Welsh Rarebit Burger

When you’re looking for comfort food, you don’t usually need to look much further than a helping of Welsh Rarebit. For those of you unfamiliar, it’s simply a delicious beer-cheese sauce over a piece of toast. It’s warm and hearty and makes you feel happy all over. So how about you take that… and slide a big fat burger into it!? Perfect. Just perfect.

Welsh Rarebit Burger

1 ½ lbs ground chuck
salt and pepper
olive oil
4 slices of Texas toast
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
3/4 cup stout or porter
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 lb. English cheddar, grated
chives, for garnish (optional)

Open-face sandwich to the extreme.

Begin by dividing your beef into four sections. Shape into patties and make them slightly thinner in the middle. Salt and pepper each side.

Preheat a grill pan over high heat. Drizzle a tbsp or two of olive oil into the pan. Cook the burgers for 4-5 minutes per side (medium-rare to medium).

Meanwhile, begin preparing your cheese sauce. Melt butter over medium heat, then stir in flour. Cook until slightly brown and fragrant (3-5 minutes).

Add in mustard powder, pepper and paprika, then whisk in beer and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk until Smooth.

Add in cheese, half at a time. Whisk until smooth and melty.

Toast the bread. Serve burger and a healthy portion of the cheese sauce over top the toast. Garnish with chives if desired.