Derek loves burgers. They are probably his go-to order at a restaurant. But we also enjoy making them at home. It allows us to get creative. I mentioned in yesterday’s post how Derek and I make great partners in the kitchen and promised that I’d post the burgers that inspired the Spicy Jalapeno Coins.
We paired part ground beef and part chorizo to make a spicy burger. Then topped it with creamy mashed avocado, crunchy jalapeno coins, and of course cheese. The burgers were great. Because of the size tube we needed to buy the chorizo in, we even ended up with a few patties to put into our freezer for the next time.
Here’s what you need:
I included the ingredients for the spicy jalapeno coins in this picture. When I planned this post, I didn’t realize they would be good enough to deserve their own post/recipe. So I’ll send you to my Spicy Jalapeno Coin post to make those. If you don’t have a big pan of oil out for anything else, a small saucepan will work. You can make them before you put the burgers on the grill, they’ll stay crunchy for you (Just don’t eat them all while you wait for everything else to be done – it will be tempting).
Mix together the chorizo and the ground beef. We used one pound of extra lean ground beef to a 12 oz package of chorizo. That’s roughly a 60/40 mix. Form the burgers into patties on parchment or waxed paper. Indent them a little bit in the center. The burgers will shrink as the fat cooks out, and if you don’t indent them they can shrink in little balls instead of patties.
Note: the standard meat to fat ratio many people consider perfect for burgers is 80/20. We often go leaner than that and add moisture in other ways. I recommend a leaner meat for these burgers no matter what your preference as the chorizo is going to add some fat.
We got 5 patties, which is roughly a third pound per burger. Make whatever size burger you are comfortable with.
Cut the paper into squares around the burger. Keep the ones you’ll grill today in the fridge and move any extra to the freezer in a plastic freezer bag.
Now preheat the grill. We used our charcoal grill with about medium-hot coals. Add the burgers and cook about 4 minutes per side until fully cooked. We often cook our burgers to about medium, but since the chorizo is a pork product you want to make sure it’s fully cooked. While the burgers are grilling, we also toasted the buns – this is up to you, but it’s a step I almost never skip.
When the burgers have about a minute left add the cheese to each burger and cover until the cheese melts.
Prepare the buns by spreading some mashed avocado on the top. We used a half avocado for 2 burgers – so about a ¼ each.
Add the burgers and some jalapeno coins. Lightly press some cilantro into the avocado (so it doesn’t fall off when you close the bun).
Enjoy!
- Jalapeno coins (see the beginning of the post for a recipe link)
- 1 lb extra lean ground beef
- 12 oz chorizo
- 6 slices cheese, we used cheddar-jack
- ½ avocado, mashed
- ½ c cilantro leaves
- 6 hamburger buns
- Mix the ground beef and chorizo with your hands until combined. On top of parchment or waxed paper, form into patties with an indent in the center.
- Heat grill to medium-high heat.
- Toast the buns
- Cook burgers for about 4 minutes per side, until fully cooked. Add a slide of cheese to each burger during the 30-60 seconds of cooking time. Replace the lid on the grill to help melt the cheese.
- Top the buns with mashed avocado and cilantro. Serve the burgers on toasted buns with spicy jalapeno coins.
[…] had this idea to make Chorizo Burgers (I’ll be posting those tomorrow) and wanted something to add crunch. Since we were going to […]