Wild Rice Burgers with Chipotle Mayo

There are many things I miss madly from my time spent in Duluth, MN.  One of them is the famous wild rice burgers you can find at Fitger's Brew House restaurant.  This recipe rivals it.  In fact, my non-vegetarian husband told me today "These are up there with the best burger I have ever had, including meat burgers."  And I think that's really saying something :)

The thing that really makes these burgers is the chipotle mayo.  There are store bought versions available, of which I can only attest to one (it was from Brennan's in Madison, and it was good).  I made my own version of this tonight, and it turned out excellent, and I recommend it.  If you don't feel like making a mess of your blender, then a store bought version will do.

This recipe will make approximately 5-6 burgers depending on how thick you make them.

Ingredients:
1/2 pound wild rice (approx 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 eggs
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 tsp cayanne pepper
salt and pepper

Directions:
Boil wild rice in slightly salted water until soft and fully cooked (~45 min, depending on type of wild rice).  Drain.  While still hot, put in a large bowl and combine with onion, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper (this will allow the onion to cook slightly and flavor the rice in the process).  When the rice has cooled enough to not cook the eggs, add both beaten eggs and mix together.  Add 1/2 cup of the bread crumbs, and stir.  Add additional bread crumbs until the mixture comes together.

Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a nonstick skillet.  Form patties with the rice mixture by compressing mixture with your hands.  It will be slightly crumbly, but really pressing the mixture together is effective. Cook for ~5 minutes, or until browned, before flipping.

I serve them on toasted whole wheat English muffins, topped with lettuce, tomato, melted cheddar, and chipotle mayo (see recipe below)

Chipotle Mayo:
1 small can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 cup prepared mayonaise

In a blender, combine half of the can of chipotle peppers (about 3 peppers and some sauce) with the mayonaise, until smooth.  Season with salt, if desired.

The extra chipotle peppers and adobo can be frozen for later use, or used in encilada sauce!  I haven't posted a recipe for this yet, but will be in the near future.