Grilling season is just around the corner if not here! I wanted to share my hints and tips with you today on how to make the perfect homemade burger.
Nothing beats the taste and quality of a good homemade burger. I know the freezer section in most shops and even the chiller cabinets are filled with lots of frozen and ready made burger options, but I have to be honest here.
I have never really bought a ready made or frozen burger that can come up to the quality, taste and pleasure of a homemade, from scratch beef burger!
I know that they are convenient and nice to have in the freezer for those days when you just can't be asked to cook. And admittedly I do keep a package in there myself. When it comes right down to it however, I would rather make my own.
First of all you get far better value for your money, and secondly, they just plain taste better. Also you know exactly what is in them. (Lets not forget that horse-meat debacle from a few years ago!)
With a few hints and tips, it is possible to make a delicious and simple burger that your family will love and that you will love feeding to them. Attention to just these few details will make all the difference in the world between feeding your family a burger and feeding them a GREAT burger!
Obviously the main ingredient in any beef burger is beef! For a great burger you want to start with the right kind of beef. Get this wrong and the integrity of the whole burger comes into question!
For nice and juicy burgers you want to start with good quality ground beef that has a fat content of at least 18%. Oh, I know we are all watching the fat and calories, but when it comes to burgers, if you go too lean, you end up with a tough and dry result.
The more freshly ground the meat is the more flavourful and tender the meat will be. If you have a meat grinder, I would even recommend grinding the meat yourself. That way you really DO know what is in it.
Did you know that when you buy a package of ground beef at the grocery store that one package could contain the meat from multiple animals? Its true. They just lump all of the meat for ground beef in together and grind it up.
I don't know about you, but I prefer knowing where my meat came from. We buy only grass fed, hormone free ground beef, which we buy at our local farm market. I have to say that it is some of the best ground beef I have ever eaten, and it is the same color inside that it is on the outside.
Ever notice with grocery store ground beef that the outside might be a beautiful read color, but when you break it open it is grey and dingy inside? YUCK!
To grind your own beef (you can do this with a meat grinder or in a food processor) cut your meat first into chunks. Partially freeze it for about 10 minutes and then pop it into the grinder or food processor, and grind or pulse until ground.
I often put mine through the grinder twice. Trust me when I say this gives you the best meat for burgers!
Just as overhandling your biscuit/scone dough will lead to a tougher result, so will overhandling your meat. The more you handle it the tougher it will be. I try not to add any seasonings to my meat until I am cooking it.
That way I am not handling it at all, save to portion it and shape it into patties. I add all the seasoning when I am cooking it. Onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper. It can all be added right at the grill or stove.
To shape the perfect patties, try using wet hands. This keeps your hands from becoming overly sticky and also helps to prevent you from overhandling the meat. It also comes together faster.
If you are hand-shaping your patties, make them thicker at the outsides and thinner in the middle. It also helps to make your patties much larger than the buns you will be filling. All meat shrinks as it cooks.
Making a dimple hollow in the middle of the patty helps to prevent them from being too thick in the middle and results in a much more evenly shaped burger in the end. During cooking, as the burger shrinks, it will fill in that dimple.
Nobody wants a burger that ends up so thick that you can hardly get your mouth around it, or that has an abundance of bread at the edges with no filling.
When it comes to burgers you want to cook them from "Cold." Unlike steaks or other meats, you want your burger patties to be cold when they hit the pan or grill. This helps to keep them moist and means that all of that flavor giving fat stays in the burger where you want it to be.
Start with a really hot pan or grill. (Also a clean grill if you are using your BBQ) This allows the burgers to start sizzling and cooking immediately and sears the outside, keeping all of those tasty juices inside where they belong.
Resist the temptation to keep flipping and turning the burgers. Agitating anything while it is cooking does more harm and good and allows the juices to escape. It is the same with steaks, mushrooms, whatever.
Flip them only once and only when you have achieved the perfect sear. Also do NOT under any circumstances be tempted to keep pressing them down to achieve that sear. This will only push the juices out.
Two minutes per side for rare, three for medium rare, four for medium and five for well done. Perfect timings.
One exception to this rule is when you are making "Smash Burgers" like these ones I am showing you today. A part of the charm of Smash Burgers is that you smash them really thin and they cook really quickly, again on a very hot pan.
Obviously you won't want to be making smash burgers on an outdoor grill as you would end up pushing the meat through the grill onto the coals. Not a smart idea.
