Green Chili Cheeseburgers

By LDenvir

Ingredients

• WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
• SERVES 4
• In step 2, you may need to add a teaspoon or two of water to the food processor to help process the chile mixture. Pressing a shallow divot in the center of each burger patty keeps the burgers flat during grilling.
• INGREDIENTS
• 33 Anaheim chile peppers, stemmed, halved lengthwise, and seeded
• 33 jalapeño chiles, stemmed, halved lengthwise, and seeded
• 11 onion, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
• 11 garlic clove, minced
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2pounds1 1/2 pounds 85 percent lean ground beef
• 4slices4 slices deli American cheese

Preparation

Step 1

1. CHAR VEGETABLES: Grill Anaheims, jalapenos, and onion, covered, over hot fire until vegetables are lightly charred and tender, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer vegetables to bowl, cover, and let cool 5 minutes. Remove skins from chiles and discard; separate onion rounds into rings.

2. PROCESS CHILE MIXTURE: Transfer chiles, onion, and garlic to food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Transfer all but ¼ cup chopped chile mixture to empty bowl and season with salt and pepper; set aside. Process remaining mixture until finely chopped, about 45 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.

3. FORM BURGERS: Combine beef, pureed chile mixture, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in large bowl and knead gently until well incorporated. Shape into four ¾-inch-thick patties and press shallow divot in center of each.

4. GRILL AND TOP: Grill burgers, covered, over hot fire until well browned on first side, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip bur-gers, top with chopped chile mixture and cheese, and continue to grill, covered, until cheese is melted and burgers are cooked to desired doneness, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve.

CHILE PINCH HITTER
For complex green chile flavor outside of New Mexico, we found that a combination of mild Anaheims and spicy jalapeños has a nice peppery balance.