The Burger

Sunday hangovers are no fun! However there can be an upside if you look for it and one of my favourite things is trying to work out what you need to feed the hangover in order to dispatch it.

After spending a bit of time last week reading A Hamburger Today I already had the thought that I wanted to make homemade burgers running about in the back of my mind and that combined with the hangover made the choice easy. Hamburgers it was!

Thankfully I already knew we had some good 80% lean beef mince in the fridge so I knew I was set on that one ingredient however I was lacking in a few others so off I went to the local supermarket to pick up a few essentials.

Ingredients:
600g 80% Lean Beef Mince
2 Red Onion
2 Sweet Pepper
16 slices of Pancetta
8 Slices American Cheese
4 Burger Buns
Olive Oil
Knob of Butter
Ranch Dressing (if you can get it) or Garlic Mayonnaise
Tomato Ketchup
Salt and Pepper

I know most people in the UK would rather some good cheddar over the American cheese but there is something about a good burger and the way American cheese melts on the grill that make them a perfect combo.

The same goes for the Burger buns rather than a normal soft white roll so long as they are fresh in my opinion a sesame bun is very necessary for a good burger.

Preparation:

1. Put 3 tbsp of olive oil into a small roasting pan and place in preheated oven (200 degrees C) for 5 mins. Chop your Sweet pepper into thin strips then add to the roasting pan and cook for 10-12mins or until soft.
2. Slice your red onion into rings and saute for 5 mins with a knob of butter. Then cover and sweat for a further 5 mins until soft.
3. Put your beef into a glass mixing bowl add 1 tbsp of salt and 1/2 tbsp of freshly ground black pepper. Break up by hand until the seasoning is well mixed in.
4. Heat up a griddle pan or I use my George Foreman Grill you need the pan good and hot.
5. Divide the beef into 4 portions and mould into burger patty shapes about an inch thick then press down in the centre to form a shallow depression (according to the burger experts over at AHT this helps as the burger expands slightly during cooking and I can confirm it really does).
6. Fry the pancetta with no added fat until nice and crispy save the rendered fat for later.
7. Place your burgers on the griddle and cook until the first side is well seared (about 2.5 mins) then add layer of the cooked onions to the uncooked side of the burger and flip your burger.
8. Immediately place 2 slices of American Cheese to the top of the burger and cook for a further 3-4 mins by which time the cheese should be well melted.
9. Slice your burger buns in half ans brush lightly with some of the pancetta fat and place on the griddle to toast.
10. When the burger is cooked begin layering up the burger. From the buttom up: Bun, sweet peppers, burger, more onions, crispy pancetta, ranch dressing, ketchup and bun lid.

Your burger should be pink but warm in the middle in my opinion however if you prefer your meat a bit more cooked then just add a little more time on during the cooking process.

By the time I had finished eating this bad boy my hangover was well and truly defeated.

I have just discovered a great butchers on Turnham Green Terrace in Chiswick that sells both Quail and Rabbit which are both on my list of ingredients I want to cook with so hopefully my next recipe will be a little more refined. But you can't go wrong with a good honest burger and everyone needs a good hangover cure.