Hatch Chili Bison Burgers

Burgers--one of those things that you could either pay two bucks or twenty bucks for, and be perfectly happy in either scenario.  But if you could make them at home, even better.

Our last attempt at homemade burgers was inspired by hatch chili season and supermarket ads. While it's no secret that I obsess over the Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer, Wes likes to stealthily browse Bristol Farms ads.  I can barely contain myself when I see something that I like in the Fearless Flyer (like that pumpkin bark that just came out? mine).  Wes almost never mentions anything as he silently folds up his fancy Bristol ads and sticks them into the trash.  Then, one day in early September, he texts me that he wanted to swing by Bristol Farms for some on-sale organic grass-fed hormone-free sustainably-farmed bison meat.  Okay, I was intrigued.

At the time, we had just bought some bright green hatch chilies, as they were in season.  Wes grilled them up a few days prior and we had them in the fridge for things like guacamole and Mabo tofu - yeah, anything that needed a kick got the hatch chili treatment.  So, when we decided that we wanted to make bison burgers, chopped hatch chilies went right in.

Thank goodness the burgers were good, because we were grilling and eating them during USC's first game of the season.  Like the copious amounts of sides that I had made, we just couldn't get through it.  The game was horrible.  So bad that we had to walk to AU79 to get some redemption tea.

Now, let's get right into the meat of it. (haha)

For about a pound of ground bison, we put an egg to help it bind, about two tablespoons of chopped roasted hatch chili, salt and pepper.  No bread crumbs or other seasonings necessary.

Ready for the grill.  Wes sous vide-ed the lamb burger patties that we made last time prior to cooking them, but for these we just grilled them shortly after forming them.  I guess either way works.  You get a softer, almost mushier texture if you sous vide it first.

Wes got some havarti cheese for himself.  Almost forgot to pull it out of the fridge, since he was so engrossed in all the grilling.

Summery salad of corn (cut off the cob), red bell peppers, red onion, arugula, and homemade lime vinaigrette.

The patties were sooo juicy and the perfect thickness, with just a hint of that hatch chili spice.

With fig jam (one of those Flyer-induced impulse buys at Trader Joe's), grilled poppyseed Kaiser rolls, roasted corn and arugula salad, grilled asparagus, and curried cauliflower, our dinner spread that day was the bomb.  I don't think we need to go out for burgers anymore, but when I said that to Wes, he swore that we were never making burgers at home again.