Finally, give your burgers plenty of resting time after cooking them. This allows them to re-absorb any juices which may have collected on the surface and allows them to finish cooking. No longer than 10 minutes is usually sufficient.
Other than that, pick your favorite bun to eat them in, preferably one that is sturdy enough not to fall apart. I hate burger buns that fall apart when you are eating them. Too soft a bun is usually the culprit. I favor Kaiser buns myself, and I find that toasting any bun on the cut side helps to prevent them from falling apart too much.
Add your favorite burger toppings and enjoy!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
Smash Burgers
Yield: Serves 4
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 5 MinTotal time: 10 Min
Delicious burgers. Nice and brown on the outsides and filled with cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef (not too fatty, but also not too lean)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 4 slices of burger cheese
- 4 toasted buns and toppings as desired
Instructions
- Divide the ground beef mince into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a ball. Heat a large nonstick griddle pan over high heat.
- Once it is nice and heated, place the balls of beef onto the griddle pan one at a time and using a non slotted spatula, or the bottom of a cup to press down very heavily on the meat to flatten it out as thin and flat as you can.
- Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes, until nicely browned. You will know when this has happened as the sides of the patties will start to colour.
- Flip over. Cook for about 1 minute.
- Top half of the patties with 1 slice of cheese and then with the other patties.
- Give it half a minute or so to melt the cheese and then place on the toasted buns and serve.
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I wanted to share a simple, yet delicious Honey Mustard Potato Salad recipe with you today. Not only is this an incredibly simple potato salad, but it uses two kinds of potatoes.
With its delicious honey mustard vinaigrette dressing, it is a salad that you can totally make ahead. It is also somewhat healthier than most mayonnaise based potato salads!
Creamy White Chili. I am a huge fan of chili, but if I am being honest here, and I always try to be, this creamy white chili is my absolute favorite version. I never tire of it, and yes it uses my favorite source of protein. Chicken.
This is an incredibly flavorful version of a white chili filled with hearty beans, tender juicy pieces of chicken, green chilies and a delicious variety of spices.
Potchos - Potato Chip Nachos. I wanted to share a simple nacho recipe with you today that I think you are going to fall in love with. Nachos are something we have been enjoying in my family for a very long time.
We love LOVE Mexican food or Tex Mex. Its is one of our favourite cuisines. If Tex Mex is on the menu, we can't get to the table fast enough! We especially love nachos, and who doesn't!
At their very basic Nachos make a great snack, but they are also something which you can really amp and make into a meal! It all depends on the toppings you decide to include, and what you decide to serve them with.
My family especially enjoys them with a spicy ground beef or a spicy chicken topping, with plenty of cheese thrown on top and lots of raw vegetable crunch.
Pickled jalapenos are also a favourite, as well as spring onions, olives, peppers, etc. Today all I had was onions, peppers and tomatoes. Not to matter, however, as they were flipping delicious!!
Normally the base for nachos is a good tortilla chip/crisp. You can use plain, white corn, blue corn, spiced, etc. Whatever you like really. Today we had none of those and so I decided to improvise and I made Potchos!
Which is just a fancy a$$ name for Potato Chip Nachos! We had a nice big bag of the ruffled kind. Plain. I almost dusted them with some seasonings, but then decided to go old school and just leave them as they were.
I wasn't quite sure how they would turn out, or how they would be received. But that has never stopped me from trying something new in the past and I wasn't going to let it stop me now.
Normally I also do a ground beef filling (which I have included in the recipe instructions), but I didn't have any of that either. You will simply have to forgive me for it missing in the photograph.
I did have cooked crumbled bacon, so I added that in its place. Bacon makes everything better don't you think?
I have also made nachos with spiced cooked chicken. Extremely delicious as well. Some people like refried beans on theirs also.
Today I kept things pretty simple, largely due to the fact that I didn't have a lot of things to work with. Again, I hope you will forgive me.
I did have some really delicious Tex Mex Cheese. It was a blend and quite spicy. I am not normally a proponent of using pre-grated cheeses, but today I did. For things like nachos, they work quite well.
At their very simplest Nachos are basically just tortilla chips covered in cheese and salsa. Personally I think they are delicious no matter how simple or how complicated you go!
Chips and cheese and something to dip them in. Does it for me every time. I had been wondering for a few days how they would be if you made them with potato chips. I know . . . I'm a bit weird that way. My brain can't help itself.
I had also had my Covid shot and wasn't sure if I would be up to cooking anything too complicated. Its such an unknown entity. So I decided that for lunch I was going to make us some Potchos. ( A phrase I coined to describe potato chip nachos. Again forgive me!)
