Green Chile & Goat Cheese Southwest Burger

After eating takeout for approximately 2 weeks straight I finally got my kitchen unpacked and together.  It took forever to get my kitchen in an order that I was happy with and flowed well.  It was an adjustment moving into a smaller kitchen but in the end I am super happy how it turned out.  In fact to my surprise I like this smaller kitchen better.

Ironically after 2 weeks of takeout the inaugural meal I cooked in my new kitchen was a burger.  What can I say I love burgers!  But this isn’t your regular hum-drum burger.  Let me show you what makes it so special.

I debated wether to make burgers for dinner but when I found a recipe for homemade burger buns on The Kitchn I knew it was ment to be, there would be a hamburger on my plate for dinner.

This bun recipe is simple and I dare say fool proof, not to mention it makes a batch of some really hot buns.  I may never buy supermarket burger buns again.

I let my buns go a little longer then the recipe called for to get them extra golden and a little crispy, but the inside stayed soft and fluffy like a burger bun should be.

During our 2 weeks of takeout and dinning out we went to The Local Table for dinner were they have this delicious Mexican lasagna.  It’s a delicious and clever play on the traditional lasagna.  In place of the noodles they use tortilla, the filling had goat cheese, poblano chiles, black beans and spinach topped with a marinara sauce.  The combination of the goat cheese and poblano chili rocked my world and I knew I wanted it in a burger.

In a large bowl combine beef, chorizo, beans, cilantro, panko and cumin.  Using your hands, because that is the only way to make a proper burger, mix all the ingredients together until well combined.

Divide the meat into 6 equal portions, roll into a ball and press in the palm of your hand to form the patty, take your thumb and press a dimple in the center of each patty.  This helps avoid ending up with domed patties.

Further confirming that burgers were ment to be the inaugural dish of my new kitchen was the fact that OB had just scored a sweet little hibachi grill at an estate sale.  He was “mucho estatico” to take it out for a spin.

Make sure your grill is nice and hot before you put the patties on and keep an eye on these because of the chorizo and the 80/20 beef they can flare up.  Grill the patties on one side for 5-6 minutes, flip the burgers and grill the other side and additional 3-4 minutes.

FYI, two big tips when grilling burgers, DON’T squish and flip ONCE, seriously.

While your husband is out in the heat sweating over a hot grill you can be inside in your air conditioned home preparing the fixins.  Toppings of choice for this burger, whole green chiles, sliced tomato, avocado, goat cheese, arugula and garlic chipotle mayo.

In a small bowl combine 1/2 cup of mayo, 3 cloves of press garlic and 1 tsp of chipotle adobo, whisk until well combined. If you want it a little spicier or garlicier (is that a word?) add more, there are no rules here.

Time to build the edible beast, bun, mayo, patty, goat cheese, green chile, avocado, tomato, arugula, mayo and finally bun. Yeah baby!  Get in my belly!

Because it would be utterly ridiculous and gluttonous for OB and I to eat 6 burgers by ourselves we invited our friends Mr. & Mrs. T over to help us polish them off.  They were happy to oblige and oddly very quiet during consumption.

This just may be my new favorite burger. A ridiculously moist patty with just enough heat balanced with the creamy goat cheese and green chili in a homemade bun. This was slap your Mama good!  Not that I would ever slap my Mama, because I love my Mama.  It’s just an expression Mom I promise.

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