Have you ever had a really strong food pang attack? Where you know exactly what you want, ingredient for ingredient, out of all the millions (perhaps billions) of dishes in the world? This is something I experience quite frequently. I’ll be minding my own business when all of a sudden, BAM. I need wonton soup. Or a Fanta from one of those tasty machines at fast food restaurants. Or a handful of salted cashews. Everyone get out of my way while I search for peach yoghurt in the grocery store! You get the idea. I like that I get such specific cravings, but I think about said craving on and off until I fulfil my needs. It’s like when I go shopping, see something I like and say I might come back for it later. If I don’t go back and get it, I think about it. A lot.
Late last Thursday night, the urge for a rather common craving hit me. I needed a burger, but not any burger – in my mind it had to be homemade and assembled by me. It was too late in the evening to procure any of the essential ingredients, so I tried to sleep it off. Expectedly, the cravings were very much there on Friday. I kept thinking I could smell burgers cooking, despite a Yankee candle lit on my desk. I couldn’t torture myself anymore.
I have never made my own burgers before, but I was willing to try. Although the local store didn’t have large burger buns, I figured having sliders would make everything even more enjoyable, and everything looks cute in smaller servings.
Although there are plenty of slider recipes, I winged it in terms of what I wanted from the burger. It was so easy, and they were pretty darn good. Needless to say, I was quite happy with myself, fist pumping the air with each glorious bite.
Experiencing a big ol’ burger craving? Join me.
Ingredients (Makes 6-8 sliders)
Of course burger toppings are something of a personal preference, but I’ll just list what I used here. Sadly, I forgot to buy pickles/gherkins but I’ll use them next time, I think they make these little guys even more perfect.
A pack of slider buns/mini hamburger buns
For the burgers
1 pack of mince meat
2 medium red onions
oil for frying
salt, pepper for seasoning
For the sauce
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
Toppings
Lettuce, shredded
6-8 cherry tomatoes (1 for each slider)
2 -3 slices of bacon
2 slices of cheddar, or any cheese
Dice the onions and fry in a teaspoon of olive oil, until soft. When the onions have completely cooled, transfer to a mixing bowl and with clean hands, mix with your mince meat and season well. This is a messy job, and it makes a lot of squelching noises but it’s fun, in the grossest of ways. Lightly oil a plate and take a small handful of the mince/onion mixture and roll into a ball. Ping pong ball size is too small, tennis ball is too big..aim for a little smaller than a snooker ball! Continue until you have 6-8 small burgers. Place on the place and flatten very slightly with the palm of your hand. Flip each burger over so they have a small amount of oil on each side, cover with another plate or cling film and leave them in the fridge for 30 minutes. Now you can start on your buns and sauce.
Cut your two cheese slices into four small squares and place on the inner side of the top of each burger bun. If you’re only making six, cut the last square again and distribute between the burgers.
Mix the ketchup, mayo and mustard in a small bowl. Chop each cherry tomato in half. Prepare your lettuce if necessary.
Preheat your grill to maximum temperature. When it’s hot enough, put your meat on, cooking for 4 minutes on each side. This is the perfect amount of time, any longer than this and they might dry out. When your burgers are nearly done, add the two slices of bacon to the grill, cook until slightly crispy. When you remove your cooked burgers and bacon, throw in the slider buns for a minute or so, to toast the buns and cheese.
Start by spooning some sauce (about the size of your thumbnail) on each bottom bun, then lettuce, another dash of sauce, your burger, another dash of sauce, your bacon, halved cherry tomatoes and top bun.
This worked fine without any toppling, but if you add any additional ingredients, you may need toothpicks on hand to keep everything together.
And there you have it, tiny bundles of happy. No egg or flour or anything needed for the mince. Perhaps for larger burgers, but that’s another story.
Enjoy!
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