The other day I was sitting on the tube on my way home from work and started thinking about burgers. It’s all I could think about. Soon enough my tummy was rumbling and all I wanted to at was a burger. So as soon as I got off the tube, I popped into my local supermarket, grabbed some mince, cheese, burger buns and salad and practically ran home!
These aren’t fancy, they’re easy as pie to make and quick which is great if you’re starving when you get home.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 3 (or 2 greedy people)
For the meat
250g quality minced beef
4 Jacob’s cream crackers
handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 small red onion
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 large free-range egg
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
For assembly
Mixed leaves
Burger buns
Cheese slices. I use plastic cheese, you can of course add any cheese you prefer
Tomato, if you like it in there
Gherkins, if you like them in there
I started by gently frying the chopped red onion in a little oil. (I keep aside a couple of slices to add to the finished burger) I added a spoonful of sugar to caramelise them. Once soft and golden, I took them off the heat to cool down.
I then smashed up the crackers in a bag until fine, and put them in a large bowl. I added the minced beef, the flat-leaf parsley which I’d chopped finely, the mustard, the egg yolk, the cooled onions and added a good pinch of sea salt and pepper.
With clean hands, I mixed everything well. I then divided the mixture – I could make 3 ‘normal’ sized burgers or two large ones, and then moulded them into flat patties, about 2cm thick. I drizzled the burgers with oil, put them on a plate then covered with cling film and popped them in the fridge to firm up for about 30 minutes.
When I was ready to eat, I heated up my griddle pan (you can use a frying pan if you don’t have a griddle pan) on a high heat. I placed the burgers on the griddle and turned the heat down to medium, lightly pressing them with a spatula.
At this point I also placed the buns on the griddle so they would warm up.
I cooked the burgers for about 2-3 minutes on each side then added the cheese. Yes, I added plastic cheese. You know those slices you used to get when you were a kid? Proper cheese just doesn’t do when it comes to burgers.
To assemble, I added mixed leaves to the bottom bun, then the burger, then some thin slices of red onion and finished it off with ketchup and mayonnaise. Most people would add a slice of tomato but I’m not a lover of tomato in my burgers. They just slide about and make it sloppy. I can live without it. Obviously, you can add whatever you want. Add gherkins if you want, add bacon, top with blue cheese…do whatever you like. That’s the beauty of them.
2 Comments
Ooh. I have never thought to add crackers in. Interesting!
I saw Jamie Oliver using them in one of his programmes. They work well!