Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper Burgers

The basic idea behind these burgers was to include all of the flavours of jalapeno poppers and serve them up in burger form. Jalapeno poppers are jalapenos that are stuffed with cream cheese and/or cheddar that are coated in bread crumbs and fried until crispy and golden brown. Stuffing the burgers with cream cheese seemed like the natural place to start but that left the question about how to incorporate the jalapenos. I was thinking about mixing them right into the cream cheese but raw jalapenos are crispier than I wanted so I decided to roast or grill them first to tenderize them and add a nice smokiness.

Another common alternative for jalapeno poppers is to wrap them in bacon instead of using the bread crumbs and I could not resist going with that version for these jalapeno popper burgers! When I make or order a burger I almost always go with a slice of cheddar cheese so I added some to these burgers just before taking them off of the grill. At this point my bacon wrapped jalapeno popper burgers were just about done but since I like things on the spicier side I threw a few more roasted jalapeno peppers into the burger along with the lettuce and tomato. The one final touch to these burgers was the mayonnaise and although regular mayonnaise would be perfectly fine, I took the opportunity to add flavour and even more jalapenos by using a roasted jalapeno mayonnaise that is both creamy and spicy.

Who says you can’t have jalapeno poppers for dinner?

These burgers have all of the flavours of jalapeno poppers with their jalapeno and cream cheese filling and their bacon wrapping and coat of melted cheddar cheese.

Servings: makes 4 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

    6 jalapeno peppers
    4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
    1 1/2 pound ground beef
    salt and pepper to taste
    8 strips bacon
    4 slices cheddar cheese
    4 hamburger buns
    4 leaves lettuce
    4 slices tomato
    4 tablespoons mayonnaise or roasted jalapeno mayonnaise

Directions

    Grill the jalapenos over medium-high heat until charred all over, about 6-8 minutes.
    Place the peppers in a zip-lock bag or other sealable container, seal and let them cool until you can handle them, about 20 minutes.
    Pinch the skins off of the peppers, cut in half and remove the seeds.
    Dice 2 of the jalapeno peppers and mix into the cream cheese.
    Divide the beef into 8 equal portions, form into patties, place 1/4 of the cream cheese mixture on 4 of them, top with the free patties, pinch the sides closed to seal and form into patties again.
    Season the patties with salt and pepper to taste and wrap each with 2 strips of bacon.
    Brush the grill with oil and grill the burgers over medium-high heat until cooked, about 4-5 minutes per side, topping each patty with a slice of cheese after flipping.   

Assemble the burgers and enjoy!

Tips: You could save some time and make things easier by use pickled jalapenos instead of roasting fresh ones.