Recipe for green chile cheeseburgers {gluten-free}
Folks in Hatch, New Mexico, home of the famous Hatch green chile peppers and the annual festival that celebrates them, might not give first prize to my New Englander's version of a green chile cheeseburger, but the rest of you will swoon. For my husband Ted, and for Chelsea, my summer intern, and for me, it was love at first bite -- love at every juicy bite. I mix two pantry staples, canned fire-roasted chiles (from the supermarket) and shredded cheese, in with the beef, which keeps it moist. Then, I kick things up with a slightly-spicy slather on the bun, and a slice of melted pepper jack cheese on top. If any of my friends who've recently moved to New Mexico are reading this, how about a trade: this amazing recipe for a few cans of Hatch chiles? You know where I live.
Green chile cheeseburgers
From the pantry, you'll need: ground beef, canned green chile peppers, grated cheese, mayonnaise, ground chile pepper, cumin, fresh black pepper.
Makes 8 small sliders, or 4 regular burgers.
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef (I use 87% lean)
1 4-oz can fire-roasted chopped green chile peppers
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use Hellmanns)
1/4 tsp ground New Mexico chile pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
Pinch of black pepper
Slices of pepper jack cheese
8 small or 4 regular burger buns (I love potato buns), or gluten-free buns
Lettuce
Directions
Bring the beef to room temperature for 30 minutes.
Preheat the broiler, griddle or grill. I've had the best results using the broiler, but I've also made these burgers on a grill pan. It's a bit messy on the grill, but it works. For the broiler, line a rimmed pan with aluminum foil, and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine beef, green chiles and grated cheddar cheese with your impeccably clean hands. Mix just until the ingredients are incorporated; do not overmix.
Form the mixture into 8 small burgers, or 4 large ones.
Broil (approximately 6 inches from the heat) or grill for 3-4 minutes per side, depending on how you like your burgers. In the final 30 seconds, top each burger with a slice of pepper jack cheese.
While the burgers are cooking, in a small bowl stir together the mayonnaise, chile powder, cumin and black pepper. Set aside.
When the burgers are cooked and the cheese on top has melted, remove them to a platter and let sit for 5 minutes.
To assemble, slice each bun in half, and slather the bottom with a bit of the mayonnaise sauce. Add lettuce leaves, and top with a burger. Serve with lots of napkins to catch the dribbles.
More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Greek turkey burgers with yogurt and feta sauce
Chinese "spaghetti and meat sauce"
Slow-cooked beef and green chile stew
Corn, green chile, egg and cheese casserole
Mexicali meatloaf
Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Green chile cornbread, from Simply Recipes
Green chile tortilla bake, from Gluten-Free Goddess
Green chile and pepper jack cheese stuffed chicken breast, from For the Love of Cooking
Beef and three bean chili, from Pinch My Salt
Southwest ground beef casserole, from Amanda's Cookin
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You've got me remembering the Sunday burgers my family used to make and one right now would be perfect. I haven't tried putting the cheese and chilies in the meat -- they're usually layered on top. Gotta try your method!
Okay, okay, I get the point. How about some Kenyon's jonnycake meal for some Hatch chiles?
Yesterday the folks from Hatch were at our farmers' market, with their roasters, chiles, and ristras
Have you ever made the white jalapeno dipping sauce? ooooo..
Oh, Lydia, these would be perfect on a gluten-free bun! Can't wait to share them with some friends from New Mexico and all the folks on my gfe page! :-)
Happy Sunday, dear!
Shirley
These sound fantastic! I have some chuck roast in the freezer that I'm planning to grind for hamburgers. I think I'll try something similar to this!
Great way to jazz up a burger!
We typically add various spices and worchestershire sauce to our ground beef when making burgers, with cheese, chopped chilis, etc on top. Love the idea of putting the chilis and grated cheese into the meat. A simple change, but I'll bet it's fabulous. Going to try it next time we have burgers.
I like everything about how you have spiced these up!
Really like the idea of these as sliders - that would make an awesome appetizer!
Kellypea, putting the chiles in with the meat and cheese keeps these burgers moist, so you can get a good char on the outside without overcooking the inside. I'm pretty sure you'll like these!
Marcia, happy to send some Kenyon's your way. Let's make this happen.
Shirley, trust me, these burgers are even good without a bun. Hope you like them.
Nicole, you will love them. We love them.
Maria, it's so simple but the burgers are delicious. The sauce really kicks up the flavor, too.
MotherWouldKnow, I tend to like my burgers on the medium-rare side, so I love how the chile peppers keep them moist.
Kalyn, making these into slider size is great, and SB-friendly, I think?
TW, we love them as sliders, too. Great for football-season parties.
This is great! I saw just yesterday one of the fast food places is doing some kind of promotional deal with a burger like this and it was becoming verrrrry enticing...now I can make my own!
Now that's what I call a cheeseburger, I feel like it 's been ages since I've had a really great burger, lean beef, nice bun... love it. I've heard about this burger, but I've never tried it.
not sure if i can handle the impeccably clean hands part, but this recipe is definitely being made this week. thanks a ton for sharing it
Maurine, I know lots of places are doing green chile cheeseburgers with the chiles on the outside, but these are great because the chiles are inside (along with the cheese). Enjoy!
Marie, hope you'll give this a try. My family loves them.
Milton, you can do it! (I love the phrase "impeccably clean hands" -- every time I hear it, I think of Julia Child.)
Wow what a way to make a burger, hot and spicy!! looks delicious, Love the photo :)
CHEESE IN THE MEAT! That is just a winning combination right there! I know what I am having for dinner Friday night!! yum!
Chiles are in the mail. Stagecoaches are a bit irregular,
so it may take a while to get there.
Your turn.
No true New Mexican would ever ever use canned chile, much less send you any.
While this burger looks yummy and is different, it is NOT a traditional NEW MEXICAN Green Chile Cheeseburger. As a New Mexican, I urge you (really beg you) to change the name of this recipe to just a Green Chile Cheeseburger. Sorry, but us New Mexicans just shake our heads and laugh at the way "foreigners" tend to think they know so much about our state's prized vegetable.