Celebrate the end of summer with this yummy grilled burger and a salsa to use up those garden tomatoes!

The (Semi Famous) H#?? Burger

by Ryan Spelts

Warning: this is a hot one. Our 9 year old can handle it though.

We can’t take full credit for this idea. We watched an episode of Man vs. Food and they were visiting a restaurant that served up these delightful little burgers. We almost wanted to take a drive to Amarillo TX just to taste them. We then decided to try and make our own to save the 15.5-hour drive. Our first couple of goes-at-it were fun and tasty, but we have now mastered the approach and these have become very popular. Our friends and family talk about them for weeks after we make them a round of H#?? Burgers. They really love them. By the way, they are just as good without the jalapenos for your not-so-daring friends.

2 lbs. quality ground beef

1 medium or large diced onion

season to taste (salt, pepper, Lawry’s Steak Seasoning,)

1 egg per 2 pounds of meat

lettuce

tomato

shredded cheddar cheese

Jalapeños according to taste

Hot Sauce of your choice

Thaw ground beef, if frozen, and mix in onion, egg and salt and pepper. Also, add in Lawry’s Season Salt. Mix with hands and make into patties, ours are usually about 1/3 pound patties.

Preheat the electric griddle to 400 degrees cook the burger on one side for 3 to 4 minutes uncovered to sear it. I like sprinkling a coat of Lawry’s seasoning and some cayenne pepper on the burger as it first starts cooking. Then flip it over and place under a metal bowl(picture below). Bowls trap all the flavor and heat so the burgers cook all the way through and infuse the flavors of the peppers and the cheese throughout out the meat. I estimate that we cook for about 5 – 8 minutes then flip it over and do another 5 minutes on the first side.

Once you place the bowl on the burger, put the jalapenos (sliced to make little circles) on the griddle. Brown (slightly). When you flip the burger, place the Jalapenos on top of the patty. Keep under the bowl until fully cooked. When almost done put a handful of shredded cheese on top of the burger covering the Jalapenos. Cover again for 30 to 60 seconds to melt the cheese. Then serve it up with your choice of toppings and condiments. Our favorite is on my homemade wheat buns with just ketchup and mustard although on the show they put lettuce and tomato on as well.

El Matador Salsa (Copy-cat)

by Marjean Jolly

Great for canning! 

14 qt. tomatoes

13 lg. garlic buttons

6 c. chopped onions

4 c. chopped green pepper

3 Tbsp. leaf oregano

3 Tbsp. cumin

8 Tbsp. oil

9 Tbsp. vinegar

5 Tbsp. salt

1 Tbsp. pepper

2 Tbsp. MSG

1 27 oz. Ortega chopped green chilis (Harmons)

17 jalapenos (with seeds) chopped

7 yellow peppers without seeds

Bring to a boil.  Simmer for 9 hours. Bottle. Process 30 minutes. Makes 25-28 pints.