Ultimate BBQ Burger with Chipotle-Ranch Sauce.

After Shayne ate these burgers, he said, "This is probably the best burger I have ever had. Ever." Not bad coming from a chick who's only cooked meat a handful of times in the last year and a half. On the other hand - you may say that Shayne's opinion is scewed because he's a plant-based man now... but I've got family and friends that will back these babies up too!

It's a Rachael Ray... I saw it on a rerun from her show... have made and tasted them in my mouth many, many times. And just waited for the perfect time to try them. Enter Memorial Day, 4th of July and for the first dinner guests in our new house (I'm typing this up in mid-September).

They get better and better each time... I've made them 6 times now. And each time I can't believe that I made something so good.

I get more convinced, each time, that I'm going to turn them into a bean burger the next time I try them - I've already veganized the sauce.... so stay tuned.

I've always entertained with them, so I always forget to get a picture. The picture above is when we had them a couple days later as leftovers. I cute them in half, side-to-side, and broiled them to warm them up and they were just as good. Yum.

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon steak seasoning

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika

1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon allspice
2 pounds lean ground sirloin
2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
8 slices cheddar cheese
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 chipotle in adobo, chopped, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce (eyeball it)

2 tablespoons chopped dill

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoons chopped chives
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lettuce
Tomato, sliced
Red onion, sliced into rings
Deli-size pickles, sliced lengthwise

In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, steak seasoning, chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin and allspice. Add the ground meat to the bowl and give everything a good mix with your hands. Press the meat down in the bowl and score it into four portions using the side of your hand. Scoop out one of the portions and shape it into a burger that's about an inch thick. Press down into the center of it with your thumb while you're shaping it to keep the burger from expanding during cooking. Shape the remaining portions to give you a total of four burgers.

Grill them or place a large skillet over medium high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Cook the burgers in the pan for 3-4 minutes on one side. When you flip them over, lay 2 slices of cheese on each burger and let it melt while the other side cooks for another 3-4 minutes (if you want to cook these guys on a grill, go right ahead! Just preheat your grill on medium-high heat, cook the burgers for 3-4 minutes on one side, then flip them and cook them 3-4 minutes on the other side with 2 slices of cheese laid down over each burger).

While the burgers are cooking, combine the buttermilk, sour cream, chipotle, adobo sauce, dill, parsley and chives in a small mixing bowl. Season the sauce with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and reserve.

When the burgers are ready, load them up onto the toasted Kaiser buns with lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles and a big dollop of the chipotle-ranch sauce.