The Grilling Guru has a moral dilemma. To be strictly faithful to Louis' Lunch, he should tell you to top your hamburger with a liquid processed cheese, like Cheez Whiz. The Grilling Guru doesn't use Cheez Whiz himself, however, so he feels awkward about calling for it. So he's created a made-from-scratch cheese sauce that will satisfy the purist, while remaining faithful to the lurid orange cheese topping used by Louis'.

　　

Ingredients

Makes about 1 1/4 cups

　　1/2 clove garlic

　　1 cup beer

　　2 cups (about 8 ounces) coarsely grated Colby cheese or orange cheddar cheese

　　2 teaspoons cornstarch

　　2 teaspoons prepared mustard

　　Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper

　　

Step 1

1. Rub the bottom and side of a heavy saucepan with the cut garlic. Place the garlic clove in the pan, add the beer, and bring to a boil over high heat.

　　

Step 2

2. Meanwhile, place the cheese and cornstarch in a bowl and toss to mix. Sprinkle the cheese into the boiling beer, stirring it with a wooden spoon. Let the sauce come back to a boil; it will thicken.

　　

Step 3

3. Reduce the heat slightly, stir in the mustard, and season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Let the sauce simmer gently until smooth and rich-tasting, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring steadily with the wooden spoon. The purist can fish out and discard the garlic clove; otherwise, one lucky person will get to eat it.

　　Reprinted with permission from BBQ USA: 425 Fiery Recipes From All Across America, © 2003, by Steven Raichlen, Workman Publishing