There are quite a few people who have been waiting for me to write something on this subject and I felt that now was the time. In a previous job I used to cook burgers for people in the kitchen using nothing more than a two person size George Foreman grill. These were less than ideal conditions for cooking the perfect burger but the key is not what you use to cook the thing, it’s what you put in it prior to cooking. What follows is my “perfect” burger recipie and instructions for serving.
You will need:
Some beef mince. Don’t use lean steak mince, you need the fat content of normal mince to help stick the thing together. Only you know how much mince you want per person, remember that the burger will shrink slightly during cooking so allow for this when making the patties.
Egg. For two people you will need one small beaten egg. This binds the ingredients together and helps to create a slightly crispy outside.
Plain flour. You need about one heaped tablespoon of plain flour per person.
One pinch of salt per person.
One pinch of ground black pepper per person.
Half a beef oxo stock cube per person (this is the “secret” ingredient… The reason for this will be made clear later on)
Some people like to add Paprika and other spices to their burger mix. There is no real reason why you can’t do this but my preference is to have my beefburger tasting of just beef.
Add all the ingredients above to a bowl and mix them all up. Don’t be afraid to use your hands, in fact I urge you to use nothing else. It’s the easiest way and saves on the washing up. Once everything is completely mixed, leave to stand for about 30 minutes to allow the seasoning to infuse properly.
To make your patties you need to again use your hands but make sure they are cold. If you run your hands under the cold tap until it becomes uncomfortable then they should be the right temperature, the reason for this is that the burger mix won’t stick to a cold surface so you should have non-gunky hands once you’ve finished.
Having made the patties you can either grill, fry, barbeque or do whatever you want to them. The method doesn’t really matter but make sure that it’s a reasonably high temperature. If doing these on the BBQ then brush them with olive oil first to make sure they don’t stick and then keep them moving around to avoid leaving the best bits on the bbq. As the burgers cook, the combination of egg, flour and fat helps to create the crunchy outside. The beef stock cube also cooks on the outside and creates the almost smoky “flamegrilled” taste that you’ll get from a certain well known fast food emporium. You’ll know when the burger is cooked as the center should have about the same resistanceto the touch as your tongue.
When serving there are a few things to remember. Always lightly toast the bun you are going to serve the burger in, this prevents any liquids from soaking into the bread. Always add some kind of light dressing to the salad leaves inside the bun. I use just olive oil, salt and pepper for this. Finally if making a cheeseburger, make sure that the cheese has the opportunity to melt before serving and don’t cut it too thick.
As with any dish you might make, the key is balance of flavour. You must be able to taste the bread, the beef and the salad all together without one overpowering the other. When balanced properly, the flavours contained in a decent burger serve to intensify each other and create something greater than the sum of its parts so don’t try to add too many things inside the bun unless you either know exactly what you’re doing or you just want to pig out. Let’s face it, if you’re making yourself a burger in the first place then the latter is highly likely… As long as you can actually fit it in your mouth once you’ve finished building it, it’s allowed.
