How to Make Easy Family Friendly Burgers 

As a working parent I am very fortunate that my wife, at the moment, is at home cooking dinner for me making sure that not only does the Dad Diet carries on and I’m getting the right portions in the right nutrients I need. But also after a long day I have a warm meal when I come home late in the evening. When I get home late as I normally walk through the door it’s dinnertime and then it’s soon bedtime for Dorothy and as you can imagine that’s very difficult on Mrs P as she always has to cook, especially as I do love to cook and I like to give Rachel a home cooked meal every now and again. And while I’m at it  something clean and suitable for all the family! Now as a man who does love a really good quality burger including travelling to Manchester to get an Almost Famous as they have one of their greatest burgers ever created. So this weekend after the success of my Teriyaki Burger last year I thought let’s see what I can do without cookbooks! So my inspiration is to make a burger that is as quick and simple as possible.  So I’ve been told that a good quality burger must have a quarter pork meat to three quarter’s beef. Apparently it’s for the way that the fat in the pork gives extra juiciness and extra flavour. I must admit when you see the outcome of you will be using a pork and beef mix from now on. [gallery columns="2" layout="slider" ids="11506,11505"] Another thing that I’ve done differently is that I don’t include breadcrumbs so when combining the patties together with the egg in the bowl I’ve used finely chopped rolled oats. Now after a look online, rolled oats contain considerably less sodium and all of the extra agents that go into making white fluffy bread. This also means that there’s no additives in your home-made burgers so not only are they okay to eat for yourself but also okay for the family and potentially even the toddlers well. Just tell me how to make them! This needs to be simple and easy so you can come home, throw things in the bowl and visually take a quick look at what you’re doing to know that it’s right. As you can see there is a load of beef and a load of pork. Now I’m looking to make four and a half burgers here and I said if you imagine a burger as just short of a fist size. So imagine the meats combined and visually there is the right amount of meat here. Using two eggs as a binding agent I’ve used two cups of rolled oats which were put into my nutri-blender type thing. Using the rolled oats as a replacement to breadcrumbs has made the burgers very juicy but without the big chunks of bread. So get your meats into a nice big bowl and smash them together don’t be scared of getting your hands dirty. Remember to wash your hands. Crack in two eggs so roughly half an egg per patty, and slowly add the ground oats half a cup at a time. I love pepper so give it an absolute lashing at this stage. I thought I over did it but it wasn’t enough for my taste so if you want to add seasoning really add lots of seasoning. If at this stage it’s more jelly like than firm add more oats. We need to keep a nice burger shape. Form into a big ball and tear some meaty goodness into smaller round balls. I’ve done enough for 4 big patties and a smaller one for Dorothy. We’re gonna go fry these 1st to make sure they retain their shape and then into the oven and cook them thoroughly all the way through but keeping that crisp outer layer. What I’ve done here is put the pan on extra heat so the hottest temperature I’ve got and there’s a very very small bit of oil. I probably didn’t need to do this so do you not put oil in. It’s about now that I put the oven on 220 to warm up. Start sizzling those balls into the pan and it really won’t take long to get them crisping up. Use the spatula to push them down but don’t get too eager to squash them, they’ll easily explode like a meat firework! And there’s no going back. [gallery layout="slider" columns="2" ids="11517,11516"] As I was using the wife’s Tefal cooking sets they’ve got removable handles. Which means I can go straight for hob to oven no messing and no worries about the door not shutting. The burgers will be juicy pink in the middle but raw pink in the middle. By finishing off in the oven it gives you time to get the burgers, cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers cut. If you have a meat thermometer stick it in and check the temperature is bang on but with the top and bottom being seared, you’ll be able to visually tell. It was about 10 minutes for me in the oven. I love a good melted burger so I chucked a nice chunk of cheddar into the pan and turn the oven off. As the burgers literally had no additional additives, hidden ingredients or surprises we’ve used the best quality pure beef and sausage meat from butcher quality sausages, Dorothy got her own Burger and fillings too 🙂