Big Bandera Burger with Creamy Chipotle-Onion Jam and Grilled Avocado

Everything’s Bigger in Texas – and burgers are BEEF!The “Bandera,” meaning “flag” in Spanish, represents the colors of the Mexican flag with its green cilantro, jalapeños and avocados, red sun-dried tomatoes, onions and chipotle peppers, and white garlic and cream cheese. The sweet, spicy, creamy flavors of the Big Bandera Burger explode with each bite – It’s Texas…it’s Tex-Mex…it’s a great local American burger.

Ingredients:

Creamy Chipotle-Onion Jam
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 large thinly sliced yellow Texas 10-15 onion (or other sweet onion)
1 large thinly sliced red onion
2 bunches coarsely chopped green onion
3/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1 (8 ounce) package softened cream cheese
2 finely chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (or 1 tablespoon Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Patties
2 pounds ground Natural Angus beef (85/15)
3/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1 (7 ounce) jar drained and chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, reserve oil
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup seeded and finely chopped jalapenos
3 cloves minced garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

3 tablespoons vegetable oil for brushing on grill rack
Reserved Olive Oil from sun-dried tomatoes for brushing on patties
12 slices Pepper Jack cheese
6 good quality hamburger buns, split
3 halved, peeled and seeded California Avocados
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar for brushing avocados

Instructions:

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover, or preheat a gas grill to medium-high.

To make the chipotle-onion jam, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy non-stick fire-proof skillet on the grill (a seasoned iron skillet works well). Add the yellow, red and green onions and saute until they start to soften and wilt. Add the vinegar, brown sugar and mustard, and cook until the vinegar has reduced by half. Stir in the cream cheese, chipotle and cilantro. Salt and pepper to taste; remove from heat and cool.

To make the patties, combine ground beef, cilantro, sun-dried tomatoes, green onions, jalapeños, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl, handling as little as possible to avoid compacting it. Shape into 6 equal patties to fit the bun size. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and set aside until ready to grill.

When the grill is ready, brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the rack and brush with reserved olive oil from tomatoes; cover, turning once until done to preference, 5 to 7 minutes on each side for medium, brushing opposite side with reserved olive oil after turning. Place two cheese slices on each patty during the last 3 minutes of grilling. Place the buns, cut side down, on the outer edges of the grill rack to toast lightly during the last 2 minutes of grilling.

During the final minutes, slice each avocado half into sections lengthwise, not cutting all the way to the top/stem so the avocado will stay intact. Brush the avocado slices with balsamic vinegar and season with salt and fresh ground pepper. Arrange on a clean area of the grill alongside the patties for 1 to 2 minutes, turning as necessary, until nice grill marks are achieved.

To assemble the burgers, spread a generous amount of the chipotle-onion jam over the cut sides of the rolls. On each roll bottom, place a cheese-topped patty and a portion of grilled avocado. Add the bun tops and serve.