I have died and gone to burger heaven. Yep. As simple as it is – – this was the queen mother of burgers made (so far) this season!

The meats were well seasoned and just right.

Grilled to perfection.

The spicy salami was over the moon.

The thick blanket of melted cheeses were to die for.

The simple creamy pesto sauce – – divine.

A nice little crunch from crisp iceberg lettuce, always a good thing.

But what took it over the top – – were the roasted cubanelle peppers! Oh. My. Gawd.

EVERYthing came together like peas ‘n corn. Peanut butter and jelly. Tom and Jerry on a Saturday morning!

This burger totally rocked.

I lOVE salami, and I happened to have a few slices left that were purchased from the deli department at our local grocery store that needed to be used very soon.  Use it or lose it time!

So why not put it on top of a burger, right? We also had both mozzarella and provolone from the deli, too.

Things were looking damn good. 😉

I also had a little bit of basil pesto in the fridge, and we love to add pesto to our burger meat! So in it went! You can use all ground beef, or try a mixture of half beef and ground sausage for extra flavor! I prefer the latter, my hubby preferred all beef. So that part is up to you.

So after watering my garden, and bringing in yet more peppers from my never-ending “pepper trees”, I thought to roast a few, sliced, in the oven to use as a topping for this new burger.

Best thing to ever happen to a burger! I used one of my sweet red cubanelles, and let them char. What flavor they had!! And if you’re thinking that they would have a burnt taste by leaving the charred skin on, then nope, you’d be quite pleasantly surprised at their flavor! 😀  They were actually still sweet, tender, with an ever so slight smokey flavor. No burned taste at all.

So, if you’re surfing the web for a new burger to make for tailgating or “home advantage” football party, (or even just for yourself and the family!), this is the burger to try! Not overly complicated, quick and easy to make, loaded with flavor, and makes a GREAT presentation to boot! You can even roast the peppers the day before, and place them in a ziploc baggie and store in the fridge until you need them. They’ll keep for several days, and then that part is already taken care of! Easy-peasy!!

Keep these fantastic burgers in mind to make soon! Hope you all enjoy!

*Note: Cubanelle peppers originated in Cuba and are a mild sweet pepper, not hot.

Yield: 3 burgers

The "Italian Stallion" Burger

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Ingredients

For the Burgers:

• 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
• 1/2 lb. mild italian sausage (can sub lean ground beef if preferred)
• 1/3 cup basil pesto
• 1 Tbl. frozen butter, grated (optional, but very good!)
• 1 tsp. finely grated fresh garlic
• coarse ground black pepper

For the Sauce:

• 1/3 cup mayo
• 3 Tbl. basil pesto

Rest of Ingredients:

• 1 large red cubanelle pepper, sliced into 9 - 12 rings (center membrane and seeds removed) can sub sweet red bell
• 3 Tbl. soft butter
• 3 buns, split
• 9 slices salami
• 3 thick slices deli mozzarella cheese
• 3 thick slices deli provolone cheese
• three large iceberg lettuce or kale leaves

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425º, place fresh pepper rings onto parchment-lined baking sheet, spray them with no-stick spray, and roast peppers until lightly charred as desired, about 15 - 20 minutes. Remove and set aside. No need to remove skins. (Can sub jarred roasted peppers if desired.)

In large bowl, break up ground beef and sausage tossing together to mix up. Evenly add pesto, butter and garlic, toss well to mix. Form into 3 patties, sprinkle both sides with pepper, and keep chilled, (covered).

While patties are in the fridge, in small bowl, mix together sauce ingredients, cover and chill until needed.

Heat grill to medium-high heat, and grill meat patties 4-6 minutes with lid closed, turn, top each with salami and cheeses, and grill until done with lid closed but checking towards end, about another 4-5 minutes. Remove to a plate to rest.

When burgers are almost done, lightly spread insides of buns with butter and grill insides until toasted.

To Assemble:

Top bottom buns with lettuce, then burgers with salami and melted cheese, then 3-4 roasted red pepper rings each. Spread top buns with sauce and place on top.

Notes

This burger can also easily be made indoors in a frying pan or on a grill pan, then topped with the salami and cheese and broiled until cheese has melted. *All in the same pan if using an overproof or cast iron pan.(Buns can also be broiled to toast).
(You can double the sauce if wanting it spread on both the top and bottom buns, but we didn't think it needed it. And I'm a convicted double-dipper).