Home & People The complete story about hamburgers

Press, 9 May 1979, Page 19

Home & People The complete story about hamburgers

When minced beef is •‘on special” I think it is worth buying at least twice as much as I need for one meal, turning it all into hamburger patties, and freezing half of them. Good hamburgers are delicious — bad ones are dreadful, so I think it is worth describing the in-

gredients in some detail. Hamburger patties made from seasoned meat, with no added starchy’ filler, tend to be very firm and dry out quickly if they are overcooked. The addition of breadcrumbs and milk makes the cooked hamburger juicier and softer. I use dried breadcrumbs when 1 make meatballs which are cooked in sauce before they are served,

but when I make hamburgers I use soft breadcrumbs made from stale bread. Because these are softehed in milk before they are mixed with the meat, the bread need not be crumbled finely. Bread improves the texture, but it dilutes the beefy flavour too. so I add instant stocks, instead of salt, to strengthen the meaty flavour. I use seasoned salts instead of chopped raw vegetables, because the hamburgers don’t cook long enough tri cook chopped pieces of’ onion. I usually sprinkle a little soy sauce on the

hamburger patties just before I cook them, because it brawns them more quickly and adds extra flavour to the meat. Ingredients for 16 hamburger patties:— 1 kg minced beef 2 cups crumbled stale bread i cup milk 1 tablespoon instant beef stock 1 tablespoon ’instant green herb stock 1 teaspoon celery salt 1 teaspoon onion or garlic salt pepper soy sauce

Mix the crumbled bread, milk, instant stocks, seasoned salts and pepper in a large bowl. Leave to stand for a few minutes, until the bread softens, then mix well with a fork. Add half the minced beef and mix well, still using the fork, then add the remaining meat and mix again, this time using your hands. Divide the mixture in half, then quarters, etc., until you have 16 evenly sized pieces. Shape these into flat patties with wet hands.

Put each patty which is to be frozen into a small plastic bag, seal and freeze immediately. Brush remaining hamburger patties with soy sauce just before cooking. Making hamburgers isn't