This is one seriously delicious cheeseburger inspired by the flavors of the Southwest, personal favorites of mine. A luscious, gooey queso sauce made with Monterey Jack cheese takes the place of sliced cheese and makes a secure bed for roasted and diced poblano chiles. Blue corn tortilla chips give the burger an unexpectedly perfect touch of salty crunch. The queso sauce would also be wonderful as a dip for chips or fries.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 55 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Inactive: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 large poblano chile
- 2 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chuck (80 percent lean) or ground turkey (90 percent lean)
- 4 hamburger buns, split; toasted, if desired (see below)
- 12 blue or yellow corn tortilla chips
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, coarsely grated (about 2 cups)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Put the chile on a rimmed baking sheet, rub with 1 tablespoon of the oil, and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until the skin of the chile is blackened, about 15 minutes. Remove the chile from the oven, place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let the chile steam for 15 minutes. Peel, stem, and seed the chile and then coarsely chop it.
- To make the queso sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the milk, increase the heat to high, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cheese until melted; season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
- Divide the meat into 4 equal portions (about 6 ounces each). Form each portion loosely into a 3/4-inch-thick burger and make a deep depression in the center with your thumb. Season both sides of each burger with salt and pepper. Cook the burgers, using the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. See how Bobby cooks perfect burgers
- Place the burgers on the bun bottoms and top each with a few tablespoons of queso sauce, chips, and some of the poblano. Cover with the bun tops and serve immediately.
- Toasted Burger Buns
- I think the taste and the texture of buns are best when lightly toasted. To toast a bun on a grill, grill pan, or griddle, split the bun open, place it cut side down on the grill, and grill until light golden brown, about 10 seconds. Alternatively, you can place the split bun halves cut side up on a baking sheet and cook them under a preheated broiler until light golden brown, about 30 seconds. Keep a close eye on them and don’t let them get too brown or else that texture will take on a life of its own and defeat the purpose of starting with a soft bun.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 828 |
| Total Fat | 51 g |
| Saturated Fat | 21 g |
| Carbohydrates | 35 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 8 g |
| Protein | 58 g |
| Cholesterol | 193 mg |
| Sodium | 942 mg |
Reviews
Very tasty
To me … the sauce is be very bland because there is only salt and pepper used…also the burger only has salt and pepper.. no other seasoning… suppose to Southwest flavors..sorry Bobby
I mashed up Bobby’s recipe (toppings) with Texas squealers (burger patty) from Weber grills and it was killer, 10/10!
Agree with others on the queso recipe – good but needs help. If you’re familiar with roux + sauces, trust your gut vs. Bobby’s direction. The recommended heat/timing is high/long after you add milk. Easy to break.
Instead of the bun you can wrap it in a tortilla like a burrito.
Everyone in the household loved this burger even my picky six year old. Added Bobby’s guac and it took it over the top.
Went into this with high expectations, and made the recipe exactly as written. I thought the resulting burger was altogether very bland. After a couple of bites to be completely objective, I reached for the bottle of hot sauce. May try pepper jack next time. Am working my way through Flay’s burger book; this one was a miss.
My finished burger tasted like minute steak with cream gravy. For more heat and flavor, next time, I will use name brand pepper jack cheese
I love this burger. The queso with the poblano and chips are great together. My wife thought they were “ok” but dont worry she is very picky and my kids loved them so that right there sold these to me.
These are delicious! The flavor of the poblano and the crunch of the chips really make it special. The cheese sauce sort of got lost in the whole thing so I might try pepper jack next time.
This recipe is phenomenal! The roasted pablano pepper gave them just the right amount of heat. Loved the crunchy texture the chips gave; it took me back to when I was a kid and use to put chips on my sandwiches :- 5 star burger all the way.