Double Jalapeno-Bacon Cheeseburgers

First, you’ll need to prepare the aioli. Light your stove top range flame and carefully hold the pepper over the flame. Char the poblano pepper on all sides. This can also be done under your oven broiler.

Once charred, place the pepper in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 10 minutes. This will help the skin loosen from the pepper. Once cooled, peel the skin from the pepper and discard the skin along with the stem and seeds. Finely chop the pepper and transfer to a clean bowl. Whisk in the garlic, mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice and cilantro. Season with kosher salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, garlic salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne and Worcestershire sauce. Season generously with kosher salt and pepper. Take ½ of the cooked bacon and roughly chop into small pieces. Add the bacon into the beef and mix until just combined. Form the meat into 4 patties and create a small indentation in the center of each patty. This is to help the patties from puffing up. Transfer them to a plate and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Once everything is chilled you can prepare the onion strings. Preheat your oven to 200 F. Fill a heavy bottomed pot with 2 inches of oil. Heat oil to 375 F.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. In batches, place the onion rings into the dry ingredients, tossing well to coat. Gently shake off the excess flour and carefully lower onion rings into the oil (don’t crowd your pan—do this in batches if needed). Fry the onions for about 5-6 minutes, stirring every so often until golden brown. Remove the onions from the oil using a kitchen spider or tongs. Drain the onions on a plate lined with paper towels and season immediately with additional salt. Repeat until all the onions have been fried. Transfer the fried onion strings to a large baking sheet. Keep warm in a 200 F oven while you grill the patties.

Remove the patties from the refrigerator and lightly brush them with vegetable oil. Light your grill (or preheat grill pan) and heat to medium. Once the grill is hot place the patties onto it and grill on each side for about 4-5 minutes. About 1-2 minutes before the second side is done, lay one slice of cheese over each patty. Cover the grill and cook until the cheese has melted. Remove the patties from the grill onto a platter and tent with aluminum foil while you’re assembling the burgers.

On a toasted bun, place a small mound of the arugula and then lay a patty on top. Spread a few spoonfuls of the aioli on top of the patty before adding a few strips of the remaining bacon. Next, add a small pile of the crispy onion strings and then top off with the other side of the bun. Serve immediately.