Recipe 20: Homemade 4-Meat Burger (Σπιτικό Χάμπουργκερ 4 Κρεάτων)

Who says that burgers are not healthy? It all depends on what sort of meat a burger is made of. If it has loads of fat and parts of the body that make you go ‘yak’, then it’s not healthy. If it’s made of lean meat, then it’s as healthy as a nice, juicy steak.

This recipe is called ‘home-made’ because everything in it is made from scratch. Even the tomatoes are of my own tomato plants. Ok, the blue cheese is bought, as I do not have enough space in my flat for a cow ;)

I experimented a bit with the burger, as I wanted to mix together various flavours of meat to see what happens. The result is better that anticipated and the burger is really extra filling! 

But let’s get on with the recipe:

For the bun (makes about 12):

1 cup milk
Half cup water
Half cup unsalted butter
4.5 cups strong flour
7 gr instant yeast
2 tbsps white sugar
1.5 tsps salt
1 egg


For the 4 meat burger (makes at least 12 large ones):

500 gr lean minced beef
500 gr minced lamb
12 streaks smoked bacon
10 slices prosciutto ham
1 large onion, grated
500gr bread (without the crust). Do not use sliced supermarket bread but proper ones bought from speciality shops (see photo above)
5 tbsps dried oregano
5 tbsps dried mint
1 bunch parsley, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt/pepper to taste


How to make the buns:

1.    In a small saucepan, heat milk, water and butter until very warm.

2.    In a little glass, dilute the yeast in a bit of warm water and let it stand for about 5-10 min.

3.    In a large bowl, mix together 3 cups of flour, the diluted yeast, sugar and salt.

4.    Pour the milk mix into the flour mix, stir and add the egg.

5.    Stir in the remaining flour, half a cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

6.    When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

7.    Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape into smooth balls, and place on a greased baking sheet. Flatten slightly.

8.    Cover, and let rise for 30 to 35 minutes in a warm place.

9.    Bake at 200C for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown.

How to make the burgers:

1.    Cut the bacon and prosciutto ham in small pieces.

2.    In a large bowl, mix the beef, lamb, bacon and ham.

3.    Dip the bread in cold water to soak. Once soft, squeeze it to get rid of water and add it to the mix.

 

4.    Add the remaining ingredients and knead the mix well for about 5min.

 

5.    Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

6.    Make burgers with the mix (you can vary the sizes depending on your preference) and place them in a greased baking sheet. 

7.    Place them in the oven and cook at 200C until ready.

Once the burgers are ready, you can really play around with various ingredients to go with it. In my photos you can see that I used melted blue cheese and tomatoes, but you can really experiment with anything you like.