In Oregon, er, at least in the valley, summer doesn’t actually start until July. In June, it’s still rainy and dark and that’s okay. It’s just the way it is. I think it’s well worth the trade off for our beautiful, green landscape and very mild temperatures. Even so, Oregonians forget about this every single year, without fail. The entire month of June is somehow spent complaining that it’s still raining, this isn’t how summer is supposed to be, and so on and so forth.
Anywho, over the weekend I wanted to grill even though it was all sorts of doom and gloom outside. I had picked up some jalapenos earlier in the week that I needed to use and Boyfriend had been hinting that burgers were on his mind all week, and so these stuffed jalapeno burgers were born!
Let me be clear: these burgers are not stuffed with jalapenos. Better yet, they are jalapeno burgers stuffed with pepper jack cheese! Because that was the kind of mood I was in.
Start by mincing half of a jalapeno. Even half was maybe a bit too hot, maybe, so if you can’t take the heat, use a quarter of a pepper instead. And get out of the kitchen.
And mince up a little bit of onion.
Combine the onion, jalapeno, and minced garlic in a bowl. Or a glass baking dish, if that happens to be what you reach for.
Then add olive oil, kosher salt, and Italian seasoning and mix it all up.
Then it’s time for the ground beef. I really like to use an 80/20 ground beef. That essentially means that 80% of it is meat and 20% of it is fat. It results in a nice juicy burger. Then get in there and mix it all together with your hands.
I think that quarter pound burgers are the best sized burgers. You may have a different opinion. That’s okay. If you agree that quarter pound burgers are good-sized burgers, divide the meat into four equal balls. Then, since these will be stuffed burgers, divide one of those balls in two. Then flatten ’em.
Top one of the patties with pepper jack cheese, making sure to leave about 1/4 inch around the edges.
Put the other patty on top of the cheese and pinch the edges closed. Make sure they’re pinched well, otherwise the cheese will come squirting out and that’s not as fun.
Then grill ’em up! I topped mine with bacon, caramelized onions, more pepper jack cheese, and some blue cheese sauce to help cut the heat.
We had our burgers with some of Boyfriend’s homebrew! He made a fabulous amber ale. I’m so sad that we’re down to our last eight bottles. Especially considering we started with five gallons. Don’t worry, we had lots of help drinking it.
Do yourself a favor and have a lovely pint of homebrew and a jalapeno burger this week!
Get the Recipe:
Pepper Jack Stuffed Jalapeno Burgers
Ingredients
- 1/2 jalapeno, minced
- 1 tbsp onion, minced
- 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 lb 80/20 ground beef
- 12 slices pepper jack cheese
- 4 burger buns
- Desired toppings (bacon and caramelized onions suggested)
Instructions
- Combine the jalapeno, onion, garlic, olive oil, kosher salt, and Italian seasoning in a medium mixing bowl. Add the ground beef and combine using your hands.
- Divide the burger meat into four balls. One at a time, divide a ball in half and flatten both halves. Place a few slices of cheese on one of the halves, leaving a border about 1/4 inch thick. Top with the other half and pinch the edges of the patties together to seal. Repeat with remaining three balls.
- Preheat a grill or heat a grill pan. Grill each patty for 3-4 minutes on each side. After the first flip, top patties with additional pepper jack cheese. Let rest for 3-5 minutes. Top with bacon and caramelized onions. Serve on a hamburger bun.