The Texas Triplet
I feel blessed to live in a place where spicy food and robust flavors are everywhere. I adore jalapeños, corn, buttermilk, and the many other southern delicacies that shine in this burger. My triplet brother was visiting as I had just made my jalapeño jam. He was eating it by the spoonfuls. I had to take it away from him so I could actually assemble a burger to sample. When I was in high school my mom let me cook recipes from a cookbook that was very Southern. My triplet brothers would beg her to let me cook again. This is what makes cooks passionate about food, people who love to eat it. I love this burger, I love Southern foods and feel sorry for people who don’t.
Ingredients:
Patties
2 pounds ground chuck
6 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 roasted jalapeños charred skin and seeds removed, chop finely
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Jalapeño Jam
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped (I used Texas 1015 super sweet)
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 medium tomatoes peeled and diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 cup sweet and hot pickled jalapeno peppers, (I used Trappe’s)
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 ears fresh corn cleaned
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Buttermilk Queso
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon flour
½ cup buttermilk
8 ounces grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
Texas Toast
6 tablespoons butter at room temperature
1 clove garlic chopped
6 split sesame seed buns
Red onion 6 slices cut very thin
Instructions:
To prepare the Jalapeño Jam, first heat the grill to 350. Roast ears of corn until just charred on all sides. At the same time char the jalapeños on all sides. Remove, cover and set them aside to cool. After corn is cool remove from the cob. In a medium size non-stick fire-proof skillet, add the olive oil and cook the chopped onions and garlic until slightly soft, about 5 minutes. Add the corn and the remaining ingredients and cook until it begins to concentrate and thicken about 12 minutes. Set this aside and cover. It will thicken more as it cools.
Assemble the patties by combining ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, chopped jalapeños salt, pepper to the ground chuck. Make patties cover and set aside.
Buttermilk Queso
To prepare the Buttermilk Queso add 1 tablespoon butter to a medium non-stick fire-proof sauce pan. When it has melted add 1 tablespoon flour and whisk until they are smooth. Next add buttermilk and cheese until it has melted and is smooth. Cover to keep warm until burger is assembled.
Texas Toast
To prepare the Texas Toast combine garlic with room temperature butter in a small bowl. Slather a small amount to just coat the sides of each bun. Place on the grill until slightly toasty just before assembling the burgers.
When the grill is ready, brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover, and cook, turning once until done to preference, 5 to 7 minutes on each side for medium. Assemble jalapeño jam on bottom bun, then the buttermilk Queso, next the burger and last the thinly sliced red onions.
Serves 6