Roasted Green Chile Pepper Burger

Roasted green chile peppers add color and a light spicy heat to the typical backyard barbecued burger. Much milder than jalepeno or serrano, these Anaheim, Pastilla or Poblano green chile peppers can be added whole to your favorite grilled burger recipe. Roasting green chiles brings out a level of sweetness that complements their mild heat.

A couple of times during this summer, our local grocery chains have had beef ground meat on sale in 5 lb. tubes for 99 cents per pound, when using their "savings card." The Chef jumped at the opportunity to grill beef burgers, instead of his typical poultry burgers of ground turkey and chicken. The Chef's Roasted Green Chile Burger is a tasty change of pace to typical summer grilled fare and it packs a spicy punch.

The 99 Cent Chef likes all kinds of chiles and they are in his price bracket! I find them on sale at my local Latin market, and frequently at 99c only Stores. You can buy a package or just a couple chiles for a single serving. Once they are roasted you can add into omelets, salsa, or your favorite Mexican dishes.

Ingredients

• Hamburger patties - fried or grilled
• 1 or 2 green chiles per burger - I used Anaheim, but Pastilla or Poblano are just as good. Sizes vary, but 4-inch chiles are average.
• Season your burger as you like it.
• Hamburger buns
• Toppings include: lettuce, tomato, onion and cheese.

Directions for Roasting Green Chiles
Blacken chiles on a gas stove top or an outdoor grill (for an electric stove heat chiles in a pan to char skin). Toast and blacken skin of chiles directly on the metal gas grates, over a high to medium flame. Tongs work best for turning chiles. You need to watch closely and turn frequently to char all sides. Make sure to open the windows as it will get a little smokey in the kitchen and you don't want the smoke alarm to go off !

Put chiles in a bowl and cover as you cook them in batches. When all chiles are charred, cover the bowl with a plate, and let them sit for about 10 minutes. The dissipating heat will steam-loosen the skins for easy removal.
After about 10 minutes, uncover and fill bowl with water. The skins should slide off as you rinse them off. You may need to give each chile pepper a final rinse under running water to get the blackened bits off. Don't worry about removing all the green and blackened skin - it's extra flavor! On your cutting board, slice off each chile stem and split them down the middle, lengthwise, and remove seeds and any stringy membrane from inside each chile.

They are now ready to add to your grilling hamburger! I add them when one side of the burger is done, and top with cheese at the last minute. You can add the roasted chiles whole, in strips or chopped. Any leftover cooked and chopped chiles spice up your favorite salsa, beans, tacos or burritos. Put some in a blender for a smoky green salsa. How about a spicy chile/cheese omelet or egg scramble the next morning?