How to make a burger

How to make a burger

How to make a burger

8 December 2014

How to make a burger

A classic burger is made from beef but any minced meat or flaked fish can be used to form a patty that is served in a bun, for example, lamb, venison, turkey, cod, salmon or mackerel. Burgers are great barbecue food but they can be pan-fried or grilled too.

If using lean meat to make burgers, it is necessary to bind with egg and breadcrumbs to prevent them falling apart when cooking. This is also helped by chilling the shaped burgers for an hour in the fridge prior to cooking.

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

  • 500g of lean beef mince
  • 1 onion, diced
  • garlic cloves
  • 100g of breadcrumbs, fresh
  • 1 tbsp of tomato purée
  • salt
  • pepper

Method

1
Line a baking tray with cling film. Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well with your hands
2
Take a handful of mince and throw it back and forth between your palms to knock out the air then shape it into a flat burger (as a guide, allow 100g of mince per burger)
3
Lay each burger onto the tray, cover with cling film and leave to set in the fridge for at least an hour before cooking
4
Pan-fry or grill over a medium heat for 3–4 minutes each side

Tips

Make the burger slightly bigger than the buns you are planning to serve them in because the meat will contract when cooking.

To check the seasoning of the burger, cook a little bit of the mixture to taste and add more salt or pepper accordingly.

Variations

Experiment with flavours by adding dried or fresh herbs, spices and condiments to the mince, for example, fresh parsley, tarragon, chilli, ginger, cumin, Worcestershire Sauce or ketchup.

See our collection of burger recipes for more inspiring flavour combinations such as lamb and cumin burgers, pork and cranberry stuffing burgers and squid and mackerel burgers.

Get in touch

Please sign in or register to send a comment to Great British Chefs.