My ultimate homemade quarter-pounder burgers

Nothing says “summer” quite like these tasty homemade burgers cooked on the BBQ!

Preparation time:  Around 15 minutes

Cooking time:  Around 15 minutes

I’ve been on a mission to find the ultimate burger topping for years – crispy bacon is great but a little pedestrian, a fried egg can be cloying and very messy, and breadcrumbed onion rings need to be cooked separately in the oven and are often pulled out of the burger on the first bite…  But I think I’ve finally cracked it with this slice of black pudding, which goes crispy on the outside but is indulgently melt-in-the-mouth on the inside.  Of course, the beauty with burgers is that you can always use my burger-mixture recipe but then change around the burger toppings to reflect your own preferences … but I think this combo takes some beating!

Ingredients (makes 4 burgers):

• Beef mince – 500g
• Oregano – small bunch, chopped (fresh) or ½ tbsp.(dried)
• Basil – small bunch, chopped (fresh) or ½ tbsp.(dried)
• Garlic puree – 1 tsp.
• Onion salt – 1 tsp.
• Black pepper – freshly ground
• Worcestershire sauce – 1 tbsp.
• Finely grated parmesan – 1 tbsp.
• Brioche rolls – 4
• Onions – 2, sliced into rings
• Black pudding – 4 slices
• Lettuce – romaine or little gem work best
• Condiments – tomato ketchup, American yellow mustard, mayonnaise
• Cheese slices – 4 (I used mature Cheddar, but Gouda or Emmental are also good)

Method:

1. Mix the beef mince, oregano, basil, garlic puree, onion salt and black pepper together in a bowl and mix until everything is evenly distributed.  Add around 1 tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce, but make sure the mixture doesn’t become too wet.  Then add the grated parmesan and mix together until you have a supple but firm consistency, where everything holds together nicely.  If the mixture is too wet or dry, add more Worcestershire sauce or grated parmesan as necessary;
2. Divide the mixture into 4 equal balls.  Place each ball between two sheets of greaseproof paper on a chopping board, and use the back of a spatula to press the ball into a 1cm thick burger patty.  You’ll end up with irregular shaped burgers rather than perfect circles, but that’s half the charm;
3. If you’re cooking the burgers on a BBQ, cook them as you would normally.  I find that on my BBQ, once it’s at temperature, the burgers take 10-15 minutes to cook.  If you prefer, you can fry or grill the burgers as you would normally;
4. If you are using a BBQ, I like to slice open the brioche rolls and put them face down on the BBQ for about a minute to toast before I put the burger patties on.  If you’re not using a BBQ, you can toast the rolls under a grill or in a toaster – but the burgers do hold together a lot better if you toast the rolls first;
5. While the burger patties are cooking, fry the sliced onion in a frying pan with a small spoonful of oil to stop them burning.  I like my burger-onions brown and almost caramelised, so I cook them gently for around 10 minutes;
6. When the burger patties have got around 6 minutes left, cook the black pudding slices for around 3 minutes a side.  When I’m doing this on my BBQ, I cook the black pudding slices on the BBQ griddle plate, but if you don’t have one you can always fry the black pudding in the frying pan alongside the onions.  The aim is to get a nice crispy outside on the black pudding, but without overcooking the inside;
7. While everything’s cooking, prepare the burgers by spreading tomato ketchup and American yellow mustard on the toasted bases of the brioche rolls, and mayonnaise on the toasted top halves;
8. When everything’s ready, put the cheese slices on top of the burger patties while still on the BBQ so they start to melt, then divide the cooked onions between the bases of the brioche rolls (on top of the ketchup and mustard).  Place the burger and cheese slice (which should have started to melt) on top of the onions, and then top that with the crispy black pudding slice.  Finally, top with a crisp lettuce leaf (I prefer using a whole leaf rather than shredded lettuce, as it keeps the burger’s shape better) and then the toasted top halves of the rolls with the mayonnaise.  Serve with an ice cold beer, and enjoy the summer!

My ultimate homemade quarter-pounder burgers