Serious Heat: How to Spice Up a Burger Recipe

Updated April 22, 2019

jalapeno pimento cheeseburger — Bill Milne

Andrea Lynn, former associate editor of Chile Pepper Magazine, wrote our Serious Heat articles.

One of my favorite ways to zest up a burger is by making a spicy version of the Southern standby, pimento cheese. I use a spicy cheese for the base and add jalapeños. Whether you stuff it inside the burger, or melt it on top, it's a mouth-watering sensation, especially when combined with the crunch of peppery arugula and the deliciousness of bacon.

How do you like to add a little fire to a burger? Here are a few favorite techniques:

The meat: Add pure chile powder, hot sauce, or finely minced fresh chiles to the mix. Replace a little or a lot of the burger meat with ground chorizo, or mix in Cajun spice or horseradish.

The bun: Try a red-pepper-flake-topped focaccia, a poblano-studded biscuit, or cayenne-sprinkled Texas toast.

The cheese: Spicy cheeses abound, from pepper Jack to chipotle cheddar. And don't forget melty chile con queso, another great topper.

The veggies: Add shaved jalapeños or habaneros to a slaw, choose a fiery relish or pile on the pickled peppers.

The sauce: Sriracha hot sauce plus mayo is our fave, followed closely by burgers glazed with spicy barbecue sauce. But let your imagination run wild! We've even heard of people smearing pepper jelly on top of their burgers.

Topper: Spicy chili, sour cream mixed with chipotles, salsa or guacamole all work well.

And now, a recipe for you.

Jalapeño-Pimento Cheeseburger

serves 4
Zest factor: Medium

The pimento pepper is a red pepper with a sweeter flesh than the red bell pepper. I used roasted red peppers for the recipes, but use whichever you prefer. There will be leftover pimento cheese, but who's complaining? Spread it onto bread the next day for lunch.

Recipe Details

Serious Heat: How to Spice Up a Burger Recipe

Prep 15 mins

Cook 10 mins

Total 25 mins

Serves 4 burgers

Ingredients

2 cups shredded Pepper Jack cheese
1/4 cup roasted red peppers or pimentos, finely chopped
3 scallions, white parts, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika, divided
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 cup mayonnaise
4 jalapeños, divided
1 1/3 pounds ground chuck
1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
2 tablespoons grated onion
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 potato rolls, toasted
8 slices cooked bacon
Arugula

Directions

In a bowl, combine cheese, red peppers, scallions, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, pepper and mayo. Finely chop 2 jalapeños, and add to cheese mixture. Using a fork, mash to combine mixture into a chunky paste. Add more mayo, if needed.
Prepare grill to medium high heat, or preheat broiler. In a bowl, add remaining paprika, beef, granulated garlic, onion, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Gently combine without over-mixing the meat, and form into 4 patties. Cook on grill or in broiler until desired doneness, about 4 minutes on each side for medium-rare. About 1 minute before the burger is done, top with a generous amount of jalapeño-pimento cheese, and cook until melted, about 1 minute.
Slice remaining 2 jalapeños. Place cheeseburgers on potato rolls, and top with jalapeño slices, bacon and arugula.

Burgers

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
845	Calories
57g	Fat
24g	Carbs
57g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories	845
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 57g	74%
Saturated Fat 24g	118%
Cholesterol 183mg	61%
Sodium 1468mg	64%
Total Carbohydrate 24g	9%
Dietary Fiber 3g	11%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 57g
Vitamin C 26mg	132%
Calcium 550mg	42%
Iron 6mg	31%
Potassium 1060mg	23%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.