When I first moved to Berlin The Bird and White Trash were the places to go if you wanted a decent burger. They were, back then, some of the only good restaurants that had decent beef burgers, crispy chips and a good atmosphere. Now, dare I say it – we are almost spoilt for choice. Exberliner’s recent burger week test drove a load of places where you can get a burger.
But you just can’t beat the homemade burger! For starters it doesn’t require making a reservation and they are easily transportable to take to a BBQ. And while I will always hold a soft spot for places such as The Bird, I love sitting at my kitchen table with kitchen roll at the ready and digging into these burgers that are fresh and tasty.
Chuck steak is the best meat to make the burgers. Alternatively you can use any non lean minced beef. Try your local butchers for the best quality meat.
Ingredients: makes 4 burgers
For the burgers:
500g good quality minced beef
70g breadcrumbs
half an onion (finely diced)
Worcestershire sauce
Ground black pepper
4 burger buns
To garnish: sliced tomatoes, few rocket leaves, sliced avocado, crispy bacon
For the tomato relish:
5 tomatoes
4 small gherkins (finely chopped)
2 tbpsn small capers
1 tbpsn tomato puree
100ml white wine
1 tspn cayenne pepper
Tabasco sauce
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For the tomato relish: Heat a small saucepan with 1 tbpsn olive oil. Add the tomatoes to a bowl and pour in enough boiling hot water to cover them. Leave for 2 minutes then drain. Gently peel the skin off the tomatoes, roughly chop them and add to the pan.
Add the tomato puree and white wine and mix well. Stir in the cayenne pepper and Tabasco sauce and bring to the boil and then gently simmer for around 15 minutes.
Stir in the capers and gherkins with the lemon juice. Pour the relish into a bowl. Place in the fridge until needed.
For the burgers: add the meat, breadcrumbs, onions, black pepper and worcestershire sauce to a large mixing bowl. Mix well and then make 4 large patties. Place in the fridge for 1 hour.
Heat a griddle pan/ frying pan and once hot add the burgers. Gently flatten them and cook on each side for around 5 minutes depending if you want them medium/ rare or not.
Once done place the burgers in the buns with a bit of relish and top with some crispy bacon.
Serve with the relish on the side.
For more great recipes check out A Modern Rose Website.
