Sirloin Hamburger with local meat from Avery Branch Farms

The English chef Heston Blumenthal, who owns the Fat Duck restaurant in the village of Bray (named as the third best restaurant in the world 2010), once spent several months researching and creating the perfect Hamburger. I mention this to show that even the humblest fast food item can require a lot of attention to make a memorable meal.

Blumenthal is renowned for his attention to detail and his nuclear approach to cooking where every ingredient is analyzed to ensure the way it will contribute to the final result. If you want to know more check out http://www.thefatduck.co.uk/ or even better buy his cookbook, The Big Fat Duck Cookbook.

RECIPE - What you will need

For our hamburger recipe we bought 1lb. of ground sirloin from Avery Branch Farms.
*Note that a 1lb pack looks smaller than what you see at the grocery store because it contains no extra water, just ground sirloin from grass-fed, hormone free beef.

To start – you will need your food processor and a frying pan (even better would be on a grill)

• One pound of ground sirloin
• Homemade hamburger buns or store bought (try to get buns from the deli department instead of using cheap bread)
• Worcestershire sauce
• Breadcrumbs (use food processor to make breadcrumbs from stale bread)
• Egg
• One medium onion
• Handful of mushrooms
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste or amino spray for a salt like taste
• Cheese slices (optional)

Makes 4-6 hamburgers

How to make the hamburgers
Chop onions, mushrooms and cloves of garlic. Fry on low heat in a pan with some olive oil until they caramelize (about 10 minutes) Remove from heat and put in large bowl with sirloin, breadcrumbs, egg, tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper to taste (or amino acid spray). You can mix by hand or place in a food processor on pulse to quickly mix ingredients up.
For the perfect size hamburger use a 3 to 4 inch non-stick pastry ring (if you have). Fill the ring to the top with the mixture and then transfer to a foil sheet that has a bit of olive oil on it. The less you fill the ring the more hamburgers you can make. Maximum 6.

Preparation
Slice the buns and lightly toast either on the grill or in a toaster.

Cooking the hamburgers

On a grill – heat to high (Mark 10). Lightly brush the top of the hamburger with olive oil and place on the grill. Turn after 5 minutes. For rare hamburgers grill for a further 5 minutes. Turn again, add the cheese slice and grill for 2-3 minutes. Carefully lift off the grill and place on the bun. For medium-well done add 5-8 minutes to cooking time.

In a pan- lightly oil the pan with olive oil. Heat until the oil is hot, add the hamburger and cook as above.

Use garnishes and condiments to taste and enjoy!