I was actually taking a bit of a chance as the people here don't really like to try anything too much out of the ordinary. They do like nachos however.
I have to say I was really REALLY pleased with how they turned out! If anything we enjoyed then more than the original nachos that we normally make!
Dan declared them to be a winner/winner! Whew!
Even my sister really liked them. And she had screwed her face up when I first mentioned them.
Her opinion was when done and dusted and more importantly tasted . . . "Its nice to know that you can make tasty nachos even when you don't have any tortilla chips in the house!"
I took that as a compliment as she has pretty discerning taste!
Normally we would enjoy these with some salsa and guacamole as well as sour cream. Unfortunately all we really had was the sour cream today.
I know! How ill-prepared were we!! Normally I am much better prepared than that!
I can only imagine how very delicious these will be when we make them with everything we normally enjoy on nachos! They are going to be phenomenal.
I hope no purists are going to jump on here and call me out for ruining the integrity of nachos. Cooking is supposed to be about stretching the boundaries and creating something delicious to eat from what you have. I think I did just that.
Put it this way . . . there was nobody complaining. Nobody. From a household of very discerning and picky eaters, that was good enough for me! We all enjoyed! Naughty yes, but also very nice.
Hey, have you tried the Green Tabasco Sauce? I am in love with it and really like it splashed on my Tex Mex goodies. It was really good on these. I also enjoy it on fried eggs. Its spicy with a nice green jalapeno bite, not as hot as the Red Tabasco Sauce. I like it much better and it goes especially lovely with cheese!
Potchos -Potato Chip Nachos
Yield: Variable
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 30 Min
This is what you make when you run out of nacho chips. Using potato chips I created something which is just as tasty, if not even more tasty!
Ingredients
- 1 TBS light olive oil
- 1 pound minced steak
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 TBS Taco seasoning
- fine sea salt to taste
- 3 cups (360g) Tex Mex blend cheese
- 1 large bag of thick ruffle edged potato chips
Toppings as desired:
- Pickled jalapenos
- chopped sweet bell peppers
- chopped spring onions
- chopped green and black olives
- drained and rinsed black or pinto beans
- drained and rinsed sweet corn
- diced tomatoes
To serve: (optional)
- dairy sour cream
- tomato salsa (as hot or as mild as desired
- chopped tomatoes
- chopped spring onions
- hot sauce
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the ground beef and scramble fry until browned. Add the garlic and taco seasoning. Cook until quite fragrant. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 425*F/225*C/gas mark 7. Line a large baking tray with some baking parchment.
- Scatter the potato chips over top of the baking paper. Top with the beef mixture. Scatter the cheese over top and then sprinkle with the toppings as desired. (pickled jalapenos, onions, tomatoes, peppers, etc.)
- Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese melts and gets all gooey. (about 15 minutes.)
- Splash on the hot sauce and serve hot with your favorite accompaniments. Delicious!
This is another one of my tea towels. I just love these little dogs. This one took a while because I used three shades of yellow threads on the corn kernels. I think it turned out pretty cute!
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Classic Vanilla Pudding. Nothing spells comfort in a dessert much more than good old fashioned Vanilla Pudding. This has to be the most benign and delicious dessert ever made.
Most of us are familiar with the boxed mixes, both for instant varieties and cooked. Indeed most of my childhood the only vanilla pudding we ever had came from a boxed mix. I don't remember my mother ever making it from scratch.
I'm not quite sure I understand why. Vanilla pudding is probably one of the easiest puddings of all to make from scratch. There is nothing out of the ordinary in vanilla pudding. Just simple ingredients.
Milk (make sure it is whole), egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, salt, vanilla. That's it! Oh and a TBS of butter stirred in at the end, which really helps to add a rich flavor. You can leave it out if you wish.
When I talk about pudding here, it is not meant to be confused with the British term "Pudding." In the UK the word pudding is used to mean "dessert." And they call it all pudding. Pies, cakes, custards, steamed puddings, etc.
Its the treat that you get at the end of a meal and you will be asked, "Would you care for pudding?" This question will be asked in homes, restaurants, pubs, etc. Wherever you have gone and had table service for a meal.
In North American, pudding is what we call a rich milky thick dessert. Smooth and sweet, like a really thick custard. Usually served cold, with or without whipped cream dolloped on top.
It comes in several flavors as well. Chocolate. Butterscotch. Pistachio. Banana. Coconut. Vanilla (my favourite.) No, it is not like a Blanc Mange. Blanc Mange is set.
