Sonoran Hamburgers

It’s the last day of Meat Week!

*sniff*

I miss the burgers already.

Today’s recipe is inspired by the local cuisine here.  Sonoran hotdogs are kind of a big thing here, and pretty much only here.

They even featured them on the Tucson edition of Man vs. Food!

A Sonoran hotdog is a bacon-wrapped hotdog topped with pinto beans, onions, tomatoes, mustard, jalapeno sauce, and mayonnaise.

When we first moved here, I was so excited to try these! I mean, you read that the base of it all is a bacon-wrapped hotdog, right?!

Well, it turns out that the bacon kind of gets lost in these guys. The flavors were all really good (except a little too spicy for my poor tongue!), but I was really wishing for the bacon to have a more prominent presence.

So, when I was brainstorming burger ideas for Meat Week, I decided to take the flavors that I love in the Sonoran hotdog and transform them into burger form.

And, oh-my-heavens, I’m glad I did!

I could taste every individual ingredient (except I left the jalapenos off of mine!) and they meld into a perfect harmony of flavors of the desert, bringing to mind brilliant pink and orange sunsets, howling coyotes, and warm summer monsoons.

If you know me at all, you know that I don’t talk about things I like about Tucson very often (I’m a Colorado girl!), so the fact that this burger causes me to dwell on the things I love here?

Well, it pretty much makes it a magical burger.

Just sayin’.

Continue to Content

Sonoran Hamburgers

Yield: 4

Print

Ingredients

For the burgers

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 Tbs dry enchilada sauce mix
• 2 Tbs diced onion
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

For the toppings

• 4 slices cheddar cheese
• 8 strips of bacon, cooked
• 1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• a dash of salt and pepper
• 1 small tomato, diced
• 2 Tbs diced onion
• 2 Tbs diced jalapenos
• mayo
• mustard
• 4 hamburger buns

Instructions

1. Mix together the meat, enchilada sauce mix, onion, and Worcestershire sauce.
2. Divide mixture into 4 even pieces and shape each piece into a patty.
3. Grill, covered, over high heat for 5-8 minutes per side, or until meat temperature reaches 160 degrees.
4. While burgers are cooking, heat the beans according to package instructions, seasoning with salt and pepper.
5. Place one slice of cheese on each burger, close the cover on the grill, and let the cheese melt for about a minute.
6. Remove patties from grill.
7. Place each patty on a bun, top with 2 slices of bacon, pinto beans, diced tomato, onion, jalapeno, mayo, and mustard.