Beef & Chorizo Burgers w/ Chipotle Sour Cream Sauce

Those ALL beef patties I grew up hearing about in that commercial jingle?  Beef and chorizo patties deserve a little jingle of their own.

We're talking chorizo, people.  You hear "bacon makes everything better" all the time.  I'd argue that chorizo is right up there on that pork pedestal.

The inspiration for these burgers was Donna Hay's Beef & Chorizo Burgers w/ Beetroot Relish.

Hey...where's the beets?

The original recipe calls for canned beets.  I bought them.  I really did.  Much of the day I made this was spent fretting over those dang beets.  I found myself dreading the idea of making the beetroot relish--although the picture on Donna Hay's website looks good.  We are beef people, not beet people.  (How many food ad references can I squeeze into this post?)  Somewhere along the drive home from work the beets got erased.  Since I love Mexican and Southwest flavors, the sour cream-horseradish mixture turned into a mixture of sour cream, cumin, and chipotle.

These burgers turned out really well.  We liked the way the chorizo flavored the beef (a lot!) and the sour cream concoction was much more fitting than the usual parade of mayo, mustard, ketchup.

I'd make them again...as long as I can have them my way.

This week, I Heart Cooking Clubs is all about Sandwich Sensations from Donna Hay.


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Beef & Chorizo Burgers w/ Chipotle Sour Cream Sauce
based on a recipe by Donna Hay

for the sauce:
1/2 c lite sour cream
3/4 tsp cumin
1 chipotle pepper in adobo, chopped
1 tsp adobo sauce

for the burgers:
1 lb ground beef
6 oz fresh Mexican chorizo
salt and black pepper to taste
olive oil
4 hamburger buns
spinach or lettuce leaves

Make the sauce by whisking together the sour cream, cumin, chipotle, and adobo.  Chill until ready to use.

Heat a grill or grill pan.
Add the ground beef to a mixing bowl.  Squeeze the chorizo from the casing into the bowl.  Season the mixture with salt and pepper and gently combine with your hands (try not to overwork the meat).  Divide the mixture into 4 portions and shape into patties.

Brush both sides of the burgers with olive oil and place on the grill over medium heat.  Grill to desired doneness (about 7-8 minutes for medium well).  While the burgers cook, brush the inside surfaces of the buns.  Place them on the grill when the burgers have just a couple of minutes left.

Dress the burgers with the sour cream sauce and spinach or lettuce.  Serves 4.