This recipe is a mashup of two of my great loves from American cuisine: burgers and breakfast sandwiches. The patty is a combination of beef and pork, seasoned with some spices reminiscent of my favourite local sausage. The eggs and bacon round off the breakfast trio and the whole thing is kicked up a notch with some caramelized onions, pickles, cheese and condiments.
I put this together for a shoot I did with Foodblog.MT so if you want to check out the full video where I demonstrate this recipe, check out the link here.
Place a frying pan over medium heat and add 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add the onions and a large pinch of salt.
500 g White onion
Once the onions start to release some of their liquid reduce the heat to medium-low and add the thyme.
4 Sprigs thyme
Cook while stirring occasionally for 20 minutes. Deglaze with a tablespoon of water and reduce the heat if your onions are colouring too quickly.
When nicely browned add a small drizzle of balsamic or sherry vinegar and a small knob of butter. Season to taste, remove the thyme sprigs and reserve in the fridge.
Balsamic vinegar, Small knob of butter
BURGER SAUCE
Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
80 g Mayonnaise, 50 g Ketchup, 20 g Dijon mustard, 5 g Hot sauce
BURGER PATTY
Combine freshly ground black pepper with ground coriander and garlic powder to make the spice mix.
300 g Beef mince, 300 g Pork mince, 1 tbsp Black pepper, 1 tbsp Garlic powder, 1 tbsp Coriander seed
Very gently combine pork and beef with the spice mix. Separate the mixture into four and gently shape into patties.
TO FINISH
Cook bacon in a pan over medium heat until nicely browned, remove and drain the excess oil on a paper towel.
8 Slices bacon
Slice the buns in half and toast the insides in the pan with the bacon fat.
4 Brioche buns
Season burger patties well with salt and cook over high heat until nicely browned. Roughly 2 minutes on each side.
Remove the burger from the pan and place it onto a tray.
Top the burgers each with a generous spoonful of caramelised onions, 3 rings of sliced pickles, 2 slices of bacon and 2 slices of cheese.
8 Slices American cheese, 12 Pickle slices
Place in the oven until just cooked through to your liking. 1-2 minutes should be enough.
While the burger is cooking, wipe out the pan and add a light drizzling of oil. Turn the ehat up to medium low. Crack your eggs into the frying pan and season lightly with salt. Place a lid onto the pan to help them cook evenly. These should take 2-3 minutes.
4 Eggs
While these cook, spread the sauce onto the top and bottom of your burger buns.
Place your cooked burger stacks onto the bottom buns and top with the fried eggs.
Carefully place the tops of the burger buns gently resting on the egg and serve immediately.
PRO TIPS
You can use fancier cheese if you like but bright yellow slices of melty American style sliced cheese is the way to go. Use minced beef and pork with a good fat content, roughly 20%. More fat makes for a juicier burger.For the best quality patties, start with large 1 inch chunks of fatty cuts of pork (collar, shoulder, leg) and beef (sirloin, chuck or brisket), season them well with a tablespoon or so of the spice mix and place in a freezer for 15 minutes. Pass through the coarse setting of a meat grinder or pulse in a food processor until you have a good texture and you have evenly seasoned, freshly minced meat.