Simple Burgers for Kids

Paul and I don’t eat burgers very often but when we do they’re loaded with everything going; cheese, bacon, lettuce, pickles, tomato, onion and sauces. The kids, however, like their burgers as basic as possible. Henry splashes out on some melted Red Leicester but that’s it. I make burgers for them once a week and have the whole process down to a fine art. They don’t need a lot of bread, as I serve the burgers with chips and that’s enough carbohydrate, so I make the buns out of white, sliced bread and a large scone cutter. Nothing goes to waste as I turn the leftover bread into breadcrumbs that I use for lots of other dishes.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 2 Kids
100g 10% fat ground beef
10g breadcrumbs or simple crackers
1/2 a beaten egg or a little milk
salt and veg oil
4 slices of white bread
red leicester slices and ketchup

• Once a month I buy 400g of 10% fat ground beef then cut it into quarters, wrap each quarter in greaseproof paper then foil and write ‘mince’ on the front’. I keep one package in the fridge for that week and freeze the other three to use one a week for a month.
• I use a large scone cutter to make the burger buns out of white, sliced bread then I leave the cut out pieces to dry for 48 hours on the kitchen counter until they’re stale then I whiz them up in the food processor to make breadcrumbs.

• Put the ground beef in a small mixing bowl then add the breadcrumbs, or you can use crushed up crackers, then add a little milk or half a whisked egg. Use your hands to mix the meat, liquid and crumbs together then divide into two equal pieces.
• Heat some oil on a medium high heat in a frying pan. Form the burgers then cook for 2.5 minutes on one side (grind over a little salt) then turn and cook for 1.5 minutes (add the cheese slices if using, so that they melt). Turn the heat off, place a lid on the frying pan and leave to rest for 2 minutes.
• Assemble your burgers and serve with chips, cucumber and pepper sticks.