Simple Comfort Food

Mexican Cinco de Mayo Burger

Lately I have been making some really great burgers. No lie. I often think that a burger is the most quintessential food. To me, it is a like pizza, you can either have one very basic, or you can really take one and make it into anything you want. This is where the Mexican burger comes into play, or should I say the Cinco de Mayo burger as we are growing near to May 5th.  As for making burgers, I have been taking the cast iron approach, probably because the weather has not been all that great for grilling outdoors, and going with the smash approach. I saw this technique on television, and as the experts say you should never smash the burger as it releases all of the natural juices, well, I would have to disagree.

Mexican Cinco de Mayo Burger

I made this burger for a couple reasons. One I wanted to make this burger because it reminded me of something that would be like a torta style, and more importantly I wanted to reintroduce chorizo to my wife, and introduce the same chorizo to my kids. I think my wife had a bad experience with chorizo many years ago and since then never wanted to eat it again. I believe she cooked it, and really did not know how, and well, you get the picture. I know how to cook chorizo, and I knew exactly what I was going to do with this burger. As my wife and kids left the house for the piano practice, I quickly took out the hidden chorizo and began prepping patties, and the mise en place for the burger.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

Ingredients for pico de gallo:

First make the pico de gallo. Take everything, toss in a bowl, and set aside to let the flavors come together.

Next, make your patties. Gently mix the ground chuck with the chorizo, and form into 5 balls.

Preheat your cast iron skillet to medium heat and let that come up to heat.

Before you begin, let me tell you that this is a bit messy in terms of grease splatter, so if you have a grease shield use it, that and a good overhead fan.

Take one, or two patties if two fit, and place inside of the heated cast iron skillet. Place apart from one another as you are going to smash these with your burger spatula.

Let the burgers sit there and cook for a few minutes, then smash them down into a thin patty. Let this cook for another few minutes, or until the edges begin to crisp.

Flip, and place some of the queso quesadilla cheese on top. Cook another couple of minutes.

In the meantime, lather some of the smashed avocado onto the bottom of a bun.

Remove the patty and place onto some paper towel to let any of the fat from the chorizo drain.

Gently remove the patty after draining and place onto the bottom bun. Top with as much pico de gallo as you prefer, then top with a heaping mound of lettuce before placing the top bun.

Repeat with remaining patties. You might want to drain any fat from the skillet before repeating with the remaining patties.

Dig in. As I was snapping photos of mine, my wife was just boasting about how good it was, questioning what that flavor was. Little did she know that was the chorizo that had that amazing flavor, and little did she know what when you cook it properly, it is really awesome in flavor.

She stated this burger was probably one of her most favorite burgers she has had. She does not lie when she tells me things like that, and to me, well, that was a winning burger in my book. I should also note the boys, who have particular taste buds, devoured theirs as well.

If you are looking for a new twist on a burger, and one that is perfect for Cinco de Mayo, give this one a shot.

Print

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 5

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 lb ground chuck
  • 1/2 lb Mexican chorizo casing removed
  • 1 whole avocado mashed
  • 1/2 cup shredded lettuce per burger
  • pico de gallo to your liking
  • queso quesadilla cheese sliced
  • 5 soft hamburger buns sliced
  • paper towel
  • Ingredients for pico de gallo:
  • 2 to matoes diced
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 1 lime juiced
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro chopped
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

  • First make the pico de gallo. Take everything, toss in a bowl, and set aside to let the flavors come together.
  • Next, make your patties. Gently mix the ground chuck with the chorizo, and form into 5 balls.
  • Preheat your cast iron skillet to medium heat and let that come up to heat.
  • Before you begin, let me tell you that this is a bit messy in terms of grease splatter, so if you have a grease shield use it, that and a good overhead fan.
  • Take one, or two patties if two fit, and place inside of the heated cast iron skillet. Place apart from one another as you are going to smash these with your burger spatula.
  • Let the burgers sit there and cook for a few minutes, then smash them down into a thin patty. Let this cook for another few minutes, or until the edges begin to crisp.
  • Flip, and place some of the queso quesadilla cheese on top. Cok another couple of minutes.
  • In the meantime, lather some of the smashed avocado onto the bottom of a bun.
  • Remove the patty and place onto some paper towel to let any of the fat from the chorizo drain.
  • Gently remove the patty after draining and place onto the bottom bun. Top with as much pico de gallo as you prefer, then top with a heaping mound of lettuce before placing the top bun.
  • Repeat with remaining patties. You might want to drain any fat from the skillet before repeating with the remaining patties.
  • Dig in. As I was snapping photos of mine, my wife was just boasting about how good it was, questioning what that flavor was. Little did she know that was the chorizo that had that amazing flavor, and little did she know what when you cook it properly, it is really awesome in flavor.
  • She stated this burger was probably one of her most favorite burgers she has had. She does not lie when she tells me things like that, and to me, well, that was a winning burger in my book. I should also note the boys, who have particular taste buds, devoured theirs as well.
  • If you are looking for a new twist on a burger, and one that is perfect for Cinco de Mayo, give this one a shot.

 

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