Cast Iron Seared Southwest Hatch Chile Cheeseburgers!

Southwest Hatch Chile Cheeseburgers, where spices layer to deliver amazing flavors. Yes, this burger is spicy but if done right layering the spices and flavors delivers a very enjoyable burger without overpowering your tastebuds.

Featured in this post –

• Layering Spice Flavors!
• Chipotle Aioli a Smokey Spice
• Spice Level to Your Liking
• Southwest Hatch Chile Cheeseburgers Recipe

Layering Spice Flavors!

Let’s take a closer look at what is giving the cheeseburger it’s spice layers. Let’s start with the Ancho Chile Spice Rub. The spice rub ingredients are Salt, Black Pepper, Ancho Chile Powder, Granulated Garlic, Granulated Onion and Cumin. Not much as far as blazing heat here!

Overall the spice level of this rub is relatively mild but there are some key flavors at play. Ancho Chile brings in some spice but also smokiness which pairs with the seared burger on the cast iron as well as the chipotle in the aioli.

Chipotle Aioli a Smokey Spice

Chipotle Aioli has been on the menus of restaurants for some time. Searching for the origin of where and when the pairing of aioli and chipotle peppers came together leads to dead ends. To give credit to where this delicious pairing came from will have to wait.

The word chipòtle comes from the Nahuatl word chīlpoctli, which means “smoked chili.” Drying chiles in Central and South America goes back for centuries. Not only as a way to preserve them but to bring out flavors unique to each chile. The flavor profiles of each type of chile changes when dried.

Chipotles in Adobo

Canned chipotle peppers are packed with an adobo sauce or tomato based sauce. Adobo sauce is made from dried and ground chiles, spices such as cumin, cinnamon, and Mexican oregano. Vinegar is added to aspect to the ingredients as well, depending on the recipe it can be distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.

Culinary Seasons Chipotle Aioli Recipe

If you are wanting to make a chipotle aioli but do not want extreme heat of the chiles, try using just the adobo sauce in the can. It will still have heat to it but you will be missing the chile flesh, seeds and membrane where the punch of the spice is.

Hatch Chiles Can Bring the Heat

Grown in Hatch, New Mexico, the chiles are prized for their blazing heat. Hatch, NM has the perfect growing conditions to grow these hot chiles. Harvest happens once a year when the faithful hatch chile lovers lineup to get them before they are gone. Roasting them helps slightly mute the punch of heat but there are also different levels of heat within the harvest of the chiles.

In the recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup with Roasted Hatch Chiles, learn about the history of Hatch Chiles and how they are related to Anaheim Chiles. Check out this recipe and why they are not the same!

Depending on the growing conditions and the heat throughout the year in New Mexico, the spice level of the chiles can range from mild to very hot. Unlike other years, the chiles that were sold in Southern Oregon were medium range on the spice level.

Because these hatch chiles had a medium spice level, adding them to the cheeseburger with the ancho chile spice rub, chipotle aioli and pepper jack cheese blended together nicely. Plus, the cooling aspects of the creamy aioli, caramelized onions and the avocado all to give an overall spice level of a medium level for me.

Spice Level to Your Liking

If you like spice without breaking a sweat, no problem. Remember, you control the heat level in all aspects of the burger. Feel free to use less chipotle pepper in the aioli, use less or mild hatch chiles or even take out the ancho chili powder in the spice rub.

Give this burger a try. You are going to love the mix of different spices. Each bring in their own element of flavor and spice to the burger!