In this video, learn how to take your burger game to the next level with Chef John’s Fajita Cheeseburger! This fusion mashup combines juicy, seasoned beef with fajita veggies and melty cheese, all stacked on a toasted bun. Packed with bold flavors, it’s the ultimate way to satisfy your burger and Tex-Mex cravings in one bite.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello, this is Chef John from FoodWishes.com with Fajita Cheeseburger.
00:08That's right, this is my take on the very viral burger video that's been making the
00:12rounds.
00:13And while I did not pan fry mine in an inch of margarine or butter spread or whatever
00:18that stuff was, I still love the idea and thought this came out incredibly well.
00:23And to get started, we'll mix up our fajita spice, which for me will include some chili
00:27powder, as well as some smoked paprika, plus way more than a few shakes of cayenne.
00:34We will also add some ground cumin, some onion powder, some garlic powder, and then last
00:39but not least, some Mexican oregano.
00:42And that's it, we'll take a spoon and give this a mix.
00:45And believe it or not, we just saved like $7, which is what a jar of fajita spice costs
00:49in my local store.
00:51And no, I don't add salt to mine, since how much I use of that will depend on what I'm
00:56cooking.
00:57But anyway, once that's mixed up, we'll set it aside and we'll go ahead and form our burger.
01:02And as usual, we'll dampen our hands so the meat doesn't stick, and we will shape this
01:07using our famous three-step method, the old ball, patty, and press, which is where we
01:13first make a smooth ball.
01:15Then we go around shaping it into a patty before giving it a final pressing to whatever
01:20size we want, which ideally is a little bit larger than the size of our bun.
01:25And then what we'll do is season this on both sides very generously with some kosher salt,
01:30in which I mixed a little bit of freshly ground black pepper.
01:34And that's it, besides our burger and our fajita spice, we're also going to need some
01:38sliced onions, some sliced seeded jalapeno rings, as well as half a small tomato I cut
01:44in quarters.
01:46And then as far as the bun we're going to serve this on, I am going to toast it as usual,
01:50but we're not using butter.
01:51All right, I'm actually going to spread this with mayo.
01:54On the inside and outside of the bun, which is a trick I developed in culinary school,
02:00which made my dorm room grilled cheese sandwiches legendary.
02:03Oh yeah, ask somebody.
02:06And once slathered, we'll put those in a dry pan on medium-high heat, and we'll give those
02:10about a minute per side, or until they're very, very impressively toasted.
02:16And by the way, in the video, I believe they used the same butter oil spread that they
02:19used to fry the burgers.
02:21So if you'd rather use that, go ahead.
02:24I mean, you are after all the Princesa of this hamburguesa, but if you've never had
02:29a mayo toasted bun or bread, you really should give it a try.
02:33And that's it.
02:34Once we're ready to cook our burger, we will melt some butter in some olive oil, or at
02:37least that's how I'm doing it, over medium-high heat.
02:41And if that looks like a lot of fat to you, definitely check out the original Mexican
02:45burger video.
02:47This ain't nothing.
02:48And once that butter starts to melt and sizzle, we will transfer our burger in, and then we'll
02:53surround it with our fajita vegetables, and we will spread those out to maximize pan contact.
02:59Since besides searing the burger, we really do want these vegetables to take on some nice
03:03brown color, and get them to the point where the edges are actually charring a little bit.
03:07Oh, and we did season the meat, but we did not season the vegetables.
03:12So let's go ahead and give those a nice sprinkling of salt.
03:15And at this point, I probably should have just left those tomatoes alone, and just let
03:19them brown really nicely on one side.
03:21But you know me, I cannot resist touching the food.
03:24So I did give those a flip, and then also turned over the rest of the veggies once they
03:28started to brown.
03:30And then once things had seared for about three minutes, I generously applied some fajita
03:35spice over the top, using a relatively heavy hand.
03:39But of course, the spice level is going to be up to you.
03:42And once that's accomplished, we can go ahead and flip our burger, and we'll cook the other
03:46side for about the same amount of time, or until the burger is done to your liking.
03:52And while that second side cooks, we'll give the pan another generous dusting with our
03:55fajita spice.
03:56Oh, and please note, our veggie and burger might not finish at the same time.
04:01So once your veggies are looking how you want, even if your burger is not done yet, you can
04:05go ahead and pull those out of the pan.
04:08And then as far as doneness goes, believe it or not, I'm actually going to cook this
04:11one all the way through, as in the inside is not going to be pink, which I'm not just
04:16doing so I can read all the comments on how I overcooked this.
04:19But for this particular burger, I think the taste and texture are going to be better.
04:23If our burger firms up, it gets nice and hot inside, and the internal fat has time to melt.
04:28And I think once you bite in, you will fully understand what I'm getting at.
04:33But either way, once we feel like we're getting close, we'll top that with a nice thick slice
04:36of Monterey Jack, or the cheese of your choice.
04:40And that's it, about 45 seconds later, the cheese had melted, so I transferred my veggies
04:44back into the pan.
04:46And after a brief mingle with the pan drippings, we will transfer those on top, or at least
04:51as much as we can get to fit.
04:53And I think I did pretty good, since I got everything on there except that one piece
04:57of tomato, which I will try to sneak on the sandwich later.
05:01And that's it, we'll go ahead and transfer that on our mayo toasted bun, which in real
05:05life you're toasting at the same time you're doing your burgers.
05:08Alright, I did mine ahead just for ease of filming.
05:11But anyway, we'll top our bun with burger, and then our burger with bun.
05:16And then I grabbed a hold with both hands, and I went in for a nice big bite.
05:21And that, my friends, as promised, was hot and juicy, and I thought pretty much perfect.
05:26And that's coming from someone who doesn't even like fajitas.
05:30But anyway, despite that, I thought the spices and the vegetables worked absolutely perfect
05:34with the burger and the cheese.
05:37And in general, I'm not a fan of the super tall, super messy, impossible to eat burgers.
05:41But while very abundant, this was still relatively easy to eat.
05:46And for me, as long as you can get your mouth around it, it's not too big.
05:49Oh, and speaking of size, since I am recommending we cook this all the way through, next time
05:54I'm going to make my patty even thinner, and maybe even go with the smash burger approach.
05:58Alright, I tried to shape it to a size where it would cook about the same time as the veggies.
06:03But next time I'm going to try to make the patty a little wider, so it's thinner and
06:06we get even more surface area.
06:08Oh, and in the name of science, I took a little break here and grabbed a piece of lime, since
06:13I was curious what that would do to this.
06:16And it was kind of nice, since it did cut through the richness.
06:19But whether it makes it better will be for you to decide.
06:23But anyway, that's it.
06:24My take on the viral Mexican burger, which I'm calling a fajita cheeseburger.
06:29Thank you to the TikTok channel Cooking with Holden, who apparently started all this.
06:34And in related news, I heard a brain doctor on TV the other day say that if you want to
06:39keep your brain young, make sure you don't do things the same way every time.
06:44And I assume that applies to hamburgers and cheeseburgers as well.
06:47So whether you're just looking to make something delicious, or you're trying to keep your brain
06:51supple, or both, I really do hope you give this a try soon.
06:56So please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts, a printable written recipe, and much
07:01more info, as usual.
07:04And as always, enjoy.