Lachie Strachan’s recipe for classic beef burger

Classic Beef Burger

Let’s face it who doesn’t love a classic beef burger! For my personally it just has to be on the BBQ. From grilling the burger patties to toasting the buns it just gives it a different flavour profile & you can really get creative with your fillings to suit your taste profile. Now a lot of people would default to put their burger patties on the hotplate on their BBQ, which on some standard BBQs is a good idea as the grill doesn’t perform well enough with higher fat meats, however if you own a Weber BBQ, you are lucky as the grills work so well due to the lid down cooking & smoke circulating around the food.

Serves 4:

Ingredients:

• 500 grams of beef minced, not too lean (leaner mince means dryer patties)
• 1 egg
• ½ cup bread crumbs
• 2 Tablespoons of fresh parsley, finely chopped
• ½ brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove minced
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 4 burger buns – I prefer brioche style
• Cos lettuce leaves
• 1 large tomato
• 1 large avocado
• Pickles
• 4 slices of easy melt BBQ cheese (Colby is my favourite)
• Your favourite burger sauce

Instructions:

1. In a large mixing bowl mix the beef, egg, bread crumbs, parsley, onion, garlic, salt & pepper. Divide the mixture into four equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball & then flatten with the palm of your hand to a thickness of about 1cm.
2. Use your thumb to make an indent onto the middle of the patties, this helps to keep them a consistent thickness when cooking. Once the patties have been made, set them aside on a plate & refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Prepare your BBQ for direct medium heat cooking (180-230 Celsius)
4. Place the patties directly on the cooking grill & close the lid. Cook for around 3-4 minutes & then open the lid flip the patties and close the lid back down for a further 3-4 minutes.
5. In the last minute of cooking time place a slice of burger cheese on top of each patty & place your burger buns cut in half on the grill. Be careful not to burn the buns especially if brioche, keep an eye on them.
6. Now rest the patties whilst you start assembling your burgers. Start with your favourite BBQ sauce, followed by the burger patty with the melted cheese on top, layer with your lettuce, tomato, sliced avocado & pickles.