How to make a burger
Knowing how to make a burger can win over the culinary hearts of even the most critical of your bbqing/boy’s-nights/visiting buddies. As toppings are a matter of personal choice, this ‘how to’ will focus mainly on how to make the burger patty.
Steps
1- Prepare your core ingredients. Core to any home-made burger are very finely chopped onions, mince (beef, lamb, even turkey), and seasoning. With regards to ratios you should not use more than 1 medium sized onion to every 400g (just under 1lb) of mince. This will make about 6 medium sized burgers, or 4 ‘man burgers’.
2- Choose your binding ingredient. Personally, I love keeping it simple by just using whole-grain mustard as it has the perfect consistency to bind everything together and has a nice but mild kick as well. I usually use 2 desert spoons for every 400g (just under 1lb) of mince. Alternatively you can use 1 whisked egg and a 2 desert spoons of flour to bind for the same amount of meat.
3- Mix the ingredients. Place the mince in a large bowl and add the onions and the seasoning before adding the binding ingredients (if using egg and flour, add the egg first and mix before adding the flour).
4- Shape your patties. Shape your mixture into firm patties as big as you want them.
5- Sear the burgers. When you initially start cooking the burgers (bbq, grill or frying pan), you need to sear them at a high heat in order for them to hold their shape. Once seared and stable, lower the temperature so that they can cook evenly throughout.
6- Once juices run clear, top with whatever topping you desire and serve.
Tips
As long as additions are chopped finely enough and aren’t in too great a quantity, you can add pretty much anything you like to the patty mix. Sun dried tomatoes, sweet basil, capsicum/pepper with a little spice, coriander chilli and lemon grass, garlic etc are just a few examples.
Be adventurous with your cheese. Anything from brie to blue cheese will put an interesting twist on a burger recipe.
Nice buns are essential. There’s no point spending the time to prepare fresh, home-made burgers, only to have them let down by cheap and nasty rolls to house them in.