Feeling a bit fancy I decided to treat my partner and I to home made beef burgers for dinner. And considering I am going a bit camera frenzy with my birthday present, you can witness the outcome of the cooking and maybe even be inspired.
Ingredients:
- beef mince
- onions
- gerkins
- ketchup & mayonaise
- fresh salad
- cheese
- burger buns
- oil & butter
- breadcrumbs
- pepper, marjoram or other herbs
Filling Preparation
It helps to be organised, so prepare some ingredients before cooking. Start with medium sized onions, one would be enough for two burgers. Cut the peeled onion in half and then slice into fairly thin pieces.
Next take a small bowl and put the mayonnaise and ketchup in it. It is the simplest sauce you can make. You could also experiment and use other sauces to complement the burger. Mix both ingredients until the blend completely.
After this proceed to the next item – gherkins. To get long slices you want quite a big variety – I used American Giants. Then rather than slicing vertically, cut the cucumber at an angle which produces bigger pieces.
Next if you would like your burgers to be cheeseburgers grab some cheese. The slices shouldn’t be to thin, and you will need about 2 pieces per burger.
Finally cut some salad, or if you are lazy like me buy a pack of already chooped up green leaves. Put it into a bowl for later.
Meat Preparation
Start by mixing the meat with herbs and pepper. You can use your hands to sqish the mince into a moldable pulp. I use marjoram and pepper, but you could add other spices if you wish.
Shape the meat into round, flat pattes. If the mince is not very moist you might want to add a little bit of water. Make sure you roll it in breadcrumbs on both sides.
Cooking the Burgers
Start heating up a pan with oil. If you want your buns to be crispy warm up the oven and put the buns in at low temperature to warm up and crispen while you fry the meat.
Once the oil is hot put the previously prepared mince into the pan. Turn the heat down a bit and make sure the meat is thoroughly cooked on both sides.
For an extra taste just before the end you can add butter to the pan and finish of frying with it.
Once you are done put some sauce on the bottom of the bun and some onion before you place the meat this will give a nice touch of moisture to your burger if the sauce is on both sides of the meat.
Making Cheeseburgers
If you decided to go for the option with cheese don’t turn of the oven when you take out your buns.
Put the cheese slices on the meat and pop it in the oven for a minute or two until it starts melting.
Finishing the Burger Filling
To finish of add the remaining ingredients and possibly some extra sauces.
Once you are ready put both parts of the bun together. To make things easier I would suggest piercing the burger with a toothpick or a skewer for easier consumption.
Bon Appetit!
