Cheddar Burgers With Balsamic Onions and Chipotle Ketchup

Submitted by Shelby Jo

"From Bon Apetit magazine July 2008. "The all-American cheeseburger get's a makeover, courtesy of grilled onions, a spicy-smoky ketchup, and an English muffin bun.""

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 15
• Yields: 6 burgers
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• Onions

• 1 lb red onion, cut crosswise into 1/3 to 1/2 inch rounds
• olive oil
• 3⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• Chipotle Ketchup

• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons chopped chipotle chilies, from canned chipotle chilies in adobo
• 2 tablespoons adobo sauce, from can
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

• Burgers

• 2 1⁄4 lbs 80% lean ground beef (15%-20% fat)
• coarse kosher salt
• 6 slices sharp cheddar cheese (thick slices)
• 6 large English muffins or 6 large hamburger buns, split & grilled
• 6 slices tomatoes
• 2 cups fresh spinach leaves

directions

1. Onions:

2. DO AHEAD; CAN BE MADE UP TO 3 DAYS AHEAD! Prepare grill to medium high heat. Arrange onion rounds on baking sheet. Brush with oil; sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt and pepper. Transfer onion rounds to grill rack; close cover. Cook until onions are tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Toss with vinegar. Cover and chill.

3. Chipotle Ketchup:

4. DO AHEAD; CAN BE MADE UP TO 3 DAYS AHEAD!
5. Mix ketchup, chilies, adobo sauce, and 2 teaspoons vinegar in small bowl. Season with salt and more vinegar, if desired. Cover and chill.

6. Burgers:

7. Shape beef into 6 1/2 inch-thick patties. Sprinkle patties on both sides with coarse salt and pepper.
8. Prepare grill to medium high heat. Place burgers on grill. Close cover; cook burgers until bottoms start to darken and juices rise to surface, about 3 minutes. Turn burgers; cook to desired doneness, about 3 minutes longer for medium-rare. Top with onions and cheese. Close cover; cook until cheese melts.
9. Place grilled English muffin or bun bottoms on plates; spread with ketchup. Top with burgers, tomatoes, spinach, and grilled muffin tops. Serve, passing remaining ketchup separately.

Reviews

[Well-Aged Cooky]

This is very, very good. I cooked the balsamic vinegar on the onions down until it was reduced and syrupy, and added more chipotle and adobo, and didn't have tomatoes or spinach, but it was still excellent!!

 

[MarraMamba]

this was soooo good.I made it after an awful nigth of of food i hated, including one of mine lol

 

[The Spice Guru]

I made these several months ago when I read the recipe in Bon Apetit -- delicious! I haven't made them again, but now the recipe is saved in my cookbook, so it looks like I'm havin' them again really soon! Thanks for posting!

 

[breezermom]

I love a good burger, and this is a good burger. The chipotle ketchup was a great accent to the burgers. I made as posted except I added southern seasoning to the meat before grilling. I also used hamburger buns instead of English muffins. Thanks for a great burger recipe! Made for Zaar Stars Tag game.

 

[LifeIsGood]

This is a great burger recipe! The grilled balsamic onions and the special chipotle ketchup help to put this burger "over-the-top". The ketchup has just enough spice and complements the burger very nicely. I LOVE the grilled onions. I didn't add all of the balsamic to the onions (I probably added about 1 T.) because I thought the onions were delicious even before adding the balsamic. I opted for whole wheat hamburger buns. I used my grill pan indoors because it's still winter. I can't wait to grill these burgers outside! Thank you!