Baja Burger

Ingredients:

Patties
• 2 pounds ground chuck
• 1-7 ounce can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 1 cup diced red onion
• 1 teaspoons salt

Avocado and Tomato Salsa
• 2 ripe avocados, preferably Hass, peeled, pitted and diced
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes, preferably vine ripe
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chopped jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 lime

Cheese
• 6 slices (approximately 3/4 pound) pepper jack cheese

Buns
• 6 onion rolls, split

Instructions:

Preheat gas grill to medium-high.

To make the patties, place the ground beef in a large bowl. Pat the chipotle peppers to remove most of the excess adobo sauce. Roughly chop the chipotle peppers. Add chipotle peppers, diced red onion, and salt to the ground beef. Mix to combine all ingredients, handling as little as possible. Form into 6 patties to fit the bun size. Cover and set aside.

To make the salsa, in a medium bowl, mix together the avocado, tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, and salt until well combined. Juice the lime over the avocado mixture, incorporate the lime juice, and slightly mash the mixture with a fork until slightly creamy, but still fairly chunky. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

When the grill is ready, place the patties on the grill rack, cover, and cook, turning once, until done to preference, 3-5 minutes on each side for medium rare. Place the cheese slices on the patties during the last 1-2 minutes of grilling. Place the buns, cut side down, on the outer edges of the grill rack, to toast lightly, during the last 1-2 minutes of grilling.

To assemble the burgers, place a patty on each bun bottom. Place equal portions of the salsa on the bun tops. Add bun tops and serve.