Chorizo Burgers with Quesadilla Cheese and Crema Chili Sauce
“Father’s Day” and “grilling” go pretty much hand in hand in my house. This year, we’ll be celebrating my husband’s 22nd year as a father and since it’s his day, he gets to choose what’s on the menu!
This year it’s going to be these Chorizo Sliders with Crema Chili Sauce – and if you knew my husband, this would probably surprise you. Although he’s an adventuresome eater, when it comes to burgers he doesn’t stray too far from the classics – a good bun, a patty that’s not too big or too little, lettuce, tomato, cheese and…thousand island dressing. So, when I decided to play with Cacique’s Beef Chorizo, Queso Quesadilla Cheese and their Ranchero® Crema Con Sal I wondered how that “experiment” would play out. Given my husband’s reaction, I would count it a success!
He loved the addition of the chorizo to the meat patty since it provided just the right amount of spice and enough fat to make the burger patties really juicy. As for cheese, to be honest, I’ve never been a fan of American or Cheddar on a burger. American is too thin and watery to my taste and cheddar is too strong. But Cacique’s Queso Quesadilla cheese? Now that was “just right”. Designed for quesadilla’s this cheese has wonderful melting qualities with just enough cheese flavor to really compliment the meat – and is my new, favorite burger cheese! For the finishing touch, I combined Cacique’s Ranchero® Crema Con Sal with my favorite hot sauce for a creamier and spicier version of Thousand Island – and I think this will now be my husband’s standard!
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WHAT YOU NEED
- 1 lb. lean ground beef (90% fat free)
- 1 – 9 oz. package Cacique® Beef Chorizo
- 1 – 10 oz. package Cacique® Queso Quesadilla Cheese, sliced into 1/8 inch thick slices
- 1 small head romaine lettuce, washed and leaves separated
- 2 roma tomatoes, sliced
- 6 small slider buns, split in half
- 1 cup of your favorite hot sauce
- 1 cup Cacique® Ranchero® Crema Con Sal
HOW TO MAKE IT
- In a medium sized bowl, add the ground meat and crumble the chorizo over. Using your hands, mix the meat and chorizo together until thoroughly combined.
- Divide meat mixture into 6 portions. Roll each portion into a ball and flatten into a 3 1/2 inch diameter patty and place on a platter.
- In a small bowl, combine the hot sauce and Ranchero® Crema Con Sal. Set aside.
- Pre heat a grill to 400 degrees (medium high heat). Add the meat patties and grill for 6 minutes. Turn the patties over and grill for another 4 minutes. Add a slice of Queso Quesadilla cheese to each patty. Close the lid of the grill for 2 minutes to melt the cheese. Continue cooking the patties until they are cooked through and have reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees – about another 2 - 3 minutes. Remove patties to a clean serving platter.
- For the sliders, spoon 1 tablespoon of the chili crema on the bottom of each slider bun. Top with a piece of romaine lettuce, the meat and cheese patty, 2 slices of tomato. Top tomatoes with another tablespoon of the chili crema if desired. Place the slider bun top on and serve!!
