Burgers! If there is one type of food I love preparing it’s any kind of sandwich, with burgers as my personal favourite. That is why my first cooking post is dedicated to my dear friend, the cheeseburger. My food is often on the hot and spicy side. This helps to warm you up but also gives an extra kick to your recipe. So it’s no wonder that my burger is stacked with spices. Without further ado let’s have a look what my post will be about: spicy jalapeño cheeseburger with bacon (because everything is better with bacon!).
The modern concept of a hamburger is already +100 years old and mainly a side effect of industrialization but the Mongols had something similar already back in the 12th century. When people were hit by industrialization they had a modern job but much less time to prepare and eat food than before. That’s where the hero of this post comes into play. A good burger has all the macronutrients the body needs, is easily prepared and can be adjusted to your personal taste without bigger problems.
During the second half of the 20th century the success story of the burger accelerated. With globalization becoming more and more predominant, national dishes from around the world were suddenly available on an international basis. This isn’t only true for burgers, but also for other popular foods such as pizza or sushi! Over time, the positive and practical image of the burger with all its tastiness became clouded by a decline in food quality. The global dominance of fast food chains made burgers available everywhere. Unfortunately, this also meant the product was strongly hit by commercialization and lost much of its general health factors (more about it here).
Fast food nowadays sounds very negative which is a sad thing. Initially the name meant what it said: Fast. Food. I don’t think there is anything wrong with this. Quite the opposite, I usually design my recipes in a way that they are quickly prepared and done. The term “junk food” on the other hand is straightforward and this type of “food” should be avoided. You don’t need to poison your body with that. Take a moment and prepare it yourself or go to a decent location and enjoy a burger there. Chances are it’s not junk food but my favorite kind of food: comfort food. You are doing yourself a favor.
If there’s one thing I love preparing when it comes to food, it’s burgers and sandwiches. The possible combinations of carbs, protein, fat and veggies are simply a delight for me. Ultimately you can do what you want and if it’s to your taste then all is well! I personally love spices. Therefore, my burgers are usually hot and spicy. When I create a burger I also make sure to incorporate a variety of ingredients without overdoing it. This means I don’t only want some bread, meat, and cheese, but also vegetables and at least one good sauce to top it off. A sloppy burger is a big turnoff for me. That’s why mise en place plays an important role. This gives me more time to focus on the cooking process later on which doesn’t take much time but a high attention to focus and detail.
For my spicy jalapeño cheeseburger with bacon I prepared the patties, already fried the bacon, baked the buns, cut all the vegetables and prepared my sauce. When I then started to fry the patties everything has to go fast and the cheese needs to be ready. Otherwise, you either have unmelted cheese or your meat is overdone and in the worst case burnt. Either way it’s not the optimal outcome.
Speaking of which, as you can see in the pictures I don’t have slices of cheese but a pile of grated cheese instead. This was an accident when I went shopping. I bought a block of cheese instead the desired slices. But that’s nothing to worry about, you adapt your strategy to the circumstances. Instead of the slices I put the grated cheese on top. The cheese took a little longer to melt, but it worked nonetheless.
Mistakes happen, just keep going! Now enough of my stories here is the beauty (with an optional serving of very tasty craft beer):
I hope my tips will prove to be helpful for you own burgerventures. Let me know in the comments section what you think and how it turned out for you.
- 2 tbsp strong mustard
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 3 tbsp ketchup
- 1 hot pepper or jalapeño (finely chopped)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- 1 kg ground meat (makes 4-8 patties depending how thick you want them)
- 4-8 burger buns
- 4-8 slices cheddar
- 1-2 tomatoes (cut in slices)
- 1 medium-sized onion (finely chopped)
- 4-8 big leaves lettuce
- 1 can jalapenos (to your taste)
- 8-16 slices bacon (two per burger)
- salt (to your taste)
- pepper (to your taste)
- 1/2 tsp paprika powder
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 2 cloves fresh garlic (chopped)
- Chop hot peppers or jalapeños, depending on your preferences you can remove the seeds. Mix all the ingredients for the burger sauce together and set aside.
- Pre-heat your oven and bake the burger buns as told on the packaging or to your personal liking. Once the buns are ready, cut them in half and bake them from the inside for 3 more minutes.
- Put the meat in a bowl together with the seasoning and mix everything, best with your hands, for a few moments. Separate the meat evenly into 4-8 different patties and set aside.
- Put the bacon in the pan in which you will fry your burger patties later on (add no fat to the pan). Slowly brown them on medium heat and remove when done. Keep the fat in the pan!
- Slice the tomatoes and the canned jalapeños (in case they are not already sliced) and chop the onion.
- Heat up your pan and give the patties a good sear from one side. Once you flip them put the cheese on the patties and reduce heat to medium. Once the cheese becomes runny, they are ready!
- Start assembling! Take the bottom part of a bun, put some lettuce on it, followed by some sauce with onion. Add one patty, then some tomato slices and bacon, put some more sauce on top of it and add the jalapeños. Finish the burger with the top half of the bun.
In the recipe I haven't mentioned any specific cooking times for the meat. This was done intentionally, as you should prepare the meat to your personal liking. I fried the patties on maximum heat for around 1.5 - 2 minutes on each side. The goal was to have the meat medium.
The instructions are constructed in a way which allows you to prepare and cook everything at the same time. If you are cooking frequently this will help you to save time. Don't worry if you aren't fast enough. Simply prepare everything which you can prepare upfront (including the baking of the buns and frying of the bacon) and then start with the patties.
The assembly line for the burgers has a specific order. I do this for a reason. Having the lettuce as a base with the sauce on it allows the buns not to get soggy too fast. Everything else is stacked upwards in a way that it fits and holds well.
Great recipe! Here in Mexico, the burgers at fast food joints come with jalapenos on the side. However, I totally agree that burgers are a great meal when made at home.
Thanks! Jalapenos on the side sound like a dream, they are so tasty and have such a special spicyness to them.
These look fantastic! I already pinned to try this recipe on an upcoming weekend.
Still have to work on my presentation skills 😉 great, let me know how my recipe turned out for you.
Will do!