, top with caramelized onions, and add the pub burger with the beer cheese. Serve warm.
Video
Notes
- I used a mixture of pepper jack, white cheddar, sharp cheddar, and gruyere cheeses, but to help keep the costs down, you can just use a sharp cheddar if you wish.
- This recipe yields about 4 cups of beer cheese dip, much more than enough for 4 burgers. You may store cheese dip covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, add to a sauce pan and heat over medium low heat, stirring frequently until dip is a melted to a smooth consistency.
And don’t forget to PIN this recipe to your Blackstone Griddle Recipes Pinterest Board:
Comments & Reviews
Keith Monk says
Just cooked this for a family get together. Everyone wanted them again the next day. Great job putting this one together.
Kelly says
I love these Pub Burgers! I make one very similar. Can’t wait to give yours a try.
Ben Edwards says
Going to need to try this one on my next burger cook! Congrats on 100k!
Mile High Guy BBQ says
You can’t get more simpler that this but the flavor of this Pub Burger makes it seem like so much more went into making it. I love Pub Burgers and you for sure didn’t disappoint with this one. Congratulations on 100K!!!! 🙂
Bob says
This one looks so good. It is in my stack of recipes to make ASAP.
Andy says
love this one. its my go to when we dont know what to cook on the griddle!
Keith Curtis says
Finally got around to giving this a try. VERY delicious. So many of your recipes are just amazing.