BLOG: Spice Things Up For Memorial Day Weekend! - Green Chile Cheeseburgers

Most of us will end up grilling hamburgers and hotdogs this Memorial Day weekend.  That's ok; this combo is classic and tastes great.  However, why not try something new and make a really easy spicy green chile sauce to top that burger with?  This will take your Memorial Day cookout to a new level of spice!

Ingredients for 4-5 burgers:

• 1-2 lbs of 80% lean ground beef
• Salt and pepper
• Monterey Jack cheese
• Soft Kaiser rolls

Ingredients for the green chile sauce:

• 3 Poblano peppers (grilled, seeds removed)
• 2 Tomatillos
• 1/2 of a Serrano chile pepper (use the whole pepper if you want it really spicy)
• 1/2 of a Habanero pepper (use the whole pepper or more if you want it really spicy)
• 2 Cloves garlic
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 T cilantro
• 1/4 tsp of both Salt and Pepper

There are two parts to this recipe.  The first is to make the spicy green chile sauce.  Lightly coat the poblano peppers with olive oil and toss them on the grill over direct medium heat.  The idea is to get a nice char on the peppers.  You can also do this using the broiler of your oven if you don't want grill the peppers.  But trust me; it's much more fun to grill the peppers!  Grill the poblano peppers for about 5 minutes on each side.  Take a look at the photo above to see how the peppers should look.  After the peppers have their char place them in a bowl and tightly seal with cling wrap.  Let this sit for about 5-10 minutes.  This helps the skin of the peppers come off really easy.  Use a knife to scrape the charred skin off of the peppers. Cut out the seeds and inner membranes.  Assemble the remaining ingredients and puree in a food processor or blender until a smooth texture is obtained.  Add some salt and pepper (about 1/8 tsp each) if you prefer. This can be used immediately or stored in the fridge for at least a couple of days.  Heck, you can even dip some tortilla chips right in! 

The second part of the recipe is to simply hand pack the burger patties and grill them.  A lot of people add all sorts of stuff to their burgers such as French onion dip powder, onions, eggs, bread crumbs, etc.  This is all extra work that ends up making your burger taste like meatloaf.  It's so much easier and tastes so much better if you follow these really easy steps.  I like to use 80% ground beef.  Right as I open up the pack of ground beef I loosely break apart the meat and then lightly repack the ground beef into a burger patty.  Do not pack too tight.  In fact, leave it loose where it appears that it may break apart on you.  A loosely packed burger will be really soft and juicy.  Try to make the burgers about 1/2 lb in size.  Once the burger is formed simply top it with a good bit of salt and pepper and make a small dimple in the top center of the burger by using your finger.  This will help it from turning into the shape of a softball while on the grill.  Light your grill for medium or medium high heat and toss the burgers right over the flame.  After about 5 minutes flip the burgers over and immediately place some Monterey Jack cheese on top.  Let the other side cook for about 5 minutes.  Grilling your burger this way ensures that the cheese is melted but the burger is not overcooked.  When you grill the burgers to the appropriate doneness and then put the cheese on top you can easily overcook them when trying to melt the cheese.

After the burgers are done top each one with about 2 T of the spicy green chile sauce and serve on a soft Kaiser roll.  There are a lot of options with this recipe.  If you want it spicier increase the amount of habanero and serrano chilis.  If you want it a bit more mild cut back on the chilis.  Don't be afraid of this recipe.  Preparing it as written will not burn your mouth up.  Rather, when you bite into the burger you taste fresh chile peppers and the smokey mild flavor of the grilled poblano and cumin.  A mild spicy warmth will slowly build as you eat more and more of the burger but it's really fantastic!  Give it a try!

Note:  Most grocery stores will sell all of these chile peppers.  If you are having trouble finding them try Shop Rite in Glen Burnie.  They had everything for this recipe when I made it this past weekend.

John is the author of the internet grilling blog http://www.grilling24x7.com. Follow John on Twitter at http://twitter.com/grilling24x7 and e-mail him at grilling24x7@gmail.com.