Well, Burger Me - The Viking Burgers

If you’ve ever read my Twitter feed, you might have noticed that I’m a big fan of a certain American presenter on the Food Channel.  He has a shock of bleached blonde hair, some classic cars and an attitude towards food that the Viking can really get behind.  That man is one Guy Fieri, and he does a programme called ‘Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives’ which, to be honest, makes me want to get on a plane to America and go eating every time I see it.

Sadly, funds at Viking Towers don’t stretch as far as a trip to the good ol’ US of A as often as once a week, so I am left to my own devices in my own kitchen, trying to recreate the things I have seen.  And oh, my friends, the things I have seen. 

“So what’s on the Menu this week?” I hear you ask.  Well, first there should be a little history lesson, don’t you think?  Last time, I talked about how no-one really knew who invented Toad-in-the-Hole (except for me, of course, and I shared that little secret with you).  This week’s dish, however, has had people fighting over it for generations.  A uniquely American piece of cuisine, it has been incredibly popular since the mid-1920’s.  It is, in its simplicity, approaching perfection.  Its rise to power has seen it eaten on every continent on earth.  Some providers of this manna from heaven are so well known that their corporate identity is seared in to the brains of billions of people (and they’re lovin’ it, or getting it their own way.  You got it?)

I am talking of the Cheese Hamburger, more commonly known as the Cheeseburger.  Or in my house at least, the “mmfvishishguuuurdpasstheketchupwouldyou?” burger.

What of the struggle for the honour of being recognised as the creator of the World’s most popular sandwich?  Well.  Lionel Sternberger supposedly invented the cheeseburger at the age of 16 by “experimentally dropping a slab of American cheese on a sizzling hamburger” at the Rite Spot in Pasadena, CA.  Or, if you don’t like that, perhaps you’ll back Kaelin’s Restaurant in Louisville, KY who say they invented the cheeseburger in 1934.  One year later, in 1935, the name ‘cheeseburger’ was trademarked by Louis Ballast of the brilliantly named Humpty Dumpty Drive-In in Denver, CO.

Me, I think I support Lionel Sternberger.  I like the youthful exuberance of daring to put cheese on beef.  I like the way the end of his surname almost matches his product.  It was fate; it was written in the stars that he should be The Chosen One.

So there I was, watching Triple-D (as those in the know call it), and I saw a man do something that I had never even considered possible.  A burger that was stuffed with cheese.  It was brilliant.  My jaw dropped.  I knew, then and there, that I had to have it.  I dashed, no; I sprinted to the shops, and came back with STUFF to make:

Well, Burger Me – The Viking Cheeseburgers

To make this, you will need:

- 500g Minced Beef

- One onion, chopped

- A tablespoon of ketcup

- A handful of Parsley

- A splash of Worcester sauce

- A couple of crushed cloves of garlic

- One egg yolk

- Mature Cheddar Cheese

And that is all you will need to make a juicy, flavoursome burger that will, I guarantee, knock that bloody sinister clown and his factory-farmed ‘burgers’ in to a cocked hat.  But what is a burger without onion rings?  Nothing, that’s what.  The problem with home-made onion rings is that they can be very fiddly, messy, and you run the risk of burning your face off in the boiling hot oil and that is really going to put a black mark on your weekend.  So here is my take on onion rings – oven baked, sweet, crunchy and very little mess.  You will need:

- One onion, sliced thickly, rings separated out

- Plain flour

- Paprika

- Salt

- Pepper

- 2 eggs, beaten

- Breadcrumbs (Panko breadcrumbs are the absolute best for this, but if you can’t get them normal ones will do just as well.  I used normal crumbs in these photos)

Sorted?  Excellent.  Let’s get burgering, shall we?

Method:

First, let’s make the patties, shall we?  In to a bowl, empty:

- Chopped onion

- Parsley

- Beef

- Ketchup

- Garlic

- Egg yolk

Bind together well using your hands.  Then, with damp hands, form patties to the desired size and thickness.  For this recipe, they need to be thinner than usual – unless you want stonking fat cheeseburgers – and let’s face it, who doesn’t?

Lay the patties on a tray in two rows.  In one row, form a small depression in each patty.  Fill with a generous amount of grated mature cheddar cheese (or another cheese – why not experiment!)

Then, lay the other patty on top of the other one, sandwich together, and pinch at the edges, forming a big, soft, meaty, cheesy round of burger happiness.  And you can quote me on that.  Put on to a plate, cover, and leave in the fridge for about an hour to firm up.

In the meantime, let’s make the onion rings.

Take three separate dishes.  In one, put a mixture of flour and paprika; in another, a couple of beaten eggs, and in the last, breadcrumbs.

With each ring on onion, first bathe it in flour, and then in egg.  Finally, dredge it through breadcrumbs until fully coated and place on a lightly oiled baking tray.  Repeat until you have enough onion rings to feed a small army.  Whack in to an oven at Gas 7/220c for about 10-15 minutes, until the breadcrumbs have turned a lovely golden colour.

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the cooking of the burgers!  Heat a glug of olive oil in a skillet until it’s shimmering hot then place the burgers in.  Cook on a high heat for one minute on each side, then turn to a medium heat and then cook for a further 2-3 minutes on each side.

When cooked to your liking (I like it cooked through), rest for a couple of minutes while you toast a bun.  Serve with fat chips, and if you’re feeling decadent a slice of crispy bacon.  Spread the bun with good old fashioned ketchup and a squirt of Nuclear Yellow American Mustard, and eat.

Beware when you take the first bite out of the burger – the cheese inside will have melted in to a gooey, stringy, mess that will be hotter than the surface of the sun.  And yet, the mature cheddar flavours against the juicy meatiness of the burger will transport you to a place and time when burgers were still fun to eat – and not the plasticky, mass-produced, additive-filled monstrosities that most of us put up with today.  This recipe only takes a little while longer to make (and you can make your patties ahead of time and freeze them for extra ease), and is cheaper too.  So forget the SUPER MEGA TRIPLE HEART BYPASS DELUXE GO LARGE WITH THAT GIGANTOR EXPLOSION! meal, and head instead for your own kitchen, and rediscover an American Classic.

I’ll be back next week with more big flavours.  I hope to see you then.

Viking