The Outside inside Burgers with Chipotle sauce & Cilantro Pesto

Ingredients:

The Burger meat:
3 pounds of lean ground sirloin
1 1/2 tsp Hawaiian red Sea salt or to taste
3 Tblsp Peppercorn mix freshly ground or to taste
1 Tblsp cumin
4 spring onions trimmed and minced finely
1 Tblsp Mexican oregano
1/3 Cup of Pick a Pepper sauce
2 Tblsp prepared minced garlic
1 Tblsp Buffalo brand Chipotle pepper sauce
1 Tblsp Cholula Hot Sauce
1 tsp Chipotle chili powder
Pam cooking spray (olive oil)

Inside The Burger:
1 – Vidalia onion sliced thin (1/8 inch) on a 1/2 cut onion
12 – Fresh Button Portabella mushrooms, sliced thin (1/8 inch)
4 – Fresh jalapeño peppers de-seeded, de-pithed and sliced thin (1/8 inch)
6 oz of Queso Oaxaca jack cheese – shredded fine
9 oz of Pepper Jack cheese – shredded fine
9 oz of Mild Cheddar – shredded fine
4 Tblsp of unsalted butter
6 Slices of thick sliced hickory smoked Bacon

The Cilantro Pesto:
3 oz fresh cilantro or 1 bunch ends trimmed and cleaned
2 large yellow onions cleaned, peeled and quartered
3 large Jalapeño peppers de-seeded and de-pithed
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste
3 Tblsp prepared minced garlic
3 Tblsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Tblsp Lemmon juice or juice of 1 fresh lemon
1/3 C orange juice with pulp
10 “Sun Maid” dried Calimyrna figs or fresh Calimyrna figs if available ends trimmed off and finely diced
3 Tblsp of Adriatic fig spread from {Whole Foods Markets}

The Chipotle Basting sauce or BBQ sauce:
2 C College Inn Vegetable broth
2 peppers and 4 tsp of Adobe sauce from the {La Costena Chipotle peppers and sauce}
1/3 C clover honey
2 C Heinz Chile sauce
3 Tblsp of gold Tequila (1800 Reposado) is what I cook with “Optional”
2 tsp Cholula Hot Sauce to taste
3 Tblsp of Lime juice
1 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 bottle of Negro Modelo
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Burger Delivery vehicle:
6 Tblsp of soft unsalted butter
6 Soft knot Egg rolls

Misc:
Toothpicks – round

Instructions:

Burger meat preparation:

In a bowl add the ground beef, min ½ tsp Hawaiian red Sea salt, min 3 Tblsp Peppercorn mix freshly ground, 1 Tblsp cumin, 4 spring onions trimmed and minced finely, 1 Tblsp Mexican oregano, 1/3 Cup of Pick-a-Pepper sauce, 2 Tblsp prepared minced garlic, 1 Tblsp Buffalo brand Chipotle pepper sauce, 2 tsp Cholula Hot Sauce, 1 tsp Chipotle chili powder. Mix thoroughly for a couple of minutes (4 to5) until all the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the beef, cover loosely with saran wrap too allow the beef to breath; move the mix off to the side to rest for at least 15 minutes (NOTE: if you are not going to use the beef till latter refrigerate but allow the beef to come up to room temp latter)

Cilantro Pesto preparation:

In a food processor add the 3 oz of fresh cilantro, 2 yellow onions , 3 Jalapeño peppers, 1 tsp cumin, min ½ tsp sea salt, 3 Tblsp prepared minced garlic, 3 Tblsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 3 Tblsp Lemmon juice or juice of 1 fresh lemon, 1/3 C orange juice with some pulp and process till smooth, about 4 to 5 minutes then add the 3 Tblsp of {Whole Foods} “Adriatic fig spread” process for approximately 2 to 3minutes more or until the figs are well blended, {the finely diced “Sun Maid” dried Calimyrna figs will be folded into the Pesto right before placing the pesto onto the toasted bun tops during the plating service}. For now place the Cilantro Pesto in a refrigerator until latter or in a very cool place to rest.

