Homemade burgers

Nothing beats a good home made burger. You can pick the best meat and spice it just the way you like it. The same goes for all the other components, when you make burgers at home, get the best ingredients your money can buy. Burgers are actually a very honest recipe, where all the individual ingredients should shine.

Another advantage with making burgers at home is that it is good family fun. I like to make a platter with all possible toppings and sauces, and everyone builds their own favorite burger.

For all you busy parents out there: you can make your patties in a day in advance and keep them in your fridge. You can even prepare all the veg, and store these in an air tight container or a ziplock bag. When you want to eat your burgers all you still need to do is fry the patties.

Burger

Burgers ( for 4 burgers)

  • Patties:
    • 500 gr. minced beef
    • 1 tsp HP sauce
    • Salt & pepper to taste
    • 1 tbsp oregano
    • Optional: 1 tsp of paprika
  • 4 burger buns
  • Slices of good cheese, cheddar or dutch cheese will do
  • Ketchup and mustard to taste
  • Onion, sliced in rings
  • Tomatoslices
  • Crunchy salad leaves
  1. Combine the pattie ingredients in a bowl and mix gently with your hands. As this is beef, I recommend tasting to test if your have seasoned it properly.
  2. Devide the mixture into 4 portions and mould these into burger patties. They should be less than 1 cm thick and match the size of your buns.
  3. Now you can let your burgers rest in the fridge for 15 minutes to 24 hours. I like to coat my patties with a thin layer of oil to prevent them sticking to the plate. I cover the plate with cling film.
  4. When your table is set and your side dishes are ready, fry your burgers in a pan or griddle on high heat. Thanks to the layer of oil, you don’t have to add oil to your pan.
  5. You can test how well done your burger is by pressing it in the centre, when it is more firm, it’s more cooked. I recommend experimenting a little here and find out what your favorite cooking time is.

We like having oven baked chips with our burgers.

Need a good vegetarian alternative? My beetroot burgers taste just as good on a burger bun.

Beet burgers

BietenB2My friend loves taking me to great lunchrooms. At one of these fabulous lunches I tried my first beetroot burgers, and I was hooked. Unlike other vegetarian burgers this burger does not try to replace meat, it is a totally new flavor sensation providing great texture and filling you up for the rest of the day.

Obviously, it is also a very healthy alternative to your regular meaty version. But that is not why you should try this. This is a new flavour you have to introduce to your pallet, the healthy part is just a bonus!

I have to honestly admit this dish isn’t for everyone, especially meat lovers that think veggie burgers are blasphemy. And you have to love beetroot. I do think that offering lots of garlic rich yoghurt sauce will help convince your family members.

These burgers and sauces can easily be made a day in advance, making them the perfect easy home made fastfood!

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Beet root burgers (4-6 burgers)

  • 1 uncooked medium beet root, finely grated
  • 800 grams of tinned beans, I used field peas (we like to call them kapucijners in Holland)
  • 1 onion, grated
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups of oats

Mash up the peas (in the foodprocessor), I like leaving some chunky pieces for texture.

Mix in the beet root, onion and egg. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.

Add half the oats and let the mixture stand so the oats can soak up the moisture. After 20 minutes, check the mixture and add oats as needed. You want a firm, non-sticky mixture that still holds together well. I like to compare it to how my meatball texture feels when it is just right.

Shape your burger paddies, dust with oats to prevent the paddies from sticking if needed and let them rest for at least 30 minutes. For the practical busy moms I recommend making these a day in advance.

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Fry your paddies in some oil on a high heat for a few minutes on each side. After making the paddies crusty on each side, place the paddies in the 220 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Serve with some fresh crispy buns, some lettuce, a spicy yoghurt sauce and a yoghurt mint sauce (you find the recipe with the posh fish and chips recipe).

Spicy sauce

  • 1 tomato in small cubes
  • 1 onion finely sliced
  • 1 finely sliced chili pepper
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • handfull of freshly sliced parsley and/or koriander

Blend half the tomato, union and chili to a pulp. Mix the pulp with the other ingredients and season to taste.

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