Recipe: Homemade Burgers – Onion Free

I love cooking, and I love trying out different things.  With an excellent deal on beef mince this last week, I decided to make various different types of burgers.  The flavour in them is really up to you, I’ve so far made normal, spicy, peri peri and mint.  My children don’t like onions, so I take that out of my recipe.  Also apart from the crackers, mince and eggs, I’m not strict on my measurements.  I pick stuff up and add to how I think it would taste….experiment, you never know what you might discover!

Ingredients: Makes 10 – 15 burgers depending on preferred size – Suitable for Freezing

12 Crackers (I prefer to use Tuc Crackers)

500g of mince (lean with between 10 – 20 % fat)

2 Eggs

2 tablespoons Tomato puree

Paprika, Black Pepper, mixed herbs, garlic, salt (all grounded)approximately a teaspoon of each.

Optional: Onions, finely chopped

Flour

Flavouring options:

Mint Sauce (shop bought or homemade using vinegar and grounded mint leaves), peri peri sauce, chinese five spice,  or anything else you can think of!  (Please share if you do)

Instructions

Step 1:  Put crackers in a bowl and crush up.  Try and leave them out before using to soften them up a bit.  You don’t want them completely fine.  I use the back of a plastic spoon, and normally give this to one of the kids to do to get them involved.

Step 2:  Add mince, eggs, herbs, salt and pepper, and half your flavouring (if any).

Step 3:  The messy bit!  Time to get your hands in there and knead, crush and mix it all in together well.  It needs to all be evenly in together, and make one huge ‘patty’.

Step 4:  Add more flavouring, ie the other half.  As how strong something tastes is a matter of personal preference, I’ll leave that choice up to you!

Step 5:  Mix Again, using hands.  Get them in there!!!

Step 6:  Once mixture is altogether, but in fridge for an hour.

Step 7:  Time to make your individual patties.  I make them varying sizes, some for children or smaller meals, then some larger ones for the adults.  Cover both sides with flour.  They will expand in the oven!  Make them into whatever shape you want, but if making burgers try not to make them thicker than 2cm.

Step 8:  Cook for at least 20 minutes, or until cooked all the way through.  Don’t worry if they seem moist in the middle, they are supposed to be.  Serve hot, with the meal of your choice.

 

Step 9: Any mix you are not using wrap in freezer bags individually or together with a sheet of wax paper to separate them better when you take them out of freezer.  Or it should last in your fridge 24 hours.

Such an easy and simple recipe, apart from the hour in the fridge, very quick as well.  If you make in batches, like I do, you get a good couple of meals out of it…and you know exactly what is in it.  Let me know how you do making them yourselves!