Holy Cow! Burger

Eat beef, not Grief!

Burgers! A true extravaganza with meat galore.

You don't order burgers to eat the buns or the veggies. Those of you who would like to orger a veg burger, shoot yourself. I mean, that's such an oxymoron. Veg burger??? In short, it’s all about the meat.

 A free piece of advice: Please, never try those ready made patties. That ain't exciting. 

 

So, here we go...your criteria to reach food heaven.

Ingredients:

Patty:

Minced beef – ½ kilo

Pork with fat – ¼ kilo

Pepper – 2 tsp

Oregano – ½ tsp

Cumin powder – ½ tsp

Egg – ½ an egg, beaten

Cheese – Parmesan / cheddar / Mozzarella

Salt to Taste

Filling:

Burger Buns – The bigger the better

Tomatoes – 2 nos

Onion – 2 Nos

Lettuce – 6 crunchy leaves

Mustard sauce

Mayonnaise

BBQ sauce

Preparation:

While making the patty, its always advisable to use a meat mincer rather than a food processor. You want the meat to be nice and fluffy and not smudged, cause this will make the burgers a cutlet and that’s the last thing you want.

Use beef or lamb and mix in a little pork with fat for the juiciest burgers.

To the minced meat, add pepper, oregano, cumin powder and half an egg and mix well. I always prefer adding the salt just before cooking and not while marinating as that will keep the burgers moist and juicy. Leave the meat either over night or even couple of hours would do. Just make sure that they are at room temp when you cook them.

Cooking:

Scoop out a hand full of meat and roll them into a patty. Be generous and you wont regret it. Don’t pat them into a flat patty. Thicker the better, I usually make them 4 ½ inches in diameter and nearly 2 inches thick. The fat and meat is going to melt and reduce in size, so don’t pop your eyes out looking at the specifications.

You could either use a charcoal grill or a simple Tava on gas for cooking. I would not recommend a non stick pan, because there is nothing to beat the taste of the burnt edges on a patty.  

Cook the meat for 5-6 min on either side. At this stage add salt to the meat.

Place the cheese of your choice on the meat during the last 1 min to have them melt and coat the patty.

Have the buns coated with mayonnaise and top with the veggies per your choice. I would suggest you go less on the veggies. Make sure you use onion rings and not julien, you could also caramelize them a little to enhance those flavours.

Top the patty with some BBQ sauce and take a messy, enormous bite of heaven.

Tips:

Add a fried egg layer just to give it an extra edge.

Remember, do not season until you start cooking.

Use the natural fat that comes from the meat and you don’t need to add extra cooking oil.

Improvisation holds the key... beef, pork, lamb, veal and mutton are some of your options that can be combined.

After all, we live to eat. And don't eat to live!