The weather is set to be warm and sunny this weekend, which
gives us all the perfect opportunity to spark up the barbeque, enjoy the great
outdoors and tuck in to some tasty food with friends and family.
Keith from Manor Cottage Catering is one of our preferred suppliers here Cranmer Cottages and has kindly supplied
us with his favourite burger recipe plus his secret pickle recipe which is the
perfect accompaniment with a BBQ burger.
So why not treat yourself to some good local produce this weekend and have a go at making these delicious burgers with their tasty pickle.
Soft herb and English
onion pickle
150ml Good olive oil
50ml Red wine vinegar
100g Tomato ketchup
1tsp Worcester sauce
1tsp Tabasco sauce
4 English onions, very finely diced
50g Chervil, finely chopped
50g Chives, sliced very finely
25g Tarragon leaves picked and chopped
2tsp Dijon mustard
Prepare all the ingredients separately and then mix well in
a bowl.
Store in an air tight container and this recipe will keep
for at least one month in the fridge.
I use this pickle as an accompaniment to a slow braised,
salt beef sandwich or barbeque beef burgers. It also works really well through
a leaf salad to give an added boost of flavour and texture.
Beef burgers
3kg Good
steak mince. (I
use Sandringham Estate Red Poll. Most decent local butchers will stock Red Poll
but there is plenty of other good quality beef available. Locally, Walsingham Farm Shops also stock a very good quality beef too)
4 English onions, finely diced
50g Fresh thyme, dried can be used but use half of the amount
2tbs Colman’s English mustard powder
2tbs Smoked paprika
Sea salt and black pepper
Fry your onions, slowly, in very little oil, without colour.
Once they start to turn translucent, add your paprika (at this point you could
use a good quality barbeque powder to give your burgers a real smoky flavour).
Cook your onions for another minute so that they take on the paprika and it
starts to release its aroma. Now leave to cool.
Chop your thyme. If you have very fresh, young thyme, you
can chop the whole herb, including the stork, as long as you do it very finely.
You can always pick any odd bigger pieces out, if needed, before adding it to
your mince. Another trick, which works better with older thyme, is to freeze
it. Once frozen, remove it from the freezer and hold it between your palms
above a plate or board. Now roll it between your palms and the leaves should
all fall off, ready for you to chop.
Once you have prepared these ingredients and your onions are
cool, add all of the ingredients together in a bowl and mix well with plenty of
seasoning. This is best done in an electric mixer but by hand is fine. I never
use breadcrumbs or eggs to bind. You don’t need them. As long as you mix the
mince and press your burgers well, they will hold together. Do not over mix as
this will make your burgers tough. You can always cook a little bit off at this
point to check for seasoning.
Finally shape into 200g burgers. You can do this several
ways. Weigh them all first so you can shape them all together. I use a pastry
cutter. Keep them nice and flat so you don’t get meatballs when you cook them.
Now leave them to rest in a fridge until you are ready to
stick them on the BBQ.
Cook and enjoy!
