Recipes: Beef

Chile Cheeseburgers with Jalapeno-Lime Mayonnaise

Servings: 4
Course: Entrees

Ingredients:

For the mayonnaise:

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Plenty of mesquite wood chips or chunks for smoking, soaked

3 large fresh jalapenos, fully ripe and red if you can find them

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon minced fresh lime zest

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

For the burgers:

Mesquite wood chips or chunks for smoking, soaked

2 pounds ground sirloin

3 long green chiles

3 green onions, green parts only, finely chopped

Coarse ground sea salt, about ½ teaspoon

Freshly ground black pepper, about ½ teaspoon

2 medium size garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 slices monterey jack cheese, with or without jalapenos

4 hamburger buns

3 plum tomatoes, sliced

8 leaves of crisp lettuce

Instructions:

Smoke the jalapenos
This process won't lead to a true chipotle pepper, but if you want to skip smoking the jalapenos yourself, you can substitute chipotle peppers from a can or jar (look for chipotle peppers with adobo sauce. Discard most of the sauce before adding to the mayonnaise). If you did not find red jalapenos, you can use green ones. Wash the jalapenos and remove the stems. Split the jalapenos lengthwise (don't cut all the way through). For more kick, leave the seeds in tact. For less, remove the seeds and ribs. Slow smoke the jalapenos with mesquite on the grill at about 200°F for about 2 hours. The jalapenos can be smoked ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator in a zip-lock bag overnight.

Make the mayonnaise
Chop the smoked jalapenos into ¼" squares. In a food processor, combine the jalapenos, egg, egg yolk, lime juice, lime zest, mustard and salt. Blend until smooth. Keep the motor running at a lower speed and slowly pour in the oil through the feed chute. Store in an air tight container for up to two days.

Prepare the chiles
The chiles for the burgers can be grilled at the same time as the red peppers for the salsa recipe. Wash the peppers, but leave them whole, with the stems on. Preheat the grill to medium heat, about 300 to 400°F. Higher is fine, but you will have to pay more attention. If you would like to add smoke as you grill the chiles, please do, but you will have the hood open so much that it is not really worth the extra effort. Place the chiles directly over the flame, and turn frequently until at least 75% of the skins are black.

Remove the chiles from the grill and place in a bowl, covered with a plate for 10 minutes. Scrape off the charred skin, and discard. Remove the stem and seeds and discard. Coarsely chop the remaining flesh.

Prep the burgers
Combine the ground sirloin, green chiles, green onion, garlic salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix and knead with your hands to really work together the ingredients and break down the ground sirloin texture. Divide the meat into equal sized balls. Flatten the balls into patties based on the desired doneness for each guest. For burgers that are to be medium, make the patties an inch thick. For those that should be rarer, make them thicker. For those that want them more done, make them thinner.

Prep the grill
Preheat the grill to 500°F and get the wood chips or chunks going for smoke. When the grill is at 500°F and the wood is smoking, it's time to grill. The burgers should be raised to room temperature while the grill is preheating.

Grill the burgers
Grill the burgers for 4 minutes with the lid closed. Flip the burgers to grill for an additional 4 minutes. After three minutes, open the lid and, working as quickly as possible, put the cheese slices on the burgers, use a squirt bottle to squirt water onto the burners (not onto the burgers) and close the lid. The water will create an intense burst of steam heat that should nicely melt your cheese within the remaining minute.

Place the burgers on the buns and serve, letting your guests add the tomatoes, lettuce and mayonnaise as they like.