Culinary Curious

Green Chile Cheeseburgers

Presented by America's Test Kitchen

Serves 4

NOTE: In step 2, you may need to add a teaspoon or two of water to the food processor to help the chile mixture puree. Pressing a shallow divot in the center of each burger patty keeps the burgers flat during grilling.

Ingredients

  • 3 Anaheim chiles, stemmed, halved lengthwise, and seeded
  • 3 jalapeno chiles, stemmed, halved lengthwise, and seeded
  • 1 onion, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 1/2 pounds 85 percent lean ground beef
  • 4 slices deli American cheese

Method

  1. CHAR VEGETABLES Grill chiles 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 1/4 cup chopped chile mixture to empty bowl and season with salt and pepper; set aside. Process remaining mixture until smooth.
  3. FORM BURGERS Combine beef, pureed chile mixture, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in large bowl and knead gently until well incorporated. Shape into four 3/4-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.