Throwdown’s Green Chile Cheeseburgers

This chile pepper is often mislabeled ‘Pasilla’, which is a different pepper entirely.It is one of the most popular chiles in Mexico and has won the appreciation of many a chef worldwide because of the superior flavor it has over regular bell peppers.

They have a tough outer skin that usually requires roasting and peeling before use. These very large chile peppers are most popular in chiles rellenos recipes, but cooking with these as a substitute for bell peppers in any recipe will enhance the flavor.

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Ingredients:

For the queso sauce:
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
12 oz Chihuahua or Monterey Jack cheese, coarsely grated
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Green Chile Relish:
1 medium poblano chile, roasted, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced
2 Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
1 serrano chile, roasted, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Pickled Red Onions:
1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 medium red onion, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
For the burgers:
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted
12 blue or yellow corn tortilla chips, coarsely crushed

Instructions:

For the queso sauce:

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the milk, increase the heat to high and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cheese until melted add the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Keep warm.

For the relish:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

For the pickled red onions:

Bring vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Put the onions in a medium bowl, pour the vinegar over, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 48 hours before serving.

For the burgers:

Heat a griddle or large saute pan over high heat. Add the oil and let it heat until it begins to shimmer.

Shape the ground beef with your hands into 4 round patties about 1 1/2 inches thick and season each burger on both sides with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook the burgers until golden brown on both sides and cooked to medium, about 8 minutes.

Put the burgers on the buns and top each with a few tablespoons of the queso sauce, relish, onions and chips.

Makes four servings.

From Bobby Flay, foodtv.com