Category: burger

golden seeded burgers

Ryvita sent me some of their new Ryvita Crackers for Cheese recently. They’re in two flavours: golden rye and black pepper, and are apparently very low in calories. They’re very tasty and great with cheese. For more information, take a look at their Facebook page. But the sweet, almost honeyed flavour of the golden rye set me thinking…

I’ve used crackers in a burger mix before and they came out great, so I tried them here. And they work absolutely great, filling the mouth with rounded flavours, and combining with the warmth of the seeds for a really different tasting burger.

Golden seeded burgers (makes 6):

For the burgers:

6 Ryvita golden rye crackers

1 teaspoon nigella seeds

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon smoked sea salt

Few grinds of black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

500g beef mince

1 tablespoon mushroom ketchup

Oyster sauce

For the spicy mayo:

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon tomato ketchup

A pinch of paprika

Juice of ½ lemon

Combine the crackers, seeds, salt and pepper in a pestle and mortar and grind to dust. Mix with the oil, mince and mushroom ketchup and form into 6 even patties. Chill in the fridge for an hour before cooking to firm up.

For the mayo, mix all the ingredients in a bowl and set to one side.

To cook the burgers, get a griddle or frying pan very hot and grill the patties for 4 minutes on one side. Flip the burgers over and baste the cooked sides with a glaze of oyster sauce. Cook for a further 4 minutes (or until done as you like – note the burger will look very dark brown due to the seeds) and serve with mayo in a soft white bun.

beef burger food

rat and roach burger

No rats nor roaches were harmed in the making of this post.

I was digging through my old photos and found this one. It’s a BBQ recipe I made in May 2005.

When your sister visits from the land of the outdoor grill, New Zealand, you can’t just serve sausages and potato salad. You need to raise the bar. The answer came from a book she’d bought me, Summer On The Grill by Phillip Kraal. This mighty burger leapt from the page at me. It’s named for a Kiwi pub called “The Rat and Roach” and is an enormous burger with all kinds of delicious contents and toppings. The photo doesn’t quite do it justice; I’ve squished it down and is slightly dwarfed by my spatula-hands. It’s the size of a dinner plate and about 10cm high. A slider it ain’t. It reminds me a little of a muffuleta sandwich, with the bonus of being a burger with attitude.

If you’re looking for a showstopper or centrepiece for your BBQ, this is it.

Rat and roach burger (serves 12):

For the patty:

1kg beef mince

1 onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Big handful parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons thyme, chopped

2 tablespoons ketchup

200g grated cheddar

1 egg, beaten

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons fresh black pepper

½ teaspoon curry powder

6 tablespoons breadcrumbs

Everything else:

10 slices smoked cheese

1 onion, diced

2 tomatoes, sliced

Garlic mayo

Lettuce, shredded

2 beetroot, sliced

Ketchup

A really large bun, a loaf really. About 30cm in diameter

Mix all the patty ingredients together in a huge bowl. You may need to add more or less breadcrumbs to help make a firm mix. Shape into a large patty 30cm round and 4cm thick.

Put on to a hot BBQ for about 10 minutes each side. After turning once, lay the cheese slices on the cooked side while the other side cooks.

To prepare the bread, cut in half lengthways. Butter the cut side and place the cut side down to toast.

Sauté the onions and tomatoes lightly (if you have room on the BBQ cook them alongside the beef). Spread the toasted side of the bun with garlic mayo, then place the cooked patty on top.

Arrange the onions, tomato, lettuce and beetroot on top of the cheese. Spread the other piece of bread with ketchup and place on top of the filling. Serve cut into wedges.

Tags phillip kraal

beetroot burger cumin dill food lamb tahini

lamb burgers with beetroot relish

Post author By Gary @ BigSpud
Post date July 6, 2010
No Comments on lamb burgers with beetroot relish

Burger season is definitely in full swing. Check out these lamby beggars. I stole inspiration for this one from Waitrose as it combines lovely Mediterranean flavours with a hint of Middle East. The burger itself was fab, as was the tahini-tainted creme fraiche. The beetroot relish was OK; fresh tasting but lacking a bit of a pep. I tried to rescue it with a blast of salt, red wine vinegar and pepper but it wasn’t quite there. Needs more work.

Lamb burgers with beetroot relish:

2 shallots, finely diced

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 large raw beetroot

1 tbsp roughly chopped dill

500g lamb mince

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

200g Greek yoghurt

2 tablespoons tahini

Dry fry the cumin seeds in a hot pan until toasty. Remove to one side and crush a bit – leave some whole. Mix these with the lamb and sesame seeds, season well and form into burgers. Chill until needed.
Put the shallot in a large bowl. Peel and coarsely grate the beetroot into the bowl. Add a couple of teaspoons of oil and dill. Season generously and mix well. Cover and set aside at room temperature for at least 20 minutes. Check for seasoning and add red wine vinegar as required.
Blend the yogurt and tahini together and set aside.
Light the barbecue or preheat the grill. Cook the burgers for about 5 minutes on each side for well done, or until cooked to your liking. Serve in a toasted roll on a bed of salad leaves, topped with the relish and a dollop of tahini cream. Serve the remaining relish and tahini cream on the side.

burger chicken food mozzarella parmesan

chicken parmesan burger

I am an RSS addict. When bookmarking first appeared the idea was sound but I knew I would never actually revisit that site to read it again. Then RSS became popular and lazy forgetful types like me were able to not bother hitting F5 again. I’m a subscriber to the very American Epicurious.com, and there’s often very interesting articles in there. This recipe flew in this week and I was interested straight away. Chicken and cheese? Ta.

I made it according to the recipe below, but couldn’t help feeling it was missing something. There’s too much onion for the chicken – it becomes acidic – and there’s one big flavour lacking. Perhaps paprika, but definitely more parmesan. I’d do it again, but with tweaks.

Original recipe found at Epicurious.com.