El Diablo Burger

During our recent trip to Universal Studios, we were excited to find the park was home to one of Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville restaurants.  Overlooking the waterway in the heart of the park, this was a great place too cool off, grab a burger for dinner and enjoy the very "festive" atmosphere.

My husband chose the El Diablo burger which included a spicy assortment of toppings including crispy fried onions, roasted poblano peppers, Monterey jack cheese, chili paste, and spicy chipotle ketchup.  Not only did he love this burger, he wanted to recreate it at home.

So that was my assignment.  Try to duplicate this burger, that I never tasted, and get as close as possible to the original.  So the challenge was on and, according to my husband, this was a pretty good burger.

The crispy fried onions were easy, we used French's crunchy onions for that step.  The poblano peppers in our garden were just the right size, and this would be our first chance to use them this season.  We quickly charred the peppers on the grill, let them cool, then removed the blackened skin to reveal the smoky pepper inside.  Then it was easy to slice the peppers open so they would lie flat on the bun.

The chili paste stumped me a bit, but I ended up using Sriracha sauce and just blended it into the meat with a bit of salt and pepper.  The chipotle ketchup was super easy and will be something we will make for many other meals.  Start with plain ketchup, add one chipotle pepper and a spoonful of the adobo sauce the pepper is packed in, then blend for 10 seconds. It's an easy, spicy sauce that would taste great with almost anything. (If you like extra spicy sauce, add two chipotle peppers to the mixture.)

We grilled the burgers until medium-rare, then topped them off with a slice of Monterey jack cheese and the sandwiches were ready to serve.  Everyone loves the burgers, kids included!  For those not too into lots of spice, you can serve the ketchup on the side.  It makes a great dip for the sandwich or even French fries.

There is a bit of extra work involved with this burger recipe, but the results are well worth it.  The ketchup can be made and the peppers can be roasted in advance, which will save some time when you're ready to grill. This is one great burger. Enjoy!!

Chipotle Ketchup
3/4 cup  Ketchup
1  Whole Chipotle Pepper, packed in adobo sauce
1 TB  Adobo Sauce

Add the 3 ingredients to a small blender and puree a few seconds.  Refrigerate until needed.

Roasting Poblano Peppers
Rinse 1 pepper for each sandwich you will be serving.  Place the whole peppers on the grill over medium-high heat and roast 5 - 8 minutes, turning frequently to evenly char the entire pepper.  We also tried this on the side burner and it worked great, too.

 

Place the peppers in a paper bag and allow to cool for 15 minutes.  Remove the peppers from the bag and gently peel off the charred skin. (The skin will come off very easily.) Carefully slice off the top of the peppers, and remove all seeds.  Slice the peppers from top to bottom and lay flat on a plate until needed.

Burgers
2 lbs  Extra Lean Ground Beef (this will make 6 patties)
1 TB  Sriracha Sauce (or a bit more to taste)
1 tsp  Kosher Salt
1 tsp  Ground Pepper

Combine the beef with the seasonings, form the meat into patties and place on a platter. 

Other Burger Toppings
Sliced Monterey Jack Cheese
6  Deli Burger Buns
French's Fried Crispy Onions

Grill the burger over medium heat until medium-rare, then add the Monterey jack cheese during the last few minutes of cooking.

Place a spoonful of chipotle ketchup onto each bun, lay a poblano pepper on the bottom bun, then add the burger.  The top bun gets a generous sprinkle of crunchy onions and dinner is ready to serve.