Home-made beef burgers

There's nothing quite like a good beef burger, fat, juicy and full of flavour. With barbecue season in full swing I thought I would try to convince you just how good burgers can be if you make your own, not only do they taste fantastic but they're a breeze to make too.

All you need to make the most basic of burgers is good quality minced beef, salt and pepper. I like to make mine a little more interesting by adding other flavours to the mix, you could add chilli, herbs, cheese, fried onions etc whatever you like really. For my burgers I used chopped sun-dried tomatoes and basil for an Italian feel then finished them off with some melting mozzarella, trust me, they were good!Once you've chosen your flavours it's just a case of mixing everything well together and using your hands to form them into burgers. I find it helps to leave in the fridge for an hour or so after you've made them as it helps them to firm up and keep their shape, of course if your really desperate you could cook them immediately!

So here are my top tips for making fantastic burgers:

• Use good quality mince/ground beef, you need some fat but not too much so don't buy the really cheap stuff.
• Add plenty of salt and pepper, they really need it.
• Don't add anything to chunky or too wet to the mixture this will cause the beef to break up during cooking and you'll be eating it from a bowl not a bun!
• Get the pan, grill or barbecue searingly hot before you put the burgers on, this will create a caramelised crust on the outside.
• Let the burgers rest in the fridge for an hour or so after you've made them so they can firm up.
  

I hope you'll try making your own, once you do you'll never go back!

Gooey cheese and cranberry turkey burgers

Last week I decided to finally clear out our cupboard of sauces and pickles. We have everything in there from mustard in a variety of different types to ketchup and curry sauce, the problem was it was so full opening the door meant running the risk of serious injury as bottles and jar come pouring out! wearing some kind of hard hat would have been advisable.
So I cleared some space on top of the freezer and put a load of stuff there. During my clearings (if that's a real word) I made some interesting finds, one of them was shocking, a jar of enchilada sauce with a best before date of 1995! I couldn't believe it (no I didn't eat it!). One thing I did find of use however was a jar of cranberry sauce, I had some turkey mince in the fridge and I had an idea for cranberry and turkey burgers made by mixing the two. Apart from the classic combination of cranberry and turkey, I love cranberry sauce with brie (makes a great sandwich), and so the plan was to make turkey cranberry burgers with a piece of brie in the middle. The idea being that it would melt out as a gooey cheesy centre when you bit into it (I love melted cheese!).
The burgers were really delicious and I am definitely making these again. Turkey burgers have a reputation for being dry and tasteless but these were delicious and juicy, I think the cheese helped to stop them drying out and the cranberry gave a good flavour. I served them with a broad bean salad with roasted peppers and onions and also some potato wedges, I served a sauce made by mixing Thai sweet chilli sauce and mayonnaise.
I am thinking of trying an Italian version next with sundried tomatoes, basil and mozzarella. Sounds good to me!