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If you’ve never heard of a Colombian burger.. don’t worry you’re not alone! I didn’t either but now I do and I’m HOOKED.
I get my inspiration for my recipes in many places.. whether it be something I enjoyed eating as a child, a dish I had at a restaurant, or from other blogs or food recipe sites. But one of my favorite ways to get inspired is through those in my life who are either great chefs themselves or appreciate delicious food! This recipe was inspired by my boo-thang (and no I don’t actually call him that 😛 ) who is originally from Colombia and when I asked him what he wanted me to make for him one night he didn’t even hesitate and said “a Colombian burger”. He waited a few moments while I gave him a blank stare before explaining what this was…
Essentially a Colombian burger has a ketchup + mayo sauce, ham (in addition to a beef patty), lettuce, tomato, cheese and crushed up potato chips (YUM)! Some of them also have pineapple so I’m listing that as an optional ingredient because my burger was already stacked pretty high!
Ingredients
- 1 pound thinly sliced deli ham I prefer Boar's Head
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 large tomato sliced thin
- 1 cup chopped romaine lettuce
- 4 slices American cheese I used a non-dairy cheese
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise I used Hellman's
- 1 bag potato chips, crushed up I used Kettle cooked
- 4 potato buns
- Kosher salt
- Fresh cracked black pepper
- canola oil
Optional
- sliced pineapple optional: grill the slices
Instructions
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Divide the ham up into 4 quarter pound sections. If you have a griddle, heat that on high (otherwise just use a non stick pan). You want to grill each side of the quarter pound sections until it starts to brown. If you have a meat press/weight that helps to use on top as well! Remove ham and set aside.
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Form 4 patties with the ground beef. Season each side of the patties with salt and pepper generously. On the same griddle (or pan) on high heat, add some canola oil (no more than 1 tablespoon) and cook the burger patties to your liking--about 3 minutes per side for medium rare. In the last minute, cover each burger patty with a slice of cheese.
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When burgers are finished, set aside for about 2-5 minutes (this helps keep the juices in the burger and not all over you!).
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While burgers are resting, mix the ketchup and mayonnaise in a small bowl.
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Start assembling the burger: on the bottom bun, add the burger with cheese, ham, tomatoes, lettuce, chips and the ketchup sauce. Top and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
To crush the potato chips, it's easiest to open the bag to let out the air. Leaving them in the bag, you can crush them up either using your hands or using a wooden/metal mallet against the counter top.
What do you think?