No Smoke Without Fire Mexican Burger

Once you’ve got the BBQ going, you can get started on the salsa and guacamole while you wait for the charcoal to get to the perfect cooking stage. First, make the salsa by stirring all the chopped ingredients together, then stirring in the lime juice and seasoning to your taste with salt. Tip the salsa into a serving bowl and set aside. To make the guacamole, put the prepared avocado, garlic and lime zest and juice into a blender and blitz until smooth (if you don’t have a blender, just mash it all together in a mixing bowl). Next, add a generous tablespoon of the salsa you’ve just made – a top tip I picked up in Mexico – and blitz or mash again. Season to your taste with salt, then transfer to a serving bowl and refrigerate, along with the salsa, while you cook the burgers.

When the BBQ is ready, with the coals glowing red, place the burgers directly on to the clean grill and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, turning the burger when grill marks appear (ideally, use a meat thermometer to check the temperature; the burgers should be 65⁰C when cooked, with any juices running clear). When you turn the burgers, top them with the cheese slices so that they melt while the burgers finish cooking. You can also toast the brioche halves at this point if you like (keep an eye on them, they won’t need long); when they’re done, transfer them to four serving plates and spread the bottom half of each bun with the salsa. When you’re happy the burgers are properly cooked through, place a burger on top of each salsa-spread bun, add a good dollop of guacamole on top of the cheese, sprinkle with the jalapeño slices and then put the ‘lid’ on each bun – a wooden sandwich pick comes in handy here!