Recipe: Burgers Re-visited

Last weekend, I had another try at burgers.  The good thing about burgers is that you can get great results with very little time or effort - just some carefully timed preparation and you can have a meal pretty quick.

I followed a similar approach as last time, except rather than the single, larger patties, I went for slimmer, "smashed" patties - but with two in each bun. I also added a cheese slice to the experience.  The end result was agreed to be better than the last attempt, so will modify from here.

There really isn't much to it, but here's the details (quantity for two complete burgers, 4 patties) :

Ingredients

• ~400 grams beef mince - as per previously, exact blends of meat are most often personally guarded secrets, but even just ground braising steak (or chuck)  is a pretty decent option to get started.  This time around I actually just used 15% fat content Aberdeen angus beef, and was still fine
• Salt
• Two rolls - depending on your preference, I go for Brioche burger rolls
• Sauces - I go for yellow mustard on the base and relish/tomato sauce on the top
• Two cheese slices
• Mature cheddar

Method

Pre-head the grill/broiler and a heavy bottomed frying pan on the hob, for about 10 minutes on a high heat.

1. Split the mince into 4 even balls and squash into a patty shape - ideally about the diameter of the bun, it should be pretty slim
   
   
2. Cut the buns in half and lightly toast under the grill (cut side facing the heat)
   
   
3. Sprinkle salt on the top of each of the patties, and depending on the size of your pan put them in salted side face down - ideally I guess two at a time - with a spatula press down on the tops of each patty (for the smashed effect) - cook for a few minutes until nicely browned on the underside
   
   
4. Sprinkle salt on the op of patties and flip & repeat
   
   
5. Once buns are lightly toasted, add a few slices of the cheddar to the top half of the bun and toast further until melted
   
   
6. Apply yellow mustard to inside base of the bun and relish to the top half (the cheese half)
   
   
7. Once patties are nicely browned both sides, place one on the base of the bun, followed by a cheese slice, followed by the top of the bun.
   
   
8. Eat!

Cooking time probably won't take more than 10 minutes, so if you have the buns, cheese and raw patties ready to go at the start, you can get it done pretty efficiently (if not frantically!)