Nothing like a hot grilled burger on a hot summer day.

Hot burgers. Hot grill. Hot day. The sturdy forearms of my father flipping burgers for the family. A summer of manly, daily meal provision. A happy household overflowing with kisses for the cook. Heat, aroused by the flaming charcoal bricks licking the dripping meat. My dad at the center of our starved attention. The only man who can satisfy this hunger.

He loved the heat and so did we. Drenched bodies, moist burgers, sunburnt hands full of hot Coke cans to wash it all down. The grill king holding court, balancing barbeque aptitude with raw looks of love. He gave his whole body to us on those days. The oils of his hands glazing the perfectly formed patties. The sweat of his brow salting the beef. Enveloping hugs that could never last long enough.

Now that my dad is dead it should be me out there every summer, getting the grilling done for my family. But my apartment doesn’t allow grilling. I cook my burgers on the stove, pile them on refrigerated buns, wash my dinner down with an ice cold case of beer beneath the chill of central air. Hard to believe I’m as old now as he was then. Every year on his birthday I make these burgers, a lifeless tribute to the man who scorched my heart.

Jalapeno Bacon Cheeseburgers:

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (30% fat if you can find it)
2 jalapenos, finely chopped
4 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped
4 small white bread hamburger buns
4 slices pepperjack cheese
1 half of a red onion, chopped and grilled
1-2 ounces of olive oil
1-2 ounces of chipotle mayonnaise
A few handfuls of arugula
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

Chop and grill the onions in a non-stick pan lightly coated with olive oil at medium-high heat.

Cook the bacon on medium heat in a non-stick pan until just solid enough to chop easily. If you can break them with your hands they are overcooked. Transfer bacon fat into another container for later.

Put ground beef in a large bowl and add all the seasonings, the chopped jalapenos, and the bacon. Mix with your hands until evenly distributed. Divide the beef into four equal hunks then roll into balls and flatten into thin patties.

Pour the bacon grease into a stainless steel cooking pan and heat to medium-high heat. Add the patties and quickly sear on both sides, then turn down the heat to medium-low. Once they are close to done add the slices of pepperjack and cover until melted. Remove the patties and let rest.

While the patties are resting butter and toast the hamburger buns in a non-stick pan on medium-high heat (for extra bacon-y flavor, use the pan you used to cook the bacon).

When the buns are finished remove from stove and spread the top with chipotle mayonnaise. Put the burgers in, top with the bacon, grilled onions, and arugula, and you’re finished. Enjoy!