Dad’s beef & onion cheeseburgers
MAKES 4
I have fond childhood memories of when Dad would be in charge of us (Mum must’ve gone shopping at Farmers, maybe?) and he’d always make us burgers. He’d set up a production line of all the fillings and we could build our own.
BEEF PATTIES
500g beef mince
½ cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
4 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp sea salt, plus a decent
grind of black pepper
Flour, for dusting
4 slices aged cheddar cheese EXTRAS
4 brioche buns ¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp mustard (optional)
2 onions, thinly sliced and
fried until golden
Small tin of sliced
beetroot, drained
2 tomatoes, sliced
4 gherkins, sliced
Few lettuce leaves
1 Mix the patty ingredients together in a large bowl. Your hands are your best tools for this! Slap the mixture against the sides of the bowl to thicken it up and help it to bind well. Divide into four and shape each into a ball, then flatten to a patty (ideally the same size as your bun). Dust with flour.
2 Fry the patties in a lightly greased pan and cook until well browned and blood appears on the upper side. Flip once and continue cooking until done to your liking – I go for medium. Don’t fiddle with them too much so they will stay intact. When done, place a slice of cheese on each. Have a lid handy, splash a bit of water into the pan, then cover immediately for 30 seconds or so. This will melt the cheese to the patty.
3 Toast the buns, wipe them with mayo and mustard, then build them with the extras according to your taste. Lots of beetroot and gherkins, in my case!