Homemade burgers
This is our favourite recipe for burgers which incorporates all our advice for protecting meat from the harmful effects of cooking at high temperatures (such as grilling and barbequing). We shouldn’t really be endorsing burgers, but if you are going to eat them (as we do) you may as well make them as healthy as they can be and work on counteracting some of the damage.
Servings Prep Time
6 people 15 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes
Servings Prep Time
6 people 15 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Crush the garlic and leave aside
  2. Roughly chop the onion and saute in a frying pan until soft (about 3 minutes). Add the crushed garlic to the onions for a minute at the end to release some flavour.
  3. Transfer the onions and garlic to a processor with the herbs, mustard and guinness. Blitz to a paste.
  4. In a large bowl, combine the meat with the egg. Slowly add the onion paste until the mixture is thick and not too wet. Mix with your hands to form into patties and leave in the fridge to ‘set’ for at least half an hour.
  5. Fat dripping on hot coals dramatically increases the carcinogens on meats so if barbequing, get the coals hot then spread them in a circle and cook the meat in the middle. If using a griddle pan, coat it with a thin layer of olive oil to prevent the burgers sticking.
  6. Flip the burgers every 30-60 seconds which has been shown to reduce charring and so reduces nasty chemicals forming. Try not to overcook the burgers – it’s the black, burnt bits that are most dangerous.