Green Chili Chicken Burgers
New Mexico Chiles are the dried form of the Red Anaheim Pepper. This chile has a thin flesh with an earthy chile flavor and undertones of wild cherries. This chile ranges from 2 – 4 on a heat scale of 1 to 10. The New Mexico Chile may be referred to as the California Chile or Chile Colorado. New Mexico Chiles are commonly used in Red Mexican or Southwestern sauces. This is a mildly hot chile. Scoville heat units 8,000 – 12,000.
Yields 4 Burgers
Ingredients:
1 pound ground chicken breast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 (4 ounce) cans of diced green chilis or 6 roasted Hatch chiles
2.5 ounces of monterey jack cheese, cut into tiny cubes + more for topping
1/2 tablespoon honey
juice of half a lime (a little extra if using roasted chiles)
Instructions:
Preheat your grill or heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. In a bowl, combine chicken, oil, salt, pepper, onion powder, cumin, garlic, cheese cubes and 1/2 a can of green chilis. Mix until just combined, then divide into four sections and form into four patties. Place on grill or skillet and cook on each side until golden and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side. Once you flip the burgers, add additional cheese on top to melt.
While the burgers are cooking, toast buns if desired and combine remaining green chilis in a bowl with honey, lime juice, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. When ready to serve, spoon green chilis on top of cheeseburgers and eat!
Note: if you use ground chicken (as opposed to ground chicken breast) you can omit the olive oil or use a bit less.