Recipe: The Nacho burger

Madre mio!  Four bad lookin' hombres

For the first of the Ultimate Burger series, Dan and I took a trip down south.  Call it Tex-Mex or Mexican, we wanted those southern flavours combined with a double-shot of texture favorites - the juicy meatiness of a burger (of course) and the crunchy cheesiness of nachos.

We weren't going to be satisfied with simply dressing a burger with the usual nacho-related condiments, we needed to actually build a small portion of nachos right into the burger.  This necessitated  altering the shape of the beast to replicate the common oval shape often associated with nachos.  Changing the shape also let us use a more oblong bun remenicient of the classic Mexican torta.  The patty itself needed a bit of spicing up prior to the shaping.  A certain amount of restraint was needed when applying the varied sauces to avoid sogging out the operation.  The complete breakdown is below, and yes, the burgers were delicious.  Almost surprisingly well balanced and unbelievably tasty.  

The Nacho burger:

 - bun - torta / Portugese (ciabatta will do in a pinch)

 - patty - taco spiced beef - pepper

                                         - garlic

                                         - cumin

                                         - cayenne

                                         - hot smoked paprika

 - greens - shredded iceberg lettuce

 - sauces - bottom bun - guacamole

               - top bun - sour cream

                              - salsa

                              - chipotle aoli

 - nachos - tri-colour tortilla strips (for better eating)

               - diced tomatoes

               - chopped green onion

               - sliced green olives

               - pickled banana peppers

               - nacho cheese - cheddar

                                        - Monterey jack

                                        - mozzarella