This won the Burger Bash one year at The South Beach Wine and Food Festival so you can feel like an absolute winner making this at home! The cheesy sauce is a great addition to a burger and makes serving this easy with crispy chips, fries or even crunchy raw vegetables on the side. The cheese sauce and pretzel bun give the burger the pub vibes. You can grill the burgers or sear them in a skillet if easier. Buy meat that has a little fat in it (though not a ton is necessary) and great beefy flavor. A winning burger is a lot about the meat itself…I like a really fun recipe like this that has a lot of little moving parts. Most can be made in advance so when the moment is right, you cook, assemble and devour!
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 30 min |
| Active: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 30 min |
| Active: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 large red onions, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 pounds (85/15) ground beef
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
- 1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese (fresh grated from block)
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
- Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 4 pretzel rolls, toasted
- 1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
- Kosher salt
- 1 small Serrano chile, cut into very fine slices (for milder heat, remove the ribs and seeds)
Instructions
- Preheat a griddle or grill pan over medium-high heat.
- Cook the onions: Arrange the onion slices in a single layer on a sheet pan, drizzle with the oil and season with a generous pinch of salt. When the grill is hot, place them on the grill and char on both sides, 15 to 18 minutes total. Return the onions to the sheet pan and drizzle with the red wine vinegar. (Alternatively, cook them in a skillet until tender.)
- Burgers: In a large bowl, break up the meat and spread it on the bottom and up the sides of the bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Form the meat into 4 even patties that are about 3/4-inch thick. Press a little dimple in the center of each burger.
- Place the hamburgers on the hottest part of the griddle or grill on high heat (or in a hot skillet). Sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper. Cook, undisturbed, for about 2 minutes. Turn them a quarter turn and cook for 2 more minutes. Use a metal spatula to flip them on their second side and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes for rare to medium-rare.
- Make the cheese sauce: While the burgers are cooking, in a medium saucepan, combine the cream, milk, mustard, Monterey Jack and Parmesan with a generous pinch of salt. Warm over low heat, whisking, until the cheese melts and the sauce becomes smooth, about 5 minutes. Stir in the hot sauce and Worcestershire. Taste for seasoning.
- Assemble: Top the bottom buns with lettuce and sprinkle with a pinch salt. Place a hamburger on top followed by the grilled onions. Pour some of the cheese sauce over the burger. Top with a few Serrano chile slices. Top with a bun “top.”
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 934 |
| Total Fat | 61 g |
| Saturated Fat | 27 g |
| Carbohydrates | 42 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 7 g |
| Protein | 52 g |
| Cholesterol | 185 mg |
| Sodium | 1083 mg |
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 934 |
| Total Fat | 61 g |
| Saturated Fat | 27 g |
| Carbohydrates | 42 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 7 g |
| Protein | 52 g |
| Cholesterol | 185 mg |
| Sodium | 1083 mg |
Reviews
Made this but also had to tweak it. Evidently the initial recipe wasn’t great. Just out of curiosity, is there anything on this show. That they don’t like…crazy that everyone likes everything that is cooked
I’ve made this burger twice so far. We used NM Hatch green chile since that’s what we had. My family loves the burgers.
This is good 🙂 I made it and only tweaked the onions I chopped and sauteed them Them Cheese sauce was not runny at all simply delicious
Was one of the best burgers I have ever made!! I tweaked a little…I sautéed my onions and added bacon to the burger. I did not add the parmesan cheese and added extra Monterey Jack to thicken up the cheese sauce. Grilled my buns and it was fabulous!!! Will make again and again. FYI cook cheese sauce very slow and on a low setting.
Made this today after watching a saved episode on my DVR…I didn’t follow the recipe exactly due to I had jalapenos and yellow onion and white wine vinegar. But as cooks we wing it.. it came out great and I would use this idea of build with the pickled onion mustard cheese sauce lettuce and hot pepper of choice..I’ve read the other reviews and yes on the episode the cheese sauce was runny…but if you watched the grill flared up went to commercial came back room was smokey and the looks on sunny and Katie faces as well on Jeezy coughing can tell it was a moment during break . kudos to Jeff for being nice and pulling it together…great build and twist on burger idea to Alex definitely nailed the pub burger taste craving
I actually MADE this recipe and ATE it…delicious!! I did add thick sliced bacon for a bit more flavor fun. I normally don’t post ratings, but I think it’s fair that I do to offset the non tasted negative review.
Unless you are using roasted New Mexico Hatch green chile please don’t call this a Santa Fe burger. We have rules here!
If you listened, Alex said the cheese sauce was runny because it was so hot. If you are a cook, you will know that cheese sauces thicken as they cool. You can always add more cheese! I think it’s delicious!!!!
I made this and it was delicious like all of Alex’s recipes. The cheese sauce was fine and loved the taste. Did not deserve the unfair 2* rating because someone felt it looked thin.