a little burger - perfect party food, which slides right down!

mini beef burgers with capers

mini sour dough burger bun

  I had been playing around with my bread dough again. Often when I try to bake bread rolls, they spread in the oven and I end up with something that flat rather than rounded. What would happen, I wondered, if I plonked my rolls in a silicone bun tray? Mini burger buns by the looks of things! This means, I need to make burgers. A nice symmetry I think! 

Burger aficionados will have an opinion on the type and even the cut of meat included in their burger. I opened the freezer to forage and I discovered minced beef, which fortunately was on the fatty side (which I believe adds flavour and definitely stops the burgers from drying out). So that's what we had; no argument.

Serves about 12 standard size burgers or 24 mini burgers

Skill level: Easy

ingredients:
900g beef mince (try to use mince with a decent fat ratio - anything from 15-30%, otherwise add a little chopped bacon fat or suet).
1 x red onion, very finely chopped
½ x red pepper, finely chopped
2-3 x garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped
2 tbsp capers, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 x egg, lightly beaten

directions:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and with dampened hands, form rough burgers. The will need to be about 1.5 to 2cm thick. Place on a lightly greased baking tray and cool in the fridge for at least 1 hour before cooking.
2. Heat a griddle pan on the highest heat. It is ready when you cannot count beyond 10 seconds, with your hand about the heat!
3. Cook your burgers to your liking, about 3 minutes on each side (for medium-rare). Try not to flip them too much as they will dry out and crumble.