Back a couple of weeks, entertaining company one weekday evening and caught without a fancy “company dinner” pre-planned, I did a bit of scrambling and combined several of our clans favorite flavors to whip up these Green Chile Salsa Burgers.
I’m sure we’re not the first in the game to conjure up something like this, and I’m sure we’re not the first to remind you to use a good, fresh 80/20 chuck grind for your burgers as the fat makes the flavor ensemble just work in great burgers.
If you really want to up your burger game, grind yourself (or have your butcher do it) a mixture of chuck, brisket, and short rib (50/40/10 maybe?) for the most rich, beefy tasting burger you’ve ever rolled your eyes over.
We’ve been eating these melty, Monterrey Jack-topped masterpieces bunless, over a bed of lettuce, with the caramelized onions piled high, and swimming in the reduced, roasted tomatillo salsa verde. By the way, if you don’t have the time or inclination to make up a batch of roasted tomatillo salsa yourself, we’ve been using Herdez’s brand with damned tasty results.
Top (either in the bowl or on the bun) with whatever floats your boat, though we’ve been adding a handful of cherry tomatoes, chopped cilantro, pickled red onions, and either fresh or pickled jalapenos. And don’t forget to start the onions first off when pulling this one together, they take a bit of time over slow heat to come out perfectly…
3 lbs fresh grind burger meat (80/20 chuck, or the mix above)
5-6 ounces good Monterrey Jack cheese, thinly sliced
2 red onions, trimmed, thinly sliced
1 large sweet onion, trimmed, thinly sliced
2 jars roasted tomatillo salsa verde or your fave recipe
2 tbsp good butter
1-2 tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepperYour preferred buns and burger fixin’s
Consider adding: a bit of chopped cilantro, pickled red onions, your favorite pickled peppers, cherry tomatoes, etc.
Prep the onions, melt the butter and add the olive oil to a saucepan over medium-low heat, then stir in the onions to make sure all are coated. Toss in two pinches of good salt, several grinds of pepper, and sauté over low to medium-low heat until nicely caramelized (20 minutes or so, maybe longer).
Meanwhile, pour the salsa verde into a saucepan, set over low heat, and reduce by 20% or so until thickened.
Using a firm, but not-too-firm hand, pat your burger grind into patties and either griddle or grill until done to suit you, salting and dusting with fresh ground pepper as you go. At the turn, top with the cheese.
Of late, we’ve actually been dropping the patties into a shallow serving bowl, topping with a pile of caramelized onions, spooning the reduced salsa over the top, then topping with a bit of chopped cilantro, pickled red onions, a handful of cherry tomatoes, and a few pickled jalapenos.
If building a bunned-burger, construct your masterpiece to suit, though you might want to do this one open-faced, as they salsa really makes this one work and you’ll want to load it up…
Enjoy.