Basting sauce or BBQ sauce:

In a blender add the 2 Cups of College Inn Vegetable broth, 2 peppers and 4 tsp of Adobe sauce from the {La Costena Chipotle peppers and sauce}, 1/3 Cup of Honey, 2 Cups of Heinz Chile sauce, 3 Tblsp of gold Tequila (1800 Reposado), 2+ tsp Cholula Hot Sauce to taste, 3 Tblsp of Lime juice, 1 tsp white pepper, ½ tsp red chili pepper flakes. Cover and blend till liquefied about 4 to 5 minutes, pour into sauce pan and place on the Grill or side burner and bring to a rapid boil while whisking, reduce to a strong simmer and continue to whisk, reduce the contents volume by half or more, but no more than ¾, when it is reduced add ½ or ¾ of the volume add up to ¾ of the bottle of Negro Modelo beer, and continue reducing until it thickens up by reducing again at this point keep sauce at a low simmer (Remember to whisk the sauce to prevent scorching). (NOTE: it is best to get your sauce on and reducing as soon as you can)

Inside components:

In a 10 inch sauté pan pre-cook the bacon half way and remove the bacon to a stack of absorbent paper towels add too the bacon fat up to 2+ Tblsp of unsalted butter when heated add the Juliann cut strips of Vidalia onions, Portabella button mushrooms and Jalapeño peppers, sauté all very lightly, do not over cook these ingredients, cook only to soften them slightly when this is done remove the sauté pan from the heat source, drain remaining fat off and set aside until it is time to build the six (6) burgers.
With a cheese grater, grate the 3 cheeses into separate containers 6 oz of Queso Oaxaca jack cheese – shredded fine, 9 oz of Pepper Jack cheese – shredded fine, 9 oz of Mild Cheddar – shredded fine and set aside in a cool place until it is time to build the burgers

Constructing the Burger:

Weigh twelve (12) 4oz patties, form six (6) of the patties with their sides built up to form a pocket in the center of the patty, add to the pocket 2 tablespoons of the “pepper, mushroom and onion” mix and up to1 ½ oz of Pepper Jack, up to1 ½ oz of Cheddar cheese and 1oz of the Queso Oaxaca cheese, place another 4oz patty on top and press the edges together folding them into each other to seal the pocket together press and seal completely around the burger, pressing and moving the beef to any thin spots as needed. After all the burgers have been completed, wrap each burger with a strip of the pre-cooked thick cut hickory bacon and secure with four (4) round toothpicks @ North, South, East & West making sure the first toothpick secures where the bacon meets and overlaps, now pat the burger gently to form the burger into the bacon ring and set off to the side on a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper, cover all the burgers with another sheet of paper and allow to rest while you prepare to Grill!

Grilling:

With the correct temp set on the grill “a Medium flame” or about 350 degrees, spray each burger with “PAM” olive oil and place burger PAM side down onto the grill and then spray the top of the burger with “PAM” move the can of “PAM” away from the heat source. Baste/ sauce the top of the burgers with a good coating of basting sauce and close lid for 2 ½ minuets, open lid and re-baste and close lid for another 2 ½ minuets, open lid and turn the burgers and baste / sauce top of burgers and close the lid again for 2 ½ minuets, open lid and re-baste and close the lid for 2 ½ minuets more open lid and remove the burgers they should now be Medium-Rare, remove the burgers from the grill and re-baste / sauce the burgers tops with sauce and allow them to rest for 5 minutes while the burgers are resting slice and butter the egg knot buns and grill/toast them till golden brown.

Construction:

Remove and count ALL toothpicks with 6 burgers you should have 24 toothpicks. Place a burger on a toasted bun bottom and apply a smear of Pesto sauce (Don’t forget to stir in your chopped figs!) to the top bun approximately 1 good tablespoon and place the bun top onto the burger, Serve with a smile while singing, “Here we come on the run with a burger on a bun and a dill pickle on the side toooooo”

Enjoy!
Mike