Smoky Beer Burgers with Creamy Mustard Sauce

This recipe is a contribution of Justine, my former student in Miriam College.  She got it from Rachael Ray's recipes.  She tried and tested it on her palate and she said it turned out really good!  I would try this one someday too...probably this coming weekend.

Ingredients

2 pounds lean ground sirloin

• 1/3 pound smoked Gouda cheese, diced into 1/4-1/2-inch cubes
• 1 medium onion or 1/2 large onion
• 2 teaspoons smoked sweet paprika (2/3 palmful)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin (1/3 palmful)
• Grill seasoning, such as McCormick brand Montreal Steak Seasoning
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
• A generous handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 bottle of beer (6 ounces)
• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling
• 1/2 cup spicy brown mustard
• 1/4-1/3 cup sour cream
• 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 4 crusty Kaiser rolls, split and lightly toasted
• Green or red leaf lettuce, for topping
• Sliced sweet bread and butter pickles, for topping

Serves 4

Preparation

Pre-heat the grill over medium-high heat.
Place the meat in a bowl and add the cheese. Peel the onion and halve it, if using the medium onion. Grate about 3-4 tablespoons of onion directly over the meat into the bowl. Finely chop the remaining onion and reserve for topping. Add spices to meat: paprika, cumin and about 1 tablespoon of grill seasoning and/or some salt and pepper. Add garlic, parsley and Worcestershire and beer then form 4 large patties making them a little thinner at the center than at edges. Burgers plump when you cook them so this will prevent burger bulge. Drizzle a little EVOO over the burgers then grill about 4 minutes on each side for medium rare, 5 minutes on each side for medium and 6-7 minutes on each side for well done.
Mix mustard and sour cream with dill.
Serve patties on bun bottoms and top with lettuce, pickles, chopped raw onion. Slather bun tops with sauce and serve.

A comment or two will be appreciated...