Juicy Jalapeno Burgers

This dish is a rarity on this blog – something original! A few years ago, hubby and I didn’t have plans for Independence Day beyond going to see some fireworks at the community college down the road, so we decided to grill some burgers. Even better, we decided to make our own instead of buying frozen patties. I reviewed a bunch of different recipes online, talked over the differences with hubby, and together we ended up with these juicy jalapeno burgers.

First, start off with some fresh jalapeno peppers.

Remove the stems, seeds, and membranes, and then dice them. I wasn’t too careful about removing every speck of membrane and seed because I wanted the burgers to have some heat, so it didn’t take me too long.

Also dice an onion.

I’ve never been a fan of raw onion or pepper chunks in anything, and neither has hubby, so we sauté these before doing anything with them.

Next, it’s time to make the meat mixture. We use ground beef, an egg, bread crumbs, milk, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, and minced garlic.

And, of course, the sautéed pepper and onion. Dig in with both hands, mixing everything together.

I subdivided this ball in half, then subdivided each half again, and then subdivided each piece again until I had 8 equal pieces. I mushed them together as best as I could, then formed them into patties. I left them thick so they could be squished on the grill.

Then I sent my daddy outside to grill them.

I mixed up a batch of my Chickpea Salad with Red Onion and Tomato to go with the burgers. This time I actually used fresh parsley. It was a good change!

Here we are: fat, juicy, burgers with a hint of heat. Topped with colby jack cheese, fresh tomato, and lettuce, they were perfect for a Memorial Day meal.

And certainly better than frozen patties.