It's official - Summer is here! Not only have I spent a fabulous weekend having my first barbecue, Pimms and picnic of the year, the clocks say so too! Before the weekend, I had never really thought about making my own burgers - but as a friend whipped them up in no time with delicious herbs and spices, I wondered why anyone would ever buy them?!
So I thought I'd spread the Summer cheer and spice up your barbecues by sharing a quick and simple recipe for your own home made burgers. This particular recipe is from good old
Jamie, and, as he says, once the basic recipe is down, you can customise your burgers with your own additions.
This recipe makes approximately 8 burgers.
Ingredients:
- 1kg/2lb 3oz minced steak
- 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
- olive oil
- a pinch of cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- salt and pepper
- a handful of freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 heaped tablespoon English mustard (Dijon is also good!)
- 1 large egg
- 115g/4oz breadcrumbs
- 8 burger buns
Method:
1. In a big frying pan, slowly cook the onion in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes until softened but not coloured. Add the onion to the meat.
2. Using a pestle and mortar, bash up the cumin and coriander seeds with a pinch of salt and pepper until fine and add to the meat. Add the Parmesan, mustard, egg and half the breadcrumbs and mix well. If the mixture is too sticky, add a few more breadcrumbs.
3. Lay some greaseproof paper on a tray or large plate and sprinkle over some of the remaining breadcrumbs. Shape the meat into 8 fat burgers and place these on top of the crumbs on the tray. Sprinkle more crumbs on top and press down gently.
4. The burgers are better if they are chilled before cooking, so put them in the fridge for an hour or so.
5. Take your burgers out of the fridge and fry them in a little oil on a medium to high heat for about 8-10 mins, depending on the thickness of the burgers and how you like them, turning occasionally. Alternatively, shove them on the barbecue!
Serve on tasty burger buns, get your friends round, soak up the Sun and enjoy!
When it comes to sauces, i'm a bit of a condiment slut. Ketchup, salad cream, mint sauce, cranberry sauce, bread sauce, redcurrant jelly - you name it, I want it; but the combination of the ginormous meat platter with sticky barbecue sauce was just the business. The meat platter was £22.95 between 2, but cheaper items on the menu include pulled pork and burnt ends baps from £6.95. With branches in Soho, Clapham, Fulham and Tower Hill, you're bound to be near one, so there's no excuse not to check it out.
