Cheeseburger with melted cheese, tomato and grilled padrón peppers and jalapeños on a green-rimmed plate

Beef

Hot Cheese Burger with Padrón, Bell Pepper and Jalapeño

A thick beef burger with melted pepper jack, blistered padrón peppers, sweet bell pepper and charred jalapeños. Smoky, spicy and messy in the best way.

Serves
4
Temperature
250°C
Time
40 mins

Ingredients

The burgers
600 g beef mince, minimum 20% fat
4 slices pepper jack cheese
Salt and black pepper
4 sesame seed buns
Butter, for toasting

Grilled peppers
16 padrón peppers
2 jalapeños
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 onion, cut into rings
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt

Hot mayo
4 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp hot sauce

To build
1 little gem lettuce
1 large tomato, sliced

Char the peppers. Heat The Bastard to 250°C for direct grilling. Toss the padrón peppers, jalapeños, bell pepper strips and onion rings with a little oil and salt. Grill in a basket or on a perforated tray for 5–8 minutes, turning, until blistered and soft. Set aside.

Make the hot mayo. Stir the hot sauce into the mayonnaise and set aside.

Shape the patties. Divide the mince into 4 balls of 150 g and press into patties slightly wider than the buns, with a small dimple in the centre. Season generously with salt and pepper just before grilling.

Grill. Place the patties directly over the heat. Cook for 3 minutes without moving, flip, and cook for another 2 minutes. Top each patty with 1 slice of pepper jack, close the lid and cook for 1 more minute until the cheese is melted and dripping.

Toast the buns. Butter the cut sides of the buns and toast them on the grate for 1 minute until golden.

Build. Spread hot mayo on both buns. Layer the lettuce, tomato, a pile of the grilled peppers and onion, then the cheese-topped patty. Close and serve straight away.

Bastard tip: leave the seeds in the jalapeños for extra heat. For a milder burger, remove them before grilling.