Recipe courtesy of Dana Beninati for Food Network Kitchen

Pub-Style Corned Beef Burgers

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  • Level: Easy
  • Total: 40 min
  • Active: 25 min
  • Yield: 4 burgers
Have some leftover corned beef from your St. Patty’s Day celebration? Transform it into a burger your family will be talking about for the rest of the year! Consider this your guide to the ultimate pub-style burger topped with caramelized onions, melty cheese and a homemade stout BBQ sauce.

Ingredients

Caramelized Onions:

Stout BBQ Sauce:

Burgers:

Directions

  1. For the caramelized onions: Place a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the butter, onions, 1 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and most of the water evaporates, about 12 minutes. Add the dry mustard, onion powder, coriander, allspice, cloves, 1/4 cup water and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove from the skillet, cover with aluminum foil to stay warm and set aside. Reserve the skillet.
  2. For the stout BBQ sauce: Add the sugar and tomato paste to the same skillet, spreading the mixture into an even layer. Cook until just bubbly, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the beer and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Whisk in the vinegar, coriander, dry mustard and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook until reduced by about a third, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together the cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until smooth and free of clumps. Whisk the slurry into the sauce and simmer until it coats the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes more. Set aside.  
  3. For the burgers: Rip the corned beef into small 2-inch pieces and place in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until shredded into small pieces just larger than peas, then transfer to a large bowl. Using your hands, break the ground beef into small pieces over the corned beef. Add the dry mustard, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and gently combine the mixture with your hands until thoroughly combined. Form the meat into four 1/2-inch-thick patties.  
  4. To prepare the burgers, place a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter and melt. Once the bubbles subside, place the patties into the skillet and gently press down. Cook, undisturbed, until deeply browned on the edges, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip over. Mound 1/3 cup of the caramelized onions on top of each patty. Top each patty with 2 slices of cheese, allowing the cheese to hang over the sides of the onions. Cover the skillet and cook until the cheese fully melts and drapes over the burger, about 2 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to cook until the cheese gets a crispy, lacy edge, about 1 minute more. Place the patties onto the bottom halves of the burger buns. Generously spoon the stout BBQ sauce on top (about 2 tablespoons per burger). Place the top halves of the buns the patties. Serve immediately with french fries drizzled in more stout BBQ sauce.

Cook’s Note

If you don't have leftover cooked corned beef, you can find deli-style options, such as Boar's Head, at the grocery store. To toast the potato buns, spread 2 tablespoons softened butter on the cut-sides of the buns. Place buttered-side down in a dry skillet over medium heat and cook until browned, about 3 minutes.