Not everything made in your kitchen needs to be really complex in order to be really good. Sometimes, simple is better. Take for instance today's offering, a grilled poblano pepper burger.
If you've been following along, the savvy of you will by now have noticed a Southwestern theme to many of the things I've put up recently. That often happens where I'll get hung up on a certain type of cuisine and I'll explore that for a while and then move on to something else. Right now I'm in the Southwest, but as the weather cools, I'll be moving along.
I'm going to take this time to head off on one of my little rants again. What the hell is up with people and orange cheese? You do know that orange is not the natural color of cheese, right? That orange color is from ground annato seeds which produces a tasteless dye added to the cheese. Seriously, the only time I like my cheese orange is when it's a nice combination like Huntsman so that I can tell the Stilton from the Double Gloucester. Otherwise, leave the cheese alone.
Back to the burger. The reason I mention cheese is that this burger is essentially a cheese burger with strips of grilled peppers on it. Remember, I said it was going to be simple. These strips are called rajas in spanish and also simple to make. Over direct medium heat, grill the pepper until blackened and blistered turning frequently. This should take 8 to 10 minutes. When the pepper is cool enough to touch, peel the skin off the outside of the pepper. Stem and seed the pepper, then cut into strips. Oh and I know there are plenty of health conscious people out there that like their meat lean but seriously, the best burgers are made from 80/20 ground beef.
Grilled Poblano Pepper Burger
4 burger buns
4 Poblano peppers, grilled and cut into rajas
4 slices American Cheese
1 lb. ground beef
Form the ground beef into four patties, taking care to place a small dimple in the center of each one. (Note: as ground beef cooks, the burger will plump in the middle. Placing a dimple in the center will allow the burger to plump to a uniform thickness)
In a sauté pan cook the peppers again over medium high heat. (It seems I'm noteworthy today: This can be done on the grill or on the stove. By reheating the peppers, you concentrate the flavor, thereby bringing out the heat a little bit. Poblanos aren't really hot peppers, they have a bit of zing but they don't carry the punch of a jalapeno.)
Over direct medium heat, grill the burgers for 10 minutes, turning once half way through. Open the buns. For the last two minutes, place the buns on the grill, turning once half way. For the last minute, place a slice of cheese on each burger and melt down. Place the burger on the bun and top with 1 pepper's worth of rajas.
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