Tailgating Recipe: Brandon’s Burgers – La Hamburguesa Picosa

Cooking Hamburgers on the GrillImage by Jason Pratt via Flickr

What is it? A cheeseburger with pepperjack cheese, jalapenos, chili, hot sauce and onions. All of which on a toasted bun.

Ingredients:

Ground Beef (I like a 80/20 mix. Preferably ground chuck)
Sliced PepperJack Cheese
Chili Sauce (I mean the stuff that you would normally put on “chili” dogs.)
Pickled Jalapenos
Butter or Margarine (For spreading on the buns)
Diced Onion
Hot Sauce
Hamburger Buns

Ingredient Note: This is not really an exact recipe so use your best judgment on how much to bring.

Preparation

Pre-Game Prep:
Divide and form beef into 1/3lb patties. Try and make them about a quarter inch thick. Put meat, butter(margarine), onions, and cheese in fridge or cooler. However be careful not to get your butter(margarine) too cold.  If you do then you won’t be able to spread it. And remember if you are using sauce or jalapenos that are already opened make sure you put those in there too.

At the Tailgate Party:
Remove your ingredients from the cooler and let sit for about 30 minutes. This will take some of the chill out of those ingredients and reduce cooking time.

If you like your chili warmed I suggest making a double boiler type device. I use a ceramic coated camping bowl which I fill about halfway with water and then make a second “bowl” with aluminum foil. Just put your chili in the foil bowl and you are set. Put it right on the grill with the other stuff.

Start your grill and get it crazy hot. When the grill is ready, reduce the heat to medium and grill patties until well done. The time will vary based on the grill but it should take approximately 4-6 minutes per side. (If you want to warm your chili now is a good time to get it started.) While those are cooking spread the butter (margarine) on the buns and set off to the side. When burgers are cooked reduce heat to a low-medium and put a slice of cheese on each burger and place buns on grill buttered side down and cover grill. It should take about 1-2 minutes for the cheese to melt and nice grill marks to form on buns. To assemble put a patty on a bun and top with jalapeno slices, onions, chili, and hot sauce.

These toppings also go great on hot dogs. Enjoy!