Guacapotle Burger With Anaheim Chili Cheese Sauce

Ingredients

Burger Patties
2 ¼ lbs ground chuck (20% fat)
¼ cup Sutter Home White Cabernet Sauvignon wine
2 tablespoons Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1½ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon Spanish smoked paprika

Guacapotle
1 large size Haas avocado
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh squeezed limejuice
¼ cup sour cream
1½ ounces Sweet "Baby Ray’s Chipotle Honey Barbeque Sauce"
1½ tablespoon chopped cilantro
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Anaheim chili cheese sauce
1/8 teaspoon toasted crushed cumin seeds (toasting first then once cooled you can crush them in a small mortar and pestle)
12 slices hickory smoked bacon, chopped to make "bacon bits"
4 Anaheim chilies (cut stems off, then cut in half from stem to the tip, once cleansed of seeds and veins, cut chilies into very thin slices, crosswise)
½ medium size white onion (peeled & sliced very thin)
(In there raw state, you should end up with slightly more Anaheim chili than onion)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese.

2 tablespoons canola oil, for brushing on the grill rack
6 "Potato buns"
6-8 leaves of red leaf lettuce cut "julienne" style (enough to top the burgers)

Instructions

Directions
Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill with a cover…gas grills should be preheated to medium high heat.

To prepare the burgers: in a large bowl, gentle but thoroughly, mix the beef, Sutter Home White Cabernet Sauvignon wine, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, kosher salt, pepper, and Spanish smoked paprika. Shape the mixture into 6 patties to fit the buns. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in refrigerator.

To prepare the Guacapotle: peel and pit the ripe Haas avocado. In a medium size flat bottom bowl add the Haas avocado, fresh limejuice and mash until smooth and creamy (this can easily be accomplished with a potato masher), add the sour cream, Sweet Baby Ray’s Chipotle Honey Barbeque Sauce, chopped cilantro, and kosher salt. Mix until well blended. You’ll want to cover this dish tightly with plastic wrap immediately upon completion.

To prepare the chili, cheese sauce: place a grill proof pan/skillet on the hot grill rack. Once the pan is hot, add the cumin seeds. Upon adding the seeds you will want to stir them constantly for about one minute or so. The heat will toast the seeds and bring out the aromatic flavor. Remove and set aside. Add the chopped bacon, cook until crispy (about 20 minutes), then transfer to paper towels to drain, and wrap in foil and set aside. The bacon will be added when assembling the burgers. Remove all bacon fat except for about 2-3 tablespoons. Add the thinly sliced chilies and onions into the pan with the rendered bacon fat…. sauté until soft, tender and caramelized (about 20 minutes). Once caramelized, add the one-eighth teaspoon crushed cumin seeds and grated cheese, allowing the cheese to melt and flavors to meld. Cover, remove from grill and place on a trivet.

Cooking the burgers: brush the grill rack with canola oil. Place the burger patties on the rack, cover and cook, turning once, until done to preference, about 4-6 minutes on each side for medium. Place the buns, cut side down, on the outer edges of the rack to toast lightly during the last 2 minutes of grilling. Remove the patties and buns.

To assemble the burgers, spread each side of the buns with the Guacapotle sauce, then add the burger patty to the bottom bun and on the burger patty add a nice size dollop of the chili cheese sauce, top with the crispy bacon bits and the red leaf cut lettuce, "Julianne" style.

Makes 6 burgers.