Ultimate Burger Stack

Build Your Own Burger. Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, oh yay. It will be messy.

I was prompted to write this post after having a cheeky Burger King on my way home from work in London yesterday. A Whopper cheese, no tomato, is my guilty fast-food pleasure. But few things beat making your own, and my kids love these, as you can personalise your stack, so everyone just has it their way.

I make homemade beef or chicken burgers as the main event and then augment with all sorts of easily bought add-ons - the more the merrier as far as I am concerned.

Key to presentation is to stack the burger super high such that you really have to squidge the bun down to even eat it, and you get really messy in the process. Juices will definitely run down your arms.

Homemade Beef Burger. Very finely dice a red or white onion. Add minced beef. Season with salt and pepper. Add some very finely chopped parsley (flat or curly) and the yolk of an egg - this helps bind the mixture. Mix together well and shape into burgers. Pop into the fridge for a bit as this helps them keep their shape. When ready to cook just shallow fry in a pan with some oil until they’re done - I like mine rare to medium. Mostly rare.

Homemade Chicken Burger. Take some plain yoghurt and add some flavour to it - but of paprika, maybe a few mixed dried herbs, a bit of sumac, whatever takes your fancy really. Marinate chicken breasts in the flavoured yoghurt for a good few hours. When you’re ready to cook, take the breast out of the yoghurt and dip it in plain flour - you want a light coating all over. Deep fry until cooked.

Then just decide what you want to add…

Cheese. A slab of strong cheddar, I like Barbers. Or a slice of stilton. My son loves a slice of brie. Or if you’re feeling it, a slice or two of shit plastic cheese, who cares.

Onions. Easy home-pickled red onions. Finely slice a red onion. In a small pan mix 50/50 red wine and red wine vinegar and bring to the boil. Take off the heat and add in the sliced onions. Bring back to the boil, then remove from the heat and cool. Store in a jar, keeps in the fridge for ages.

Oozy Fried Onions. Finely slice a red or white onion. Fry in a pan with some olive oil until fully softened and starting to brown. Add a couple of splashes of balsamic vinegar, then reduce or take off the heat, add a squirt of ketchup and a squirt of yellow hotdog mustard (you may also need to add a splash of water to loosen) and mix it all together well. You’ll end up with an oozy oniony gloop.

Gherkins. I know this can be a divisive item, but I love a gherkin so load them on. I’m a fan of the classic Mrs Elswood Haimisha ones, sliced and piled on.

Hash Brown. An essential in my book - I just do the frozen ones from the supermarket so they’re always to hand. Once cooked and in the burger the key is to smush the hash brown so it spreads out.

Bacon. For me it has to be good quality smoked back bacon, well cooked.

Salad Items. I am generally less keen on these, but sometimes you feel like a few nice slices of ripe avocado, a couple of leaves of Gem lettuce. I have been known to chuck a load of coleslaw into my chicken burger if I am feeling virtuous.

Condiments. Go classic with tomato ketchup, yellow mustard or mayo. Other good options solo or in combination are sticky red onion marmalade, any kind of chili jam, or a flavoured herb or garlic mayo. Condiment away.

The Bun. Nice shiny brioche, or a more trad sesame seed option.

The combinations are endless and I have about 50 different variations in photos on my phone - here’s a particularly tall and greedy double beef burger with cheddar cheese, bacon, classic fried onions, and hash brown…

Sometimes I do also crave a processed cheeseburger from McDonalds. But it’s a very poor substitute for the real thing.