By Lydia Slater for The Mail on Sunday
Updated:
If you want your barbie to really sizzle, dish up a gourmet burger. here, seven top chefs reveal their secret recipes...
The hamburger is probably the most popular food in the world. You can find spicy burgers in India, kangaroo burgers in Australia and the Japanese munch on 'hambaagu'.
Classic: The hamburger is probably the most popular food in the world, and each country gives it their personal twist: spicy in India, kangaroo in Australia
America is considered the true home of the hamburger, but rissoles of chopped beef have been a staple of East European cuisines for centuries. These, it is believed, eventually found their way to Hamburg, and when a huge wave of German immigrants arrived in America in the 19th century, they brought their 'Hamburg-style beef' with them.
A early as 1834, a New York restaurant was offering Hamburg Steak on its menu, although the state of Wisconsin lays claim to the invention of the modern burger: in 1885, one young entrepreneur, Charles Nagreen, turned his homemade meatballs into sandwiches, which he then named hamburgers, and sold at county fairs.
RELATED ARTICLES
- Previous
- 1
- Next
- Serve up your burger with relish: Forget boring old ketchup, Jo Pratt shows you how to add zing to your... Planning a barbie at the weekend? We grill the experts for the secrets of their success
Share this article
Share
By 1921, the first hamburger joint had opened in Kansas. In the 1930s, Wimpy was born, and in 1948, brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald turned their restaurant into a drive-in selling hamburgers, fries and shakes. Just 11 years on, there were 100 McDonald's across America; now you'll find them everywhere from Azerbaijan to Venezuela.
The burger has become more sophisticated since those early days. Today's burger could be made from turkey, tuna or soya, topped with anything from a sliced tomato to a slab of foie gras. It may not be the world's healthiest meal, but a classic burger is still a great summer treat.
Marco Pierre White's burgers
'A guaranteed crowd-pleaser, this is the one that is served in my Frankie restaurants.'
Serves 4
Fry one onion, finely chopped, and leave to cool. Grill 8 slices of smoked back bacon.
Mix the onion with 800g rump steak, minced. Season and divide into 4 burgers, 2cm thick. Baste with olive oil and cook under a very hot grill for 3 minutes each side. Toast four hamburger buns on cut side only. Put a burger in each bun, top with a slice of cheese, then the bacon. Serve with ketchup or mayonnaise.
Bill Granger's tuna burgers
'For a well-shaped burger, put tuna mix in a plain cutter lined with cling film. Cover and chill before use.'
Serves 4
In a bowl, mix 600g finely diced fresh tuna, 3 finely-sliced spring onions and 4 finely-chopped anchovy fillets in oil. Season and mould into 4 patties. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Fry in olive oil for 5 minutes on one side, 2 on the other, or until browned.
Serve with olives, parsley, red onion and lemon juice salad, plus toasted pitta and hummus.
- Feed Me Now by Bill Granger, Quadrille, £20.
Guilt-free: Light and healthy, tuna burgers make summer snacking way less sinful
Jo Pratt's Greek lamb burgers
'Let the barbecue reach a white heat, then cook the burgers till they're nice and golden.'
Serves 6
mix 1kg lamb mince, 3 cloves chopped garlic, 1 finely chopped red onion, 2tbsp tomato purée, 1 lightly beaten egg, 50g fresh breadcrumbs, 3tbsp finely chopped black olives, 100g crumbled feta, 1tsp ground cumin, 1tsp coriander, 2tsp oregano. Season and shape into six burgers. Chill for 30 mins. Cook for 8 mins, turning every minute. Serve with toasted pitta, tzatziki and salad.
Tasty: Greek lamb burgers make a change from beef and have a delicious flavour
James Martin's beef burgers with bacon
'Although beef burgers are thought of as American, for many of us they have attained British status.'
Serves 4
Mix 700g minced beef, 1tsp French mustard, 1 finely-diced shallot, 1 diced clove garlic, 1tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley and 1 egg in a bowl, season and form into 4 patties. Sauté the patties in olive oil and butter for 3-4 minutes on either side. Grill four rashers of bacon.Put shredded lettuce on your bun, top with the burger and bacon.
James Martin's Great British Dinners, Mitchell Beazley, £16.99.
Flavoursome: Mustard, herbs and chopped shallots give these patties real depth
Gordon Ramsay's mini Meg burgers
'All kids love burgers. They're so easy to make, why buy processed ones packed with additives?'
Serves 6
Mix 300g lean ground beef and a finely chopped onion well in a bowl. Season with pepper. Form into six balls, flatten slightly and wrap in clingfilm. Chill for 30 minutes. Fry over a high heat for 3 minutes each side, then turn down and cook for a further 5 minutes. Serve with toasted buns, lettuce, sliced tomatoes, ketchup and mayonnaise.
- Gordon Ramsay Makes It Easy, £19.99, Quadrille.
Bite-sized burgers: Perfect for kids, or even as snacks at a drinks party
John Torode's beef burgers
'For a great burger, try to use mince with 40 per cent fat, which keeps the meat moist while cooking, and use Chinese oyster sauce instead of salt, which makes the mixture dry and crumbly. At my London restaurant, Smiths of Smithfield, we toast the buns and spread them with mayonnaise, not butter.'
Serves 8
Mix together 1.5kg fatty minced beef, 2 sliced red onions and a handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley. Add 2tbsp oyster sauce, 2tbsp of tomato ketchup and an egg yolk. Knead into large balls and chill for a good hour.
Before grilling, top with a piece of grilled bacon and a slice of good Cheddar. Grill over a hot barbecue or on a griddle - a good 15 minutes if you want them well done.
- John Torode's Beef, £20, Quadrille
Moist: Use fatty mince and oyster sauce instead of salt to stop beef drying out
Clarissa Dickson Wright's Mollypop's hamburgers
'Mollypop was the nickname my nephew, Stefan, gave my mother when she jumped out of the dining room window in fulfilment of a promise she made to get him to eat his lunch. Stefan is American, and my mother was always experimenting with hamburger recipes to make him feel more at home - this was the most successful one.'
Serves 4
Knead together 225g minced beef with some fat, a tin of finely chopped red peppers, 1tbsp of finely chopped onion, 1tsp of marjoram, 1/2tsp of chopped garlic, salt, 3tbsp of grated Cheddar and 2tbsp of milk. Grill on either side until brown.
- Clarissa's Comfort Food, by Clarissa Dickson Wright, Kyle Cathie, £19.99.
American style: Slices of red pepper add colour, flavour - and goodness - to this meaty treat, while tomato relish goes perfectly
BURGER FACT
The biggest hamburger of all time was made by a group of Australians in 1975. it weighed a whopping 2,859lb and measured 17ft in diameter.
