Not quite a lupe fiasco

My first attempt at properly spicing up my burger patties wasn't quite as full on expected. I blended beef with Schwartz bbq seasoning (which is basically paprika, salt and garlic powder) grated parmesan and chopped chipotle chiles in adobo sauce. Note: these sweet hot peppers are about 3 inches long and come doused in a smoky, seriously ballsy tomato sauce and help make my bastard huevos rancheros a proper weekend at Bernies. Although to be fair, you could stick these bad boys in pretty much anything and it would improve it (I know, I've tried). Anyway, I digress... My first schoolboy error with the burgers was I should removed the seeds and chopped the pepper way finer. I wanted to get that amazing deep, smoky flavour and sweet tang that chipotles have but it didn't quite come through as much or as consistently as I'd hoped. The principle was right, but the proportions and texture were totally wrong. Also, finding the right complementary fittings for something fiery like this is always tricky. The compulsion would be to top with sour cream or fruit for balance but the ice cream or bananas I had to hand weren't really gonna cut it so I improvised a little.

A first attempt at construction included a fried egg and some amazing Mrs Renfro's corn salsa (again, a genius Lupe Pintos purchase) but that was total overkill. Something of a revelation for me as 'too much'  of anything isn't something I am familiar with when it comes to food. A second take was stripped back to mayo, lettuce, tomato, fried red onions, shaved parmesan and a generous dash of frank's hot sauce. The latter was unnecessary, as the onions were really sweet and were the dominant flavour - the parmesan was a pleasant surprise a salty treat and not cloying. For my next attempt at this I'll go further down the Tex/Mex route, maybe monkey around with adding other dry spices to the patty and different cheese. More research required. Back to Lupe's methinks...

If this burger was a wedding it would be: the one someone told me about recently where someone threw the bride - dress and all - into the hotel pool during the reception.  Once you get over the initial shock you're left with something thats a bit messy and could end up in a trip to casualty.