Cheddar-Stuffed Jalapeno Burger

Dan was jonesing hard for Five Guy’s  and Ray’s Hell Burger this weekend. Who can blame him? They’ve got amazing burgers! But, getting to Five Guy’s meant spending 30 minutes in intense local traffic, and Ray’s Hell Burger is always packed to the gills on weekends, so neither option seemed particularly appealing.  We didn’t want to give up burgers altogether though, so we decided to buy ground beef and make/grill our own. What a great idea that was! The smell of grilled burgers is such a nice, summery smell, isn’t it? And, the homemade burgers were unbelievably yummy — juicy and bursting with flavor. So good, in fact, that we ended up making them for dinner two nights in a row.

This picture doesn’t do a good job of capturing how massive this burger was, but trust me…it was huge. Dan and I each ate half and felt completely stuffed. And just look at that crispy bacon, thick patty and oozing cheese. So. Good.

Ingredients: (Makes one very large burger)
– 2/3 lb ground beef
– 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped into little pieces
– 1 handful of grated cheddar
– 1 tbsp onion powder
– 1 tbsp salt

Steps:
(1) In a large bowl, combined ground beef, chopped peppers, salt, and onion powder. Mix well, then divide into 2 portions of equal size.
(2) Take one portion of ground beef and shape it into a large patty, about 1/2 inch thick and 4 inches in diameter.
(3) Spoon grated cheese into the center of the patty, leaving about half an inch to 1 inch around the edges uncovered for sealing.
(4) Shape second patty into roughly the same size and shape as the first. Carefully lay it on top of the first patty, and press down on the edges to seal.
(5) Turn giant patty over and make sure there are no cracks in the meat. Shape to your satisfaction, then slap it on the grill!
(6) Grill on high for about 7 minutes, flipping after a couple minutes on each side.
(7) Serve on a large kaiser roll, with tomatoes, lettuce, and condiments of your choosing.