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Merguez smash burger with harissa sauce

By: Pollyanna Coupland
Food producer, delicious.

Published: 19 Jul 23
Updated: 13 Jun 24

Lamb mince is flavoured with the same spices found in north African merguez sausages for a fiery take on a classic smash burger. The burger sauce is amped up with a double chilli kick of harissa paste and a pickled guindilla chilli.

Find our guide to create the best smash burger here.

Easy
July 2023

Test kitchen approved

Serves 4
Hands-on time 30 min

Find our guide to create the best smash burger here.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 889kcals,
Fat: 66g (22g saturated)
Protein: 47g
Carbohydrates: 26g (4.6g sugars)
Fibre: 1.5g
Salt: 3g

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Ingredients

1-2 guindilla chillies, or any pickled green chilli
6 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp harissa
600g lamb mince (20% fat)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground fennel seeds
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp fine salt
Dash vegetable oil
8 cheddar cheese slices
4 large sun-dried tomatoes
4 burger buns, split

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Method

Begin by making the chilli burger sauce. Finely chop the chillies and mix in a bowl with the mayonnaise, mustard and harissa and set aside.
Put the mince in a bowl and sprinkle over the spices and salt, then mix well to combine. Divide the mixture into 8 even balls. Put a large frying pan over a high heat with a dash of oil and, once smoking hot, add 2-4 balls (depending on the size of your frying pan). Press down on each ball with a spatula to flatten into roughly round, thin burger patties. Pressing them down as they cook will give you crispy edges and speed up the cooking process. After a minute or so, flip the burgers and add the cheese slices and a dash of water to the pan, then cover with a lid. This will create steam in the pan to help melt the cheese quickly while keeping the burgers moist.
Meanwhile, toast the buns and spread both cut sides with the chilli burger sauce. Remove the lid from the pan and put 2 burgers on each bun base, cheese-side up. Top with a sun-dried tomato, the other half of the bun, then wrap in foil. Leave to rest for a couple of minutes before eating. As the burgers rest, the cheese will melt into the bread and burger sauce, melding the layers together.