so burgers are just favourites the world over, arent they? no exception at my house. this is my go to recipe and they are so simple, but SO much better than what you will get from any takeaway.
the kumara chips are a healthier version to your regular hot potato chips – not only nutritious they are so delicious with the home made aioli. give making your own aioli a go – its so much better than the bought stuff which is so full of preservative and other shit.
for an extra special treat, and this is sooooooooooooooooo naughty (i blame my brother for this one), drain the bacon fat from the cooked streaky bacon and add it to some butter. spread the butter on your burger buns when putting it together ….. told you it was naughty!!!
makes 4-5 burgers
for the meat patties
600gm angus or premium beef mince
1 red onion, grated
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 1/2 tblsp breadcrumbs
2 tblsp milk
3 tsp salt
1 tsp cracked pepper
for the aioli
1 egg yolk
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
pinch salt
3/4 cup rice bran oil, or avocado oil, or rapeseed oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
for the kumara chips
3x golden kumara
salt
for the burgers
burger buns – i used freyas burger buns – they are awesome!
iceberg lettuce
sliced cheese (i used kapiti smoked havarti)
sliced gherkins (optional)
sliced red onion (this is essential for some extra acidity in the fillings BUT soak the sliced in some water with a little bit of vinegar – it takes some of the sharp acidity away)
sliced tomatoes (optional)
100gm streaky bacon – fried or baked at 180 deg til crispy (i use sugar free bacon i get from the local butcher)
preheat oven to 180deg.
for the kumara chips
cut the kumara up into chips or into bite sized chunks. add to a pot of salted water and bring to boil. boil until nearly tender. drain the water and carefully put the kumara onto a lined baking tray.
let the steam come off the kumara before drizzling some oil over the chips, toss gently to coat.
put into the pre-heat oven for 20-30 mins. turn the chips over and put back in for 20 minutes or so.
they should brown and get slightly crispy.
for the patties
put the mince into a mixing bowl. add the grated onion, and crushed garlic. add the smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
place the breadcrumbs in a cup and top with the milk. wait for the breadcrumbs to soak up the milk and then add this to the mince.
using your hands, mix all the ingredients into the mince. keep massaging the meat until all ingredients are well incorporated.
the mince should stop being tacky and start to form into a nice ball.
divide the mince into balls to the desired serving size and put on a plate, cover with gladwrap and reserve to the fridge until ready to fry.
for the aioli
put the egg yolk, vinegar, salt and mustard into a mixing bowl. whisk to bring together.
gradually add the oil to the mixture while whisking (or using a kenwood stick blender).
add the oil until it gets to desired thickness.
add the crushed garlic and mix. reserve to the fridge until ready to serve.
to assemble
heat fry pan to high heat. add the meat balls and press down into patties using a fish slice. season the top side of the patties with a little salt.
while this is happening heat another fry pan, cut the burger buns in half and put them on the fry pan to lightly brown the buns. alternatively put them on a baking tray and put in the oven for 5 minutes or so.
flip the patties once the first side is nice and brown. once nicely browned on both sides, reserve on some paper towels to rest. this is important to ensure all the juices are drained out – otherwise youll end up with some super drippy and messy burgers!
once the burger buns have been warmed or slightly toasted, put some aioli on both sides, add your desired fillings and then top with the burger pattie.
remove the browned kumara chips from the oven, toss with salt and add to the plate.
serve the remaining aioli on the side as a dipping sauce for the kumara.
YUM.
ReplicATE It. 