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madbakerThis week's Resolution Recipe: Green Chile Patty Melts.
5 large poblano peppers (!)
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 white onions, thinly sliced
no garlic (Ha! I used... actually none. I forgot to add it in.)
kosher salt
1 lb ground beef
salt and pepper
8 slices sturdy sandwich bread
1/2 lb mozzarella or Oaxacan cheese, cut into thin slices
3 Tbsp softened butter or mayonnaise (I used mayo)
Blister the peppers over high heat, transfer to a plastic bag, and let steam for 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, stem, peel, and seed the peppers, and cut them into thin strips.
Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and a few generous pinches of salt, stir to coat the onions in oil, and cook. Stir occasionally until the onions begin to sizzle. Decrease the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring as needed, until the onions are golden brown and have reduced to a sticky, sweet mass. This will take no less than 35 minutes. Both the peppers and onions can be made up to three days ahead and refrigerated; let come to room temp before using.
Generously season the meat with salt and pepper (I use about 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper). Divide the meat into four patties, then sandwich the patties between two pieces of wax paper and press each patty until it's 1/2" thick.
Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. When hot, add the patties and cook, turning once, for 1 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and wipe out the pan. Spread one side of each slice of bread with butter or mayo. Place four slices of the bread buttered side down. Top with a few slices of cheese, one of the patties, and 1/4 of the onions and peppers. Top with a few more slices of cheese and a second slice of bread (buttered side out).
Return the pan to low heat and add the sandwiches. Cook low and slow for about eight minutes until the cheese has melted, turning once. Sprinkle each sandwich with a bit of salt, slice in half diagonally, and serve right away.
What worked: These were fabulous. I love a good patty melt and the poblanos were a nice kick. One of them was in fact noticeably quite spicy even after seeding.
This sounds like a lot more work than it really is. Don't get me wrong - the peppers and onions take time, and kudos to the writer for not downplaying the time to caramelize onions. She even says in the accompanying article "Any recipe that instructs that onions can caramelize properly in 15 minutes is lying - it's a solid 35 minutes over low heat. I'm sorry, but it's true."
But those aside, the actual prep, assembly, and cooking took little effort.
What didn't: 5 poblanos?!?! What kind of dwarf-ass poblanos does the writer get? We used two standard ones for a half batch, and it was more than double what we could fit in two patty melts. I would chop the peppers in pieces (again, because our poblanos are not wee) because they would fit better, and be less likely to fall out.
The no-knead yeast bread I used fell apart too quickly. I'd probably make a deli rye loaf (or just buy one from our kosher place).
The burgers poofed a bit when cooking so the sandwiches were too tall for easy eating. Next time I'll smash the burgers thinner. That would also allow putting a second slice of cheese (which again, I should have sliced more thinly as well) on the top side, and raise the amount of onions and peppers that can be in there.
Will I make it again? When I want a patty melt, yes.
As a side note, "dwarf-ass poblanos" is the new name of my punk band.
5 large poblano peppers (!)
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 white onions, thinly sliced
no garlic (Ha! I used... actually none. I forgot to add it in.)
kosher salt
1 lb ground beef
salt and pepper
8 slices sturdy sandwich bread
1/2 lb mozzarella or Oaxacan cheese, cut into thin slices
3 Tbsp softened butter or mayonnaise (I used mayo)
Blister the peppers over high heat, transfer to a plastic bag, and let steam for 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, stem, peel, and seed the peppers, and cut them into thin strips.
Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and a few generous pinches of salt, stir to coat the onions in oil, and cook. Stir occasionally until the onions begin to sizzle. Decrease the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring as needed, until the onions are golden brown and have reduced to a sticky, sweet mass. This will take no less than 35 minutes. Both the peppers and onions can be made up to three days ahead and refrigerated; let come to room temp before using.
Generously season the meat with salt and pepper (I use about 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper). Divide the meat into four patties, then sandwich the patties between two pieces of wax paper and press each patty until it's 1/2" thick.
Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. When hot, add the patties and cook, turning once, for 1 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and wipe out the pan. Spread one side of each slice of bread with butter or mayo. Place four slices of the bread buttered side down. Top with a few slices of cheese, one of the patties, and 1/4 of the onions and peppers. Top with a few more slices of cheese and a second slice of bread (buttered side out).
Return the pan to low heat and add the sandwiches. Cook low and slow for about eight minutes until the cheese has melted, turning once. Sprinkle each sandwich with a bit of salt, slice in half diagonally, and serve right away.
What worked: These were fabulous. I love a good patty melt and the poblanos were a nice kick. One of them was in fact noticeably quite spicy even after seeding.
This sounds like a lot more work than it really is. Don't get me wrong - the peppers and onions take time, and kudos to the writer for not downplaying the time to caramelize onions. She even says in the accompanying article "Any recipe that instructs that onions can caramelize properly in 15 minutes is lying - it's a solid 35 minutes over low heat. I'm sorry, but it's true."
But those aside, the actual prep, assembly, and cooking took little effort.
What didn't: 5 poblanos?!?! What kind of dwarf-ass poblanos does the writer get? We used two standard ones for a half batch, and it was more than double what we could fit in two patty melts. I would chop the peppers in pieces (again, because our poblanos are not wee) because they would fit better, and be less likely to fall out.
The no-knead yeast bread I used fell apart too quickly. I'd probably make a deli rye loaf (or just buy one from our kosher place).
The burgers poofed a bit when cooking so the sandwiches were too tall for easy eating. Next time I'll smash the burgers thinner. That would also allow putting a second slice of cheese (which again, I should have sliced more thinly as well) on the top side, and raise the amount of onions and peppers that can be in there.
Will I make it again? When I want a patty melt, yes.
As a side note, "dwarf-ass poblanos" is the new name of my punk band.
