Green Chile Inside Out Cheeseburger (and how to grill a burger inside!)

This green chile inside out cheeseburger is packed full of flavor and perfect for the summer. Also included in this post are tips for making homemade hamburger patties and how to cook a hamburger indoors. 

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Random fact of the day – I really am not a fan of most cheese. I can handle it on pizza or casseroles, as long as it isn’t too globby or overpowering, but most cheese I shy away from. Whenever I see ricotta in lasagna, I gag a little to myself, and it makes me sad whenever I see a delicious salad ruined by feta cheese. And don’t even get me started on string cheese, slices of cheese, or cubes of cheese. I do like shredded cheese, for the most part, though.

So, as you might guess, I’m not a huge cheeseburger person. In fact, I’m pretty sure I haven’t had a cheeseburger in a really, really long time. But the other day, I thought it might be fun to make an inside out cheeseburger — where the cheese isn’t overpowering and gooey (which is one way I do not like my cheese to be), but is more incorporated with all the flavors of the burger. After I had that idea, I decided to go with it, and also spice up the burger a little bit!

However, we are back in Utah, where we no longer have access to my parent’s wonderful, outdoor grill. As such, I had to make these burgers inside. And while I will say that making burgers on a grill outside is usually ideal, I thought I’d share a few tips for grilling a hamburger inside, before I get to the recipe for the green chile inside out cheeseburger!

Tips for Cooking a Hamburger Indoors

First, you need the proper equipment. I would, at the very least, use a cast iron skillet, but for the best results, use an indoor grill pan. It’s also made of cast iron skillet, but it’s designed in a way to mimic an outdoor grill. We’ve found that making steak, hamburgers, grilled veggies, etc. is much more easily achieved when being done on a grill pan.

Second, you must use a very high temperature. Otherwise, it will either take forever to cook, or the inside will be pink and the outside burnt, or you’ll have to throw it in the oven under broil for a few minutes after you’ve done the cooking on the stove. It’s kind of a little scary, at first, when cooking something at such a high temperature for a long period of time, but by doing this, you really get that grilled flavor into your food. If you don’t see smoke coming from the pan (similar to what you’d see on a grill outdoors), I don’t think it’s high enough.

Third, use a little bit of olive oil to prime the pan. While ours is non-stick, I’ve found that sometimes little remnants of food stick and are hard to get off, especially when you are cooking at a high temperature. By using a little bit of olive oil, it not only gives a nice flavor to the food, but it helps things from sticking even more.

Fourth, please, use good quality ground beef. Find the kind with the lowest amount of fat (I believe it’s 93/7). That way, you aren’t having tons of excess grease flowing all over your pan. And while I typically use ground turkey instead of ground beef most of the time, with burgers, I tend to go for the ground beef. As I learned from Master Chef, it’s pretty hard to make a turkey burger not dry.

Fifth, I made the mistake of cooking too many hamburgers on the grill pan at the same time. Don’t do this! It makes it really hard to flip.

and Finally, use a metal spatula that’s meant for grilling! Oh,

And now, for the burger. Oh…this burger. So yummy! It’s spicy, it’s juicy, and has just the perfect amount of cheese. It’s filled with spicy BBQ sauce, diced green chiles, Kraft Mexican Blend Cheese, and I topped it with Kraft Peppercorn Ranch Dressing. This is definitely a cheeseburger, for a person who doesn’t normally like cheeseburgers (and I’m sure someone who does love cheeseburgers will enjoy it, as well!)

 

Oh, and did I mention that I basted them with the BBQ sauce as well? Because I did…and it was fantastic!

 

And if you are like me, and are used to just using frozen hamburgers instead of making your own patties, here are a few tips I’ve gathered on how to make a great hamburger patty (summarized from this site):

• Keep the meat as cold as possible (well, as cold as possible without it being frozen, of course!)
• The more fat content is in the hamburger, the more the burger will shrink. So, if you are using meat with the higher fat content, you’ll want to make the burger larger, as it will shrink considerably. For instance, if it’s 85/15, you’ll want to make the patty slightly larger than your bun, but if you are like 93/7, making your patty the size of the bun you are using would probably work just fine.
• Handle the meat as little as possible
• When forming the patty, press down in the middle and in from the outside until the patty is uniform.
• You want the inside of the patty to be thinner than the outside edges to prevent it from cracking
• If you won’t be using them right away, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator.

And now that I’ve dragged this on as long as possible, here is the recipe for this burger. I had great intentions to put lettuce, tomatoes, and onions on it (because let’s be really, it looks a little sad without those essential burger items)…but I made the mistake of assuming we had some at home. Which we didn’t! However, you can be a better person than me and remember those items to make this burger even better.

Not craving a hamburger? Be sure to check out this post on cooking the perfect pork chop indoors

#SayCheeseburger #CollectiveBias