This super spicy burger packs a punch with a trio of peppers – jalapeno, habanero, and ghost – that’ll be worth the journey if you’re brave enough!
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I love spicy food. Nicole likes it too, but I love it. Anytime I see something with hot peppers, be it habanero, ghost, or Carolina Reaper I just have to try it. And that especially rings true when it comes to burgers; anytime a restaurant has a spicy burger I know what I’m ordering.
So after watching some fireworks over the San Diego Bay, we determined that July was the perfect month for a super spicy burger.
And we did just that.
The Firecracker Burger brings the heat using 3 different peppers: jalapeno, habanero, and ghost. Although we didn’t find a way to incorporate the Carolina Reaper (maybe next time), this burger still packed a punch. First we floured and fried jalapeno disks to make homemade bottle caps, then we melted a habanero jack cheese over our Classic Burger Patty, and finished it off with a drizzle of ghost pepper hot sauce. With a toasty English muffin bun to ensure we had nothing to cool our mouths down, our burger was complete.
Or almost. To make this burger really live up to its name, it needed just one finishing touch: a cheddar-stuffed jalapeno pepper skewered through the top.
As much as a good burger relies on the perfect ingredients, the right kitchen tools are just as important. Here are some of our favorite kitchen tools to help us make consistent, high-quality burgers even in our small apartment:
- Cuisinart Stuffed Burger Press – Properly shaping and sizing our burgers ensures that we can cook them perfectly each and every time. Varied shaped and sized patties are just asking for over or under cooked burgers.
- Lodge Cast Iron Grill Pan – This pan allows us to cook the burgers at high heat, keeping them nice and juicy while also providing the charred taste and look every homemade burger needs.
- Dexter-Russell All-Purpose Turner – The right spatula not only protects our trusty cast iron pan, but also makes handling the burgers far easier. This spatula is one of my favorite cooking tools we own.
As always, no Burger of the Month is complete without a side of fries and our local beer. To allow ourselves just a little reprieve from the heat, we chose the light, crisp, and refreshing Modern Times Brain Vacation.
Overall we were very happy with how this burger turned out, and while it was almost too much for Nicole to finish, I wished there was just a little more kick to it. We’ll definitely grab that Carolina Reaper next time!
So if you like spice like us, we hope you’ll grab your local beer and light up your grill to enjoy this Firecracker.
The Firecracker
Equipment
- Burger press optional
- Cast iron grill pan optional
- Metal skewers
Ingredients
The Patties
The Buns
- 2 English muffins
The Toppings
- 2 slices habanero jack cheese
- Ghost pepper hot sauce
- Jalapeno Bottle Caps (see ingredients below)
- Cheddar-Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers (see ingredients below)
Jalapeno Bottle Caps
- 1 medium jalapeno pepper
- 1 egg
- ½ tbsp milk
- ¼ cup flour
- Vegetable oil
Cheddar-Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers
- 2 small jalapeno peppers
- 2 oz sharp white cheddar cheese
Instructions
How To Make The Firecracker
- Begin by preparing the Classic Burger Patties, Jalapeno Bottle Caps, and Cheddar-Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers (see directions below).
- Grill the patties according to your preferred method, until desired doneness.* During the last 2-3 minutes of cooking, top them each with a slice of habanero jack cheese.
- While the burgers are cooking, slice English muffins in half and toast until lightly golden.
- Transfer patties to toasted English muffins, top with Jalapeno Bottle Caps and drizzle with as much ghost pepper hot sauce as you can handle!
- Skewer one Cheddar-Stuffed Jalapeno Pepper through the top of each burger and serve with your favorite side, a cold beer, and enjoy!
Jalapeno Bottle Caps
- Slice jalapeno into 1/8″-thick disks and remove seeds if desired.
- In a small bowl, whisk together egg and milk to create an egg wash and set aside. Set aside flour in a separate small bowl.
- Preheat about 1/4" of vegetable oil in a skillet over high heat.
- Dip jalapeno disks in egg wash and coat evenly. Let excess egg wash drip off disks before transferring to flour.
- Toss jalapeno disks in flour until evenly coated.
- Carefully place coated jalapeno disks in the skillet and fry until golden brown, flipping as necessary, approximately 1-2 minutes.
- Transfer Jalapeno Bottle Caps to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
Cheddar-Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Slice the tops off the jalapeno peppers, then carefully core to remove seeds.*
- Slice sharp white cheddar into thin strips, small enough to fit inside the peppers.
- Stuff peppers with cheddar cheese and transfer to a baking dish.*
- Bake peppers for 7-8 minutes, until cheese is melted.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.
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