Cheddar Jalapeño Chicken Burgers with Guacamole

Thanksgiving. Year 7. Twenty-six people — Jim and Diane from Duluth, Roberto and Elena, Miguel and family, neighbors, firehouse friends. The tamale production on the 23rd hit a new record: 142 tamales. The assembly line has expanded to include Sofia (expert folder), Diego (masa eater, consistent and unrepentant), Diane (improved technique, now at seventy percent proficiency, which for a Minnesotan handling masa is equivalent to fluency), Jessica (spreading, efficient, fast), Elena (masa, quality control, emotional supervisor), and me (fillings, management, trying to keep Diego out of the masa bowl).

The turkey: my best yet. I have been perfecting the brine for eight years and this year I added something new: Hatch green chiles in the brine. The chiles do not make the turkey spicy — the heat dissipates during the overnight soak — but they add a subtle, smoky, earthy undertone that makes the turkey taste like Arizona. Jessica noticed immediately: "What did you do to the turkey?" "Hatch chiles in the brine." She took another bite. "This goes on the restaurant menu." The Hatch turkey. Rivera's Thanksgiving special. The future menu grows at the Thanksgiving table.

Roberto's carne asada. Elena's guacamole, rice, beans. Jim's bourbon cranberry sauce (Jim is seventy-one and still drinking bourbon into his cranberry sauce and claiming it evaporates, a scientific claim that Elena has started challenging: "Jim, if the bourbon evaporates, why does the sauce make Roberto giggle?" Jim: "Roberto giggles at everything." Roberto: "I do not giggle. I chuckle." Elena: "You giggle."). The tres leches cheesecake. Diane's apple pie, cold-packed from Duluth.

Grace: Roberto in Spanish, Jim in English, Sofia in both. Diego said "more" before grace finished. The tradition holds at every level. The words change. The appetite does not.

After dinner, Jessica and I cleaned the backyard in the dark. The annual ritual. She washed. I dried. She said, "Seven years of this." I said, "Forty more." She said, "The restaurant will host Thanksgiving someday." I said, "The restaurant will host Thanksgiving every day." She smiled. The future is a table. A bigger table. An open table. A Rivera table. And everyone is invited.

The Hatch turkey was the star, but the truth is that chiles and guacamole showed up in every corner of that Thanksgiving table—Elena’s guacamole disappearing before the plates hit the table, the smoky heat threading through everything we made. These cheddar jalapeño chicken burgers with guacamole are what happens the weekend after, when the crowd has gone home but the craving for that chile-and-avocado combination hasn’t. They’re fast, they’re loud with flavor, and they feed the people still lingering at the Rivera table.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 12 minutes | Total Time: 32 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

For the burgers:
1 1/4 pounds ground chicken
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely diced
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 brioche hamburger buns, toasted
4 slices sharp cheddar cheese
Lettuce and tomato slices, for serving
For the guacamole:
2 ripe avocados
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons red onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Instructions

Make the guacamole. Halve the avocados and remove the pits. Scoop the flesh into a bowl and mash with a fork to your preferred texture. Stir in lime juice, red onion, cilantro, salt, and cayenne. Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Mix the burger patties. In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, diced jalapeños, shredded cheddar, garlic, breadcrumbs, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Mix gently with your hands until just combined—do not overwork. Form into 4 equal patties, about 3/4 inch thick. Press a slight indent into the center of each patty with your thumb.
Cook the burgers. Heat olive oil in a large skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Cook the patties for 5 to 6 minutes per side, until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. During the last minute of cooking, place a slice of cheddar on each patty and cover the pan to melt the cheese.
Toast the buns. Place the brioche buns cut-side down in the pan or on the grill for 30 to 60 seconds until lightly golden.
Assemble. Place lettuce and tomato on the bottom bun. Add the burger patty and top with a generous spoonful of guacamole. Close with the top bun and serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Cheddar Jalapeño Chicken Burgers with Guacamole — Because the Chile Always Finds Its Way to the Table