Grilled Southwest Burger

Last week before Christmas and the school year winds down. End-of-semester tests, holiday parties, the accumulated sugar consumption of December hitting its peak. The twins had a kindergarten party on Thursday and came home with the specific vibrating energy of children who have eaten candy for six hours and been in a room with twenty other children who also ate candy for six hours. I fed them dinner, which they ate approximately twenty percent of, and then they went to bed at seven and were asleep in four minutes. This is parenting. This is exactly what it is.

I drove to the grocery store Tuesday to pick up supplies for the drive to Las Cruces — road snacks, the emergency cooler supplies, things for the kids to eat in the car that won't destroy the upholstery. At the store I ran into a player from last year's team, a senior who'd graduated — a kid named Terrence who'd battled some things off the field and who I'd tried to reach during his four years. He's working at the grocery store, going to community college, seems steadier than he was in high school. He saw me and said, "Coach, I think about what you said about grief a lot. What you said about your brother." I hadn't expected that. I said I was glad it helped. He said, "You didn't try to fix it for me. You just told me it was real." That's the whole game. That's all coaching ever is.

Made posole on Sunday — full pot, the goodbye-to-the-year version I always make in December before the Las Cruces trip. It's a way of honoring what the year was. This year needed honoring in the specific way of something that was hard and true and changed you. I made the posole, I served it, I sat at the table with my family, and I said nothing in particular about what the year had been. They knew. I knew. We ate the posole. That was the right thing.

The posole is the December ritual — that one stays at the table with the family, in the quiet where words aren’t needed. But the flavors I grew up driving toward, the ones that live in the stretch between here and Las Cruces, those show up in a different form when the grill is hot and the year still has something left to say. This Southwest burger carries that same geography: smoky, direct, green chile heat that doesn’t apologize. It’s what I make when the occasion calls for something that tastes like where you come from.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (80/20 blend)
4 oz roasted green chiles (Hatch-style preferred), peeled and chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 slices pepper jack cheese
4 brioche burger buns
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
1 avocado, pitted and sliced
1 large tomato, sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded romaine lettuce
1 tbsp neutral oil, for grill grates

Instructions

Make the chipotle aioli. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise and minced chipotle pepper. Stir well, taste for heat, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Form the patties. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Mix gently until just combined — do not overwork the meat. Divide into 4 equal portions and press into patties roughly 3/4-inch thick. Make a small indent in the center of each with your thumb to prevent puffing.
Preheat the grill. Heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high (about 400—425°F). Brush grates with oil.
Grill the patties. Place patties on the grill and cook without pressing, 4—5 minutes per side for medium, or until internal temperature reaches 160°F. In the last minute of cooking, top each patty with a spoonful of roasted green chiles and a slice of pepper jack cheese. Close the lid and let the cheese melt fully.
Toast the buns. While the patties rest, place buns cut-side down on the grill for 60—90 seconds until lightly golden.
Assemble. Spread chipotle aioli on both sides of each toasted bun. Layer with lettuce, tomato, red onion, the green-chile-topped patty, and avocado slices. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Grilled Southwest Burger — The Flavors We Carry Home