Pudding is thick, but loose, spoonable. Delicious.
In North America pudding is meant pretty much to be eaten on its own, although there are lots of things you can stir into it that bring lots of delight to lots of folks. I have never much been a fan of that habit. I like it plain and unadulterated.
I have seen people stir mini marshmallows, chocolate chips and toasted nuts, sometimes even toasted coconut into chocolate pudding, Usually the others are served pretty plain, but when it comes to Vanilla pudding, the skies the limit!
I have seen crushed oreo cookies stirred into, which is quite nice. Other stir-ins include sliced banana and crushed vanilla wafers, fresh berries and crushed gingersnaps, chopped dry roasted peanuts and halved grapes, crumbled nutter butters . . .
You can really stir in whatever your imagination desires. With a few more crumbled cooked scattered over top just before serving so that they are crisp.
Myself, I am a bit on the boring side and prefer it just plain. No whipped cream. No stir-ins. Maybe a cookie on the side, but even then I am not likely to indulge. Plain and simple.
This is nursery food, comfort food, pure and unadulterated pleasure. One silky spoonful after another. Today's recipe was adapted from an original recipe in the Purity Cookbook. Its delicious.
If you have never made pudding from scratch, I highly recommend this version. Its plain and simple and incredibly easy to make. Just make sure you temper your egg yolks so you don't scramble them. That is probably the riskiest part, other than that, its a pure and simple doddle to make.
If you can get it, I highly recommend using vanilla paste instead of vanilla extract, and do stir the butter in at the end. Bliss. Pure and utter, bliss. Dessert doesn't really get much better than this!
Classic Vanilla Pudding
Yield: 6 - 8
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 10 Mininactive time: 4 HourTotal time: 4 H & 20 M
A classic dessert, always delicious. Comfort food in a bowl.
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups (1 liter) whole milk
- 1 cup (195g) sugar (in the UK use castor sugar)
- 1/3 cup (50g) cornstarch (corn-flour)
- 5 large free range egg yolks, beaten lightly
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 TBS unsalted butter
- fine sea salt
To finish:(optional)
- sweetened whipped cream
Instructions
- Measure 4 cups (950ml)of the milk into a saucepan. Bring just to the boil and then remove from the heat.
- Whisk the sugar, 1/2 tsp salt and cornstarch together in a large bowl.
- Whisk the egg yolks together with the remaining 1/2 cup (120ml) of milk. Slowly whisk this into the sugar mixture to combine thoroughly.
- Temper the egg/sugar mixture by slowly whisking in about half of the hot milk. Once you have done this, carefully whisk this tempered mixture into the remaining milk in the saucepan.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring and whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Cook and whisk for a further 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture has thickened to a pudding like consistency. Whisk in the vanilla and butter.
- Cool slightly, stirring it a few times.
- Pour into a bowl and cover the top with some plastic cling film to help prevent a skin from forming. Place in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly. (about 4 hours)
- When ready to serve, whisk again vigorously, and divide between dessert dishes.
- Serve with or without some whipped cream on top.
I know . . . so many questions. Enquiring mind (s) want to know!
I am not sure if I will be posting a recipe tomorrow. I am having my first vaccine for Covid this morning, early and I am not sure how I will be feeling afterwards. I am hoping okay! Wish me luck! (I am having the Moderna.)
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
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These easy Lemon Bars are a delightful recipe taken from the pages of my Big Blue Binder. For those of you who don't know this is a big blue vinyl binder filled with recipes, handwritten and clipped, that I have been saving since I was about 9 years old.
It has travelled around the world with me and is filled with all of my tried and trues. Many are family recipes, having been handed down through the generations.
Others are gifts from friends. Something I ate and enjoyed in their homes, and that they were kind enough to share the recipe with me. Shared recipes are the best recipes of all!
This is a pretty classic lemon bar recipe. They are the perfect combination of tart and sweet! Everything a good lemon bar should be.
There is something about lemon flavoured baked goodies that sings the song of my heart. I can't get enough of them. When push comes to shove and I had to choose between something lemon or something chocolate . . . well, lemon would win every time.
Actually I do have a recipe for Lemon and Chocolate Slices on here that is pretty darned good. With those you get the vanilla shortbread crust, topped with a layer of melted semi-sweet chocolate.
Onto this goes the lemon curd filling and the rest is history. Deliciously different. You can get that recipe here. Its pretty lush.
