Green Chili Cheeseburger with Pretzel Buns

Our friends from Chicago introduced us to the magical combination of green chilis and burgers. We used to make these green chili cheeseburgers with pretzel buns on our rooftop grills all summer.

This recipe is so simple, but amazingly delicious. Half of the secret is the green chilis. We use these specific ones. The other half of the secret is the pretzel bun. We use Pretzilla buns. You can buy them at most Whole Foods stores, or you can buy them online here.

We buy our hamburger patties from Olivier’s Butchery in the Dogpatch. We couldn’t make a better one ourselves. If you plan to make your own patties, our friends have had good luck with this burger press. It makes really dense patties that stay really juicy on the grill. You could also use this one or this one. You can also make stuffed burger patties using different cheeses with this or this. We’ve also learned from experience that it’s important to have a metal burger flipper. It helps the burger to come off the grill easily without breaking, and the metal blade can withstand the heat of a grill.
Pretzilla buns aren’t pre-sliced.That’s probably partially what makes them so delicious, but you need to slice them at home. Pro tip: A bread knife is a kitchen staple but not a place to invest a lot of money. We have used this bread knife to slice all of our bread, from buns to baguettes, for years. We’ve also used it on tomatoes. It was recommended to us by our old cutlery shop in Chicago, and we’ve tried more expensive bread knives, but they are honestly not worth the extra cost.

If you’re having a party, grab a pack of hamburger patty papers. This way you can make all the burger patties in advance and have them stacked and ready to go. If you’re not comfortable judging when the burgers are done, use an instant read thermometer to ensure you’ve cooked it to the proper temperature.