Burgers

Here is the first of hopefully many recipes I post. Burgers were one of the first dishes I learned to cook; not the most technical thing ever but satisfying, tasty, quick and cheap. Sadly they are also the source of some not inconsiderable heartbreak. They were the first thing I cooked for my girlfriend's parents (in a shameless attempt to ingratiate myself) and they went down a storm. Sadly, they were so taken by them that they remain pretty much the only dish I've cooked for my girlfriend's parents. Now I might not have any Michelin stars but it does rather make me feel like a one-trick pony!

Worse, the taste for them seems to be genetic. My girlfriend loves them as well. Not such a bad thing for the most part... except when I'm feeling a bit soppy and romantic. I offer to cook with ideas of doing something intricate, technical and complex that will test my skills and yield impressive results. Something that will require effort to prepare and get me loads of brownie points. When I ask if she has any requests I almost always get the reply,"BURGERS!"

So without further ado, here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

700g beef mince
1 medium white onion (finely diced)
1 medium red onion (finely diced)
1 clove of garlic (chopped)
2 tsp English mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
125g bread crumbs
Salt and pepper

Method:

Fry the onions and garlic together over a low heat with a pinch of salt, a few twists of pepper and about 1tsp vegetable oil.

Stir regularly until onions and garlic are well cooked and very soft.

Take off the heat and allow to cool.

While the onions and garlic are cooking; put the mince, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, mustard and Worcestershire sauce into a large bowl then add the cooked onions and garlic after they have cooled slightly.

Knead all of the ingredients together with hands/masher until it forms a smooth pate. The mixture should be pliable but not too sticky (add more breadcrumbs if needed to achieve this consistency).

Shape small portions (about one hand-full) into burgers. For best consistency, press the mixture together hard before shaping then chill for about half an hour to set them. Fry in butter and serve with chips.

These will go well with ketchup but also compliment some of the sauces I will be posting in the near future.

As with every recipe I post, feel free to make and enjoy it. I welcome all feedback. But I want the credit too!!

TFB