Green Chili Burgers

New Mexico's much-famed green chili burger, now made at home with homemade green chili sauce and plain burger meat.

A specialty of New Mexico, worth seeking out and making at home

Check my recipe for Green Chili Sauce to learn about my quest for green chili burgers.

Next up, green chili burgers!

At first I fussed with recipes for gourmet burgers, y’know, where you grind this with that and add this and poke that. My butcher laughed at these notions and packed up a big hunk of good ground beef. “I promise, you won’t be able to tell the difference.”

So simple good is simple does. Good ground beef. Salt and pepper. A toasted bun. It gets no better.

EATING TIPS FOR DIABETICS To avoid bread, diabetics and those who follow low-carb and low-glycemic diets often forgo sandwiches entirely. But for anyone with a serious burger hankering, here's a quick tip that reduces bread consumption. (I'm not diabetic but this technique is so simple, I'm doing it too.) Use whole-grain bread rolls, not bread slices and use a fork to scoop out the centers without piercing the crusts. (Don't waste the centers - save them for bread crumbs for another dish.) Now fill the roll with the burger, sandwich filling, etc. Easy, yes?!

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GREEN CHILI BURGERS

Just good meat with a good green salsa

Hands-on time: 30 minutes
Time to table: 30 minutes
Serves 4

1/2 tablespoon butter
4 soft hamburger buns, split

1/2 tablespoon butter
1 pound good ground beef (I used a 90% mix)
Salt & pepper to taste
4 slices pepper jack cheese, optional
1 cup green chili sauce, warmed

In a large heavy skillet, melt 1/2 tablespoon butter on medium high until beginning to bubble. Add the buns, cut-side down, and let toast until beginning to turn golden. Set aside.

Meanwhile, gently form the ground beef into four flat patties about a half inch thick. (Handle the ground meat as little as possible, so not to compress it. You want to be able to see the strands, not mush them all together.) Season one side with salt and pepper.

Add 1/2 tablespoon butter to the skillet until beginning to bubble. Place the seasoned side of the patties onto the skillet (they should sizzle). Season the upper side. Without moving, let the patties cook until a thin crust forms on the underside, about 3 minutes. Turn over (this is where you’d add a slice of cheese, if so inclined) and cook for another minute or two, until meat has reached desired doneness.

Place patties on bottom buns, top with hot green chili sauce, top with top buns. Prepare to be transported.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per Burger, including bun and green chili sauce: 316Cal; 14g Tot Fat; 6g Sat Fat; 16g Carb; 2g Fiber; 383mg Sodium; 77mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 7 points