The days are getting longer, lighter, and hotter which can mean only one thing... barbecues (or BBQs, if you're not in the UK and don't insist on spelling things out!) I love a good barbecue/BBQ especially now we've got our own garden and can actually generate our own barbecue and not rely on other people to invite us to theirs! Now we've sorted out the garden, we've bought a barbecue (not quite assembled it yet, it's on the to do list...) so now all we need is some good weather and a decent burger recipe. Ok, it's London so the good weather is hard to organise but I've been working on the burger recipe and it's now ready for sharing.
I love a good burger, and they're even better at home (where I can put my own cheese on them than have to live without it). That said, these burgers are so flavourful you could definitely get away without the cheese. Can't quite believe I'm saying that... they definitely don't need ketchup (and I'm a big ketchup fan, that's quite an admission) and while the cheese is incredily tasty it isn't strictly a requirement. Ok? Let's move on to the actual burger bit... This recipe makes two burgers but is very easily scalable.
Ingredients
- 250g beef mince
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- Splash balsamic vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp oregano
- salt and pepper
- Lactose free cheese (or other toppings of your choice)
1. Take the onion and gently fry in a little oil. Once the onions are soft (around 5-7 minutes) add in a splash of balsamic vinegar and continue to cook for another few minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
2. Place the beef, crushed garlic, spices, salt and pepper into a bowl and mix thoroughly. I find it's easiest to do this with your hands. You want to make sure the mince is well broken up and all the spices are evenly distributed throughout the mixture. Add in the cooled onion.
3. Divide the mixture in half and shape into patties. Cover and leave in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
4. Once chilled, heat a frying pan (or stoke up the barbecue) and cook to your liking. I like 6 minutes on each side and I put the cheese on once I've flipped it.
