English Pub Burgers with Thyme Onions

Today's recipe reminds me of a burger you would order at an English pub.  It's perfect for grilling up and watching a NASCAR race or for a family outing or picnic. 

It's the Port wine cheese and horseradish sauce that really makes this special.  But the burgers are incredibly juicy.

English Pub Burger with Thyme Onions
served with a frosty mug o' brew

There is only a 1/4 pound of meat in each burger.  The fresh lettuce, tomato and onion do not add a lot of extra calories, but it makes for a filling sandwich.  That cheese sauce, well, it's lighter, too --  the cheese blend that I used as a base is whipped.

This particular brand of pub cheese also offers a cheddar and horseradish blend, so you can substitute that for the port wine whipped cheese and horseradish if you want to save a step.  If you cannot find this brand, there are plenty of good varieties in your local store.  Check it out and experiment. 

These burgers are simple to prepare because even the onions are cooked in tin foil packets on the grill along side of the burgers.  The sauce is prepared in the microwave. If you are making these entirely on the grill, you can melt the sauce in a pan on the side burner.

Without any more fuss, here you go:

Makes 4 Burgers

For the burger:

1 pound ground chuck
1/2 envelope dry onion soup mix*
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chopped chives
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the Thyme Onions:

Cooking spray
4 even slices sweet onion
2 tablespoons canola oil or canola and olive oil blend
1 tablespoon dried thyme

For the Pub Sauce:

3 tablespoons Cheddar and Port Wine Pub Cheese® spread (suggest President® brand)
1/2 tablespoon prepared Horseradish
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard

Other/optional: 

Cooking spray for grill
2 tablespoons dill relish, divided
2 tablespoons reduced fat garlic and herb or regular mayonnaise
Sliced beefsteak tomatoes
Lettuce
Whole wheat hamburger buns, sliced

Spray grill with cooking spray. 

Preheat grill to 400 degrees.

Combine all ingredients for burger together and form into four even patties.

Tear two tin foil squares big enough hold two onion slices each.  Spray tin foil with cooking spray (one side only).  Mix oil and thyme together.   Baste both sides of the onions with the oil mixture until all four slices are basted. 

Place onions on tin foil.  Seal foil packets well, making sure there is no open "seam" on the top or the bottom for the oil to leak out and flair up.  

Add packet containing the onions to hot grill. Cook for five minutes.  Flip carefully with a spatula. Continue to cook at least five minutes more until the onions are done to your liking.

Grill burgers for approximately 10 minutes  for medium, flipping only once.  Adjust cooking time accordingly for desired temperature and remember, grill temperatures do vary.

Stir together the whipped cheese, horseradish and mustard.  Cover and heat on high in microwave for about 30 seconds, more or less as needed.  Remove from microwave and stir.

Serve on whole wheat buns. 

That onion slice is so big, you can barely see the tomato!  ;.)

To assemble, spread a little mayonnaise on the bottom layer of the bun.  Top with lettuce, tomato and a grilled onion slice.  Top the onion with a burger.  Top burger with cheese sauce and a dollop of the relish.

I served these with baked, frozen Sweet Potato Puffs by Alexia.

*I suggest you empty the onion soup mix into a bowl and stir to combine before measuring it out so you don't get all dried onion or soup mix in our pour.  Use half for the burgers.  Store the remainder in a covered container for another use.

No product was supplied to blogger and not an endorsement.