I also have a recipe for Raspberry Lemon Bars, which you can find here. Along with a lot of other delicious lemon recipes.
Recipes such as Homemade Lemon Curd, Little Lemon Ginger Cakes, Raspberry Lemon Bars, Blueberry Gingerbread. (You split that cake and put lemon curd in the middle.)
Then there is a luxurious Lemon Tart, sweet Lemon Cupcakes, Lemon and Poppyseed Bundt Cake, Lemon & Blueberry Drop Scones, and even a few more recipes for lemon delights.
All on that same page. If you like lemon, its the mother-lode of lemon tastiness.
Classic Lemon Bars however are hands down my absolute favorite bar. With their simple shortbread-like crust and tart sweet lemon filling, they always delight.
And they are such a simple bake. I don't know why people think they must be complicated. They aren't in the least. Nothing could be easier.
The crust contains only three ingredients. Plain or all purpose flour as it is also called. Salted Butter. Sifted icing sugar.
I always sift my icing sugar to get out any lumps. It doesn't take long and you get a much nicer finish in your baked goods rather than trying to use it without sifting it.
These three ingredients are rubbed together in a bowl until they are well combined. They make a rather crumbly mixture. Don't worry, its supposed to look that way.
This crumbly mixture gets put and pressed into either an 8 inch square baking dish or a 9 inch square baking dish. If you use the 8 inch square dish you get deeper layers. I like them better in the 8 inch square dish.
You just put the crumbly mixture in and then press it compact. I find using the flat bottom of a metal measuring cup does a really great job of this.
This crust gets baked for 20 minutes. It will be nicely set at the end of that time.
While the crust is baking you can get busy with the business of whisking the filling ingredients all together. There is nothing out of the ordinary there either.
The filling is simply lemon juice, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, baking powder and salt. Just whisk everything together on high until the mixture is light and fluffy.
Always, ALWAYS, use fresh lemon juice and add the zest. Fresh juice blows the one from concentrate out of the water and the zest really does add to the lemon flavor of the bars!
This mixture gets poured over the hot baked base and then the pan is popped back into the oven to bake the filling. It takes about half an hour.
At the end of that time the filling should be completely set. A finger pressed in the center should meet with some resistance and not make a dimple. At that point you know they are perfect.
The most difficult part of making these lush bars is waiting for them to cool enough so that you can cut them into bars to enjoy. Seriously. Nothing could be easier.
You do need to leave them set for about an hour prior to cutting them. I know, its hard . . . I always want to dig in right away, but believe me, it is well worth the wait.
Its a tough job but someone has to do it!!
I like to dust them with icing sugar prior to serving them. There is no point in doing that too early because the bars will absorb the sugar. I always do it just before serving.
Like a girl who is getting dressed up to go to a party, a dusting of icing sugar prettifies these up beautifully. Its not necessary, but it is nice.
If I am being really fancy, I will also pop a tiny bit of fresh lemon on top to further decorate them. But trust me when I say these are delicious even without the icing sugar topping and lemon bits.
These are just full on TASTY TASTY! A family favorite treat for sure!
Lush Lemon Bars
Yield: Makes one 8 or 9 inch square pan
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 48 Mininactive time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 58 M
Perfect in every way. Lemon bars with a sweet shortbread cookie crust and a lush sweet/tart lemon topping.
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 cup (140g) plain all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (120g) butter, softened
- 1/4 cup (35g) icing sugar, sifted
For the filling:
- 2 large free range eggs
- 1 cup (195g) granulated sugar (in the UK use caster sugar)
- 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- 2 TBS lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Optional but nice:
- Sifted icing sugar to dust
- small bits of lemon to decorate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Have ready an 8 or a 9 inch baking dish. Note that an 8-inch dish will give you a much thicker filling.
- Measure all the ingredients for the crust into a bowl and blend together until evenly blended. It will be crumbly. Press this mixture into the bottom of your baking dish.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- For the filling, beat the remaining ingredients using an electric whisk for 3 minutes on high speed, until light and fluffy. Pour this mixture over the hot crust.
- Bake for for 25 to 30 minutes, or until totally set and the top is firm when lightly touched in the center. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least an hour in the pan.
- To serve cut into squares and dust with icing sugar. Decorate with bits of fresh lemon if desired. Delicious!
I thought the plate went very well with the squares and also with my tea towel. I never know what colors I am going to use. I just sit down and start to embroider. This one is one of my favourites, but then again I say that about them all n'est ce pas!!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
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