a Brit burger that has won over the Americans with a secret ingredient

I was told when we moved here that it would be very brave for a Brit like me to make homemade burgers for Americans. I guess it is a bit like and American living in England serving up fish and chips or roast beef and Yorkshire puds. Anyway I wasn’t put off, and if anything it made me determined to show those Americans a (friendly) thing or too about how us Brits can cook.

In my attempts to make my own burgers I tried all sorts of recipes and bun combos and here is the result of all those experiments.

A word on ingredients

Necessity being the mother of invention meant that my trick, which I’ve not seen in any other recipes, came about from me being out of crackers or breadcrumbs. So I rummaged through the cupboard and decided to throw a few rice cakes in my food processor. Yes really, the polystyrene things you eat when you’re trying to kid your children they’re having a treat. It makes sense though as they are so dry they crumble well and, when they’re cooked in with the meat, they absorb all the juices from the meat giving you a really juicy burger. The bonus is it also makes the burgers gluten-free.

The other game changer is to use amazing meat, the best you can afford.

And the final thing is the Parmesan which helps tick the umami box and, let’s be honest, a bit of Parmesan is pretty much always a good thing.

Make double and freeze some or use some as meatballs

When I make a batch of burgers I usually make double the amount and then freeze some for speedy dinners when we need them. To freeze them, wrap each, raw, burger in parchment or plastic wrap then freeze and defrost before cooking. They defrost really quickly as they’re pretty thin so you are never too far away from deliciousness.

This is also a great meatball recipe, just make balls instead of burgers.

Ingredients to make 6 burgers (or 12 sliders)

• 2 cloves garlic, minced (I use my coarse Microplane to quickly do this)
• 5 rice cakes or rice crackers blitzed in the food processor or crumbled well in a plastic bag with your hands (a few pea size lumps are fine)
• 500g (1lb) best quality, ground/minced beef 15-20% fat content, anything less fatty will result in dry burgers
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 heaped teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large egg
• A handful freshly grated Parmesan

To serve:

Your choice of burger bun, sliced pickles/ sliced tomatoes/ lettuce/ mayo/ ketchup/ mustard/ Cheddar cheese/ slaw

To make:

1.  Combine all the burger ingredients in a large bowl and use your hands, you really need to use your hands, to squeeze the ingredients together until well incorporated. I usually start by making a fist and pushing down with it into the mixture to start to break up the meat then I move to a squeezing motion to finish mixing

2.  I usually roll out the total amount of mixture into a very rough sausage then divide it into 6 (or 12 if making sliders) then form each burger by making a ball of mixture then flattening it to around 2cm (1 inch) thick

3.  Pop all the burgers onto a plate then cover (they will make your fridge garlicky so wrap them tight) and chill for at least an hour but you can make them a few hours ahead of time if it fits better with your day

4.  I like to cook the burgers in a super hot, dry frying pan (no need to add oil) or on a hot grill for 3-4 minutes per side. I really do think they taste better when they’re grilled on the barbecue but sometimes the urge for a burger is bigger than the urge to clean and light the bbq. Don’t move them more than the one time you flip them otherwise they won’t get chance to develop that yummy crust.

5.  Once you flip them, put a slice of cheese on top to melt and toast your buns ready to assemble with your choice of toppings.

Equipment

You can now buy the equipment I use in this recipe through my shop. I’ve spent years testing my favourite bits of equipment so rest-assured that whatever I recommend is the best tool for the job and will give you great results without cluttering your kitchen with unused tools. You can also buy my other bits of essential kitchen equipment through this post.

Get more recipes like this

Find more recipes for grills/BBQs, ground meat and beef here.