Building an Aussie Burger with The Lot is all about layering up. The challenge here is to keep the burger’s toppings from dropping out so all the flavours can mush together once you get a hold of this two-hander. Each bite should give you savouriness from the meat, sweetness from the pickled beets, zinginess from the pineapple ring, and gooey goodness from the fried egg. Don’t worry, you’ve still got lettuce and tomato. There’s no “right way” to build it — it’s all about personal preference. And remember: the delicious mess is a lot of the fun.

The patty: Traditionally, it’s a grilled beef patty but go for chicken breast, lamb, mushroom caps, turkey, veggie or whatever’s your favourite.

Fried egg: The yolks can be hard, velvety or gooey — it’s up to you.

Fried onions: Caramelize them so they’re sweet and a bit smoky.

Tomato ketchup: ‘Nuff said.

Sliced pickled beets: Aussie tinned beets tend to be sweeter than what’s here, so if yours are more sweet than sour, that’s okay.

Tinned pineapple ring: Thin slices are better but thick is great if you’re up for a challenge.

Sliced tomato: An old-school favourite.

Lettuce: The leaf is strategically placed to act as a moisture barrier under the top bun, or you can put the lettuce and tomato on the bottom bun if you want to contain the drips.

Top bun: The crowning glory.

Feel free to skewer the burger to hold it all together.

If you want a lot of The Lot, popular extra toppings include:

• Cheese: Use whatever slice you like — cheddar, Oka, Gouda or track down some Aussie Old Croc. Put this on your patty.
• Bacon: Use streaky slices or peameal, but back bacon is a good approximation of the “middle bacon” found in Australia. Add them on top of the cheese.
• Avocado: Putting a couple of slices on top of the egg will warm up the avo and make it really smooth.
• Mayonnaise: Smear as much as you want on under the top bun.

A version of this recipe appeared in my profile of Tenille Bonoguore for my World of Food column for Grand Magazine (Summer, 2020).