Burger

Method

For the mayonnaise:

• 1)

  To make the mayo you will need a stick blender, you can make it the old fashioned way by using a whisk but I find it takes too much time and little advantage to using stick blender. If you chose to make it with whisk here’s a nice link to help you out

• 2)

  In a container not much wider than the head of the blender, place 2 egg yolks, seasonings, basil, mustard and lemon juice. (It’s crucial to use a container so shallow as it’s the only way to make the mixture emulsify.)

• 3)

  Now pour in oil over the ingredients

• 4)

  Now push the stick blender all the way to the bottom of the container and pulse 5-10 times for about one second long until mayonnaise starts forming on the bottom of the container.

• 5)

  Once you see the mayonnaise start to form, blend continuously on medium speed slowly lifting the blender upwards, be careful not to lift it too fast as you will break the emulsion and have to discard everything. Just be patient and you won’t mess up. Keep blending until mayonnaise is beautifully thick and all the basil finely chopped.

• 6)

  Transfer the mayonnaise to a bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

For the caramelized onions

• 1)

  Slice the onions into half circles roughly 5 mm thick, discard the root as it will not caramelize but stay ripe as long as possible.

• 2)

  Place a thick bottom pan on medium heat and pour enough olive oil to cover the base of the pan.

• 3)

  Once your oil just starts to simmer gently, toss in the sliced onions making sure the pan isn’t overcrowded.

• 4)

  Do not stir the onions too often, to make them caramelize they need to develop a crust on the bottom of each slice. If you stir the onions constantly caramelization will not happen.

• 5)

  Stir only after you see brown bits sticking to the bottom of the pan. Just be careful not to leave them too long to brown before stirring as they might burn.

• 6)

  When the onions start becoming translucent you may add a little salt it will help build the flavour and keep them from burning as they will leak water.

• 7)

  After about 20 minutes, you’ll probably need to scrape the brown bits and stir every minute or so.

• 8)

  Cook until rich brown in color and very tender.

• 9)

  At the end of the process you might want to pour in some black wine to deglaze the pan and build up a rich flavour

• 10)

  Store in the fridge covered for up to 5 days.

To make the burgers

• 1)

  When talking about minced meat, do not buy pre minced meat and do not buy meat from a shady supermarket butchershop. Also, crucial thing to make a burger juicy is picking the right kind of meat. What you’re looking for is somewhere between 10-20% fat, thus picking several cuts to mince. I used chuck and shank, you can also go for short rib, brisket, etc.

• 2)

  Place your meat into a bowl and season with salt and pepper. If you don’t know how to season to taste, weigh out 2% of the meat weight for both salt and pepper. Now work the meat very well with your hands and leave to rest at least 15 minutes.

• 3)

  Now, for some reason, majority of people are terified of seasoning meat prior to cooking, while for meat like steaks this rule applies, to minced meat it is very contrary. When you pre season the meat it will start leaking water and giving it a good stirring and mixing with your hands, the meat will incorporate all the moisture lost and make the patties creamier, where as with steaks, the moisture lost can not be reclaimed. This can especially be visualized when preparing steak tartare. When you cut and season the meat, then start beating, you will see a beautiful creamy texture around each piece, rather than having chunks piled one atop the other like a brick wall.

• 4)

  Once your meat has rested, it’s time to form the patties (150-200 grams). Very crucial thing to keep in mind is to be very gentle with them. Do not apply too much pressure when forming because this will result in a very dense meat ,feeling like you’re eating a hockey puck. Also, don’t worry about making a perfect circle, cooking them will even it out anyways.

• 5)

  Now heat your pan on high heat. Cast iron or thick bottom stainless steel. I use this for burgers/steaks, it’s a bit expensive but I’d say worth every cent.

  Avoid using non stick pans, they aren’t to be heated on high heat because high heat makes them deform. As you need to cook them on at least medium-high heat, nonstick pans will make your burgers sweat.

• 6)

  Once your pan has reached steaming point, pour in a few tablespoons of oil and place burger patties, I prefer doing 2 at a time, as to not overcrowd the pan (When your pan is overcrowded the temperature of the ingredient which covers most of the surface will prevent it from reaching high temperature, again, making your meat sweat on lower temperature).

• 7)

  You don’t need to flip the meat only once, but you must not press the meat thinking it will cook faster or poke it with a sharp object. This will only make the meat dry out.

• 8)

  You’re looking for about 8 minutes total cooking but it’s always best to use a food thermometer to be sure.

• 9)

  Once your meat has reached about 50-55*C, on the same pan, shortly toast slices of pancetta, then place cheese and pancetta on top of the patty.

• 10)

  Now cover the patty with a lid, this way steam will circulate around the interior, beautifully melting the cheese and cooking out the burger more evenly.

• 11)

  Uncover the lid and check for the desired internal temperature.

• 12)

  Leave the meat on the pan turned off or if you’re feeling special wrap into aluminium foil to let the meat set while you toast the brioche bun.

• 13)

  In a separate pan on medium-high heat (you can use the one you cooked burgers on but i find it makes the buns a bit too moist) place a chunk of butter and toast the bun until beautifully browned (approx a minute).

• 14)

  Now to build the burger, spread mayonnaise on both sides of the bun. On the bottom side, atop the mayonnaise spread over one tablespoon of caramelized onions and a small handful rucola, place the meat patty and cover with top side of the bun.

• 15)

  Serve the burger with home made fries