In New Mexico, the state vegetable is the chile pepper, where they're layered atop beef for an iconic dish: the Green Chile Cheeseburger. Sometimes topping the Scoville chart, and sometimes mildly spicy, these burgers are defined by a relish of mixed chiles and a handsome dose of melted cheese. Bobby's recipe has poblano, Hatch and serrano chiles with honey and red wine vinegar to balance. Pickled red onions add tang, and a Monterey Jack-Parmesan queso sauce brings it home with creamy rich flavor.
Ingredients
Queso Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 12 ounces Chihuahua or Monterey jack cheese, coarsely grated
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Green Chile Relish:
- 1 medium poblano chile, roasted, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
- 2 Hatch chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 serrano chile, roasted, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pickled Red Onions:
- 1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 medium red onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
Burgers:
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted
- 12 blue or yellow corn tortilla chips, coarsely crushed
Directions
For 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; add the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Keep warm.
For the relish:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
For the pickled red onions:
Bring vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Put the onions in a medium bowl, pour the vinegar over, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 48 hours before serving.
For the burgers:
Heat a griddle or large saute pan over high heat. Add the oil and let it heat until it begins to shimmer.
Shape the ground beef with your hands into 4 round patties about 1 1/2 inches thick and season each burger on both sides with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook the burgers until golden brown on both sides and cooked to medium, about 8 minutes.
Put the burgers on the buns and top each with a few tablespoons of the queso sauce, relish, onions and chips.
1 Video | Photo: Throwdown's Green Chile Cheeseburgers Recipe

















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By ElleFirebrand
Lincoln, NE
on May 23, 2013
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This was good, but I would skip the queso sauce (like in the video and just use a slice of pepperjack cheese. I made my relish with poblano, anaheim and serrano chilies. I also didn't let my onions pickle long enough. Next time I make this recipe, I will follow it exactly. That said, these burgers were delicious and my husband loved them!
By rclemente
on December 29, 2012
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Outstanding burger!!!
By SmokyMountains
Knoxville, TN
on October 07, 2012
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Great flavor combination. EZ to put together.The 3 condiments are make ahead (I keep the cheese sauce in my little crockpot or reheat on very low. Adaptable to what's in the frig. One of the few "fancy" burgers my husband likes. That's 5 out of 5! It does make more cheese sauce than necessary, but we suffer through that by eating it on nachos the next day.
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