The ultimate homemade beef burgers

Name: The ultimate homemade beef burgers
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: British recipes
Ingredients: 500g beef mince, at least 20% fat, at room temperature; 1 large onion; Vegetable oil to drizzle; 8 processed cheese slices; 4 sesame seed buns; Butter, softened, to spread; For the sauce; 2 tbsp mayonnaise; ½ tbsp ketchup; ½ tbsp American mustard; ½ tsp smoked paprika; ½ tsp celery salt; ½ tsp onion granules; 4 gherkin slices, finely chopped, plus a splash of their brine (and extra for the burgers, if you like); You’ll also need; Griddle pan or barbecue

9 Reviews

Portion size: Serves 4
Prep time 10 min. Cook time 10 min
Difficulty: easy

Freezable

Tom Shingler

Head of food, delicious.

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These ultimate homemade beef burgers are meaty, juicy and packed with flavour. Head of food Tom Shingler’s easy recipe prioritises technique over newfangled additions – including plenty of tips for creating the best homemade burger, topped with cheese and burger sauce.

“A sizzling burger patty on a barbecue is, for me, the sound of summer,” says Tom. “Combine it with a couple of mates, cans of beer and a tinny bluetooth speaker blasting out songs from my youth and I’m in British Summer Time heaven.”

“There’s a beautiful purity about a classic cheeseburger, especially when the patties are given a lick of flame on the barbecue. Combined with the gooey cheese, piquant sauce and a little crunch from onion or pickle, it creates something greater than its parts. The simplicity, however, means you really have to nail each element.”

The mince needs to be 20% fat. “Any less and you’ll have something dry and crumbly. Don’t buy pre-formed patties; they’re too dense and processed. Lightly work the mince into a disc, then use your thumb to make an indent in the top; this counteracts the beef ‘ballooning’ out as it cooks.”
Choose the right cheese. “Processed American cheese is an abomination in every scenario except on a burger, where it’s an integral thing. Melty without being greasy, it acts as a sort of rich, creamy glue to hold everything together. Your burger sauce is the third important element, providing sweetness and tang to cut through the rich meat and cheese. And don’t be afraid of going overboard with pickles.”
Cook on the hob or barbecue: the burgers can be cooked in a griddle pan for a midweek dinner – but are even better on the barbecue. “Barbecuing the patty gives it that smoky finish, as well as the caramelised gnarly crust you usually get only from ‘smashing’ the patty – but with the added bonus of a juicy (and pink, if you like) centre.”
One final trick: “Wrap the finished article in foil and leave it to rest for a minute or so before tucking in. This allows the residual heat and steam to stick everything together, letting the sauce get to know the patty and the cheese to envelop the onion. It’s the key thing that elevates a burger from good to outstanding.”
Flexible recipe: Easily double the quantities to cook burgers for a crowd – ideal for parties, barbecues and sports events.

Before you start

Once you’ve built the burgers, wrapping them in foil and leaving them to rest for a minute or two will help amalgamate all the layers together, preventing fillings from slipping out.

If you’re cooking on the hob, wait until your griddle pan is smoking hot – the majority of the flavour in a burger patty comes from the dark caramelisation of the exterior, so you want the heat to be as fierce as you can get it.

Avoid lean beef mince for burgers – you want a fat content of 20% to ensure they remain juicy after cooking.

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Ingredients

500g beef mince, at least 20% fat, at room temperature
1 large onion
Vegetable oil to drizzle
8 processed cheese slices
4 sesame seed buns
Butter, softened, to spread

For the sauce

2 tbsp mayonnaise
½ tbsp ketchup
½ tbsp American mustard
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp celery salt
½ tsp onion granules
4 gherkin slices, finely chopped, plus a splash of their brine (and extra for the burgers, if you like)

You’ll also need

Griddle pan or barbecue

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Method

Light the barbecue. If it’s gas, wait until the grill is red-hot; if it’s charcoal, wait until the coals are glowing white. If cooking on the hob, wait until the griddle pan is smoking hot.
While you wait, mix all the sauce ingredients together with a big pinch of salt and pepper, then set aside. Cut 4 slices (around 0.5cm thick) from the centre of the onion, then finely chop the remaining onion and add to the sauce. Brush the onion rings with a little vegetable oil, then set aside.
Divide the mince into 4 balls weighing 125g each. Flatten each into a disc that’s roughly the same diameter as your buns. Use your thumb to make an indent in the centre of each patty.
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When the barbecue is up to temperature, season the burgers heavily with salt on both sides and add to the hottest part of the grill (directly above the hottest coals or flame) – or add to the pan. Arrange the onion slices around the outside or on a slightly cooler part of the barbecue or pan. Leave everything to cook, undisturbed, for 3 minutes.
Use a fork and a spatula to carefully flip the onion slices – don’t worry if they break up a little or get a little charred. If they’re getting burnt too quickly, sprinkle them with water (although some charring is fine). Flip the burgers too and top each one with 2 slices of cheese. Leave to cook for another 3 minutes while you split open the buns and spread the cut sides with butter.
If cooking on the barbecue, after the 3 minutes you can add the buns, cut-side down, and grill for 20 seconds until lightly charred. If cooking on the hob, remove the burgers from the pan and briefly grill the buns.
Sit the buns on a board or plate, then add a spoonful of sauce, followed by the burgers, cheese-side up. Put an onion slice on top, then another spoonful of the burger sauce (and more gherkins, if you like). Add the lids, then wrap in baking paper or foil. Wait a minute or so before unwrapping and enjoying.

See all our burger recipes for more toppings and flavour inspiration.

FAQs

Some recipes use egg yolk to help to bind the mixture together and stop the burgers from falling apart, but it’s not necessary in this recipe.

Follow the 80/20 rule: a minimum of 20% fat content is needed for juicy burgers. Chuck steak is recommended, or chuck mixed with brisket and shortrib.

Nutrition

680kcals Calories
43g (16g saturated) Fat
40g Protein
31g (8g sugars) Carbs
2.9g Fibre
2.6g Salt

Quick wins & tips

“Meat, cheese and burger sauce are all you need for a great burger, but I add a thick ring of onion into the mix too,” says Tom. “Barbecuing a disc of onion at the same time as your burgers gives you the full range of onion goodness: a little bit raw in places, beautifully soft and caramelised in others, then charred and blackened where it gets licked by fire. It offers up crunch, sweetness and smokiness all at once.”

Watch our handy video on three different ways to serve these ultimate homemade burgers:

Make Ahead

To freeze the raw burgers, stack them in a freezer-safe container between layers of compostable baking paper. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge (3-4 hours or overnight).

Cook smarter

For a juicy burger with great texture, grind your own beef or ask the butcher to do it for you. Chuck steak or a combination of chuck, shortrib and brisket works well – and go for a coarse grind.

Meaty burgers benefit from a sharp, acidic garnish such as burger sauce and/or pickles. You could also try slaw, kimchi or these pickled onions: thinly slice 1-2 red onions, then put in a glass bowl or jug. Sprinkle over 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar, then add enough lemon or lime juice to cover and leave for 15-20 minutes. Drain, then serve.