Recipe: Juicy Lucy Fiesta Burger with guacamole sauce

The Vikings and the Rams face off in FOX’s first broadcast of Thursday Night Football tonight, and since football and food just naturally seem to go together, we enlisted the help of one of the country's top tailgate chefs to cook up the Taste of TNF.

Ray Lampe – better known as Dr. BBQ – created this mashup of Minneapolis’s Juicy Lucy burger and California’s avocados.

INGREDIENTS:

Guacamole Sauce

2 avocados pitted and skin removed
1 poblano chile seeded and rough chopped
1 jalapeno seeded and rough chopped (leave the seeds in if you like it spicy!)
1/3 bunch cilantro sprigs, rough chopped
1 Roma tomato seeded and rough chopped
1 clove garlic crushed
Juice of 1 lime 
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup water

Burgers

1½ pounds 80/20 ground beef
4 slices cheddar cheese
Seasoned salt
4 hamburger buns toasted
Vegetable oil
4 lettuce leaves
4 thin slices red onion

INSTRUCTIONS: 

Place all the sauce ingredients in the pitcher of a blender or food processor and blend for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.  

Form the ground beef into eight 3-ounce balls, then press the balls into thin patties all the same size.

Cut the slices of cheese into 4 square pieces, then stack them in 4 piles. Place a pile of cheese on a burger patty, then top with another. With your hands, form the stack into a nicely shaped burger, sealing the cheese in the middle. Season with the seasoned salt. Repeat for all the burgers.

Heat a large skillet or griddle to medium high heat. Toast the bun halves, cut-side down, for 1 or 2 minutes until golden brown. Repeat until all are done. Set aside.

Splash a little bit of oil in the pan, then add the burgers. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until well browned, then flip and cook another 4 to 5 minutes until browned on the second side and cooked to an internal temperature of at least 155°. These times may vary depending on the heat of your griddle.

Remove to a plate covered with paper towels to drain.

Meanwhile, place a lettuce leaf and an onion slice on the bottom of each bun and put a liberal smear of the sauce on each top. Place the burgers on the onion, then top with the bun top.

Serve additional sauce on the side for dipping. 

SERVINGS: 

Makes 4 burgers