Spicy Burger

5 from 2 votes

This spicy pepper burger brings the heat with a triple threat of jalapeno, habanero, and ghost peppers - perfect for anyone who likes their burgers with a serious kick.

Servings burger

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 10

Total Time 35

Equipment

Burger press optional
Cast iron grill pan optional
Metal skewers

Ingredients

2 Classic Burger Patties with added red pepper flakes or cayenne
2 English muffins
2 slices habanero jack cheese
Ghost pepper hot sauce
Jalapeno Bottle Caps (see ingredients below)
2 Jalapeno poppers

Jalapeno Bottle Caps

1 medium jalapeno pepper
1 egg
¼ cup flour
Vegetable oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prep the burger patties - Follow our classic burger recipe, make your own, or use your favorite store-bought option.
Make the bottle caps - Slice jalapenos into 1/8 in thick rounds. Coat in egg, dredge in flour, and pan fry until golden and crispy, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
Grill the burgers - Cook the burger patties according to your preferred method and doneness. Add cheese 2 to 3 minutes before they’re done to melt it fully.
Toast the english muffin - While the burger patties are cooking, lightly toast the english muffins. We like to throw them on the top rack of the grill since it’s easy and quick.
Assemble - Place the cheesy patty on the muffin bottom, top with jalapeno bottle caps and a healthy drizzle of ghost pepper hot sauce. Add the top bun and skewer the jalapeno popper right through the center.

Notes

Choose your cheese wisely - While regular pepper jack is acceptable, it’s entry level. Habanero jack is a good middle ground. But ghost pepper jack? That’s for experts only.

Slicing the cheese - If you can’t find pre-sliced spicy cheese, use a fresh block. Simply cut the block in half, turn it on its side, and make some slices yourself. Don’t worry about them being perfect, they’ll likely be thicker than pre-sliced cheese but are we really gonna complain about extra cheese or spice? I think not.

Hot sauce - A thicker hot sauce works better for this burger. It stays on well and thinner sauces risk making the english muffin soggy.

Save some time - If you want to make these burgers for some friends and family you probably don’t want to be making everything while they’re visiting. Make the jalapeno bottle caps and the jalapeno poppers (because you can’t skip the garnish for the guests!) ahead of time and reheat quickly in the oven at 350, the microwave, or even on the grill if you have a basket.

Control the spice level - You can scale the heat by adjusting your ingredients. Want less fire? Go with regular pepper jack and fewer jalapenos. Want more? Double up the bottle caps and hit it with that extra sauce.

Making extra bottle caps - We hate food waste. So I always feel bad not using the full egg when battering and frying things like bottle caps. To help use the rest or at least most of the egg, I tend to make a couple jalapenos worth of bottle caps. Having extra fried jalapeno wheels around make for a great snack or additions to sandwiches, pizzas, and salads.

Author: Alex Langdon

Calories: 717kcal

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: fourth of july, ghost pepper hot sauce, grilling, habanero jack cheese, independence day, jalapeno, jalapeno bottle caps, summer

Nutrition