The “Big Popper” Burger {With Strawberry Dipping Sauce}

This is a special edition of Man Monday folks. This week we are part of a virtual Mexican Fiesta baby-shower for Nikki from the Chef In Training, and Alyssa from The Recipe Critic!

I know, I know… it’s Man Monday, and I’m helping to throw a baby shower!? Well for any of you who actually pay attention to my Man Monday posts know that on Man Monday, I do whatever the heck I want, fully confident in my manhood…

Hear me out folks. You see, Nikki is my sister-in-law. In fact, both Nikki and I knew each other before we knew our spouses! *Zach isn’t going to mention that he was crucial to the introducing of Nikki and Derek to each other* 😉 That little nugget that Nikki is growing right now is going to have a favorite uncle, named Zach, who will teach him the ways of the force one day…

As for Alyssa, she has been our blogging buddy since we began this whole thing. She and her husband came to visit Sarah and me way back when and there’s this burger joint called Sanfords in Cheyenne, Wyoming that I insisted we go dine at while they were here. Sanfords makes the most incredible burger called the “Big Popper”. Naturally, I had to make it. This is our recreation (yes Alyssa, it’s just as awesome as the restaurant’s version).

I know that a burger isn’t very Mexican-ish, but it has jalapeños in it…and those are in a lot of Mexican foods, right?

The “Big Popper” Burger {With Strawberry Dipping Sauce

Makes 4 burgers.
Ingredients

• 1lb ground beef, formed into 4, 1/4 lb burger patties
• 1 tsp onion salt
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 2 jalepeños, sliced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 4 oz cream cheese
• Berry Sauce
  • Approximately 1 cup strawberries (or any berry of your choice), chopped
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
• 4 hamburger buns

Directions

1. Mix your salt, onion salt, garlic powder, and paprika together to make your burger seasoning. Season both sides of your patties liberally.
2. GRILL (yelled, only because this is High Heels and GRILLS) on medium-high heat for approximately 3 minutes, each side. For excellent burger preparing/grilling techniques, visit this other post here.
3. While the burgs are grilling, get your butter all melty and warm in a frying pan. Before the butter browns, add your sliced jalepeños and fry for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and get your peppers out with a slotted spoon, keeping any butter and juices in the pan. Set jalepeños aside, except for one slice (spoiler alert, you will use it in the berry mixture).
4. Combine your strawberries, sugar, and one jalepeño slice together in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Then, transfer the berry mixture back into the pan you just used for the jalepeños (don’t clean out the pan). Bring the berry mixture to a light boil, stirring frequently. It should reduce a little and get syrup-y. Remove from heat after about 5 minutes.
5. Assemble your burgers by putting the cooked patty down on the bun first, add a slice (about 1 oz) of cream cheese on top of the patty, place a few jalepeño slices on top of the cream cheese, and then, if desired, drizzle about a tablespoon of berry syrup on top of that. Or, you can do what we do and just dip your burgers in the sauce.