As is well documented, although I generally subscribe to a ‘healthy lifestyle’, I also believe firmly that life is for living, like actually living, which means choosing the full fat option every now and then. Be it a few glasses of chilled white wine, a large portion of sticky toffee pudding (with cream) – or an occasional McDonald’s. And believe me, often my weekends feature all three of the above. What’s nice is if you can have a treat, but make it at home, therefore it’s more flavourful, and generally way better quality.
Too often, homemade burgers are a crap imitation of what is really desired. What we want is what we see in the adverts from the burger restaurants, but it’s hard to recreate that at home, right? I love this old Eddie Murphy sketch detailing exactly what was wrong with his mother’s rubbish attempts at making homemade McDonald’s.
Hilarious. He’s right though! It’s key to do several things:
1. Flatten the burger to a ‘pattie’ – it should exactly fit the burger bun, and not be like a rissole or a faggot!
2. You need to have a great sauce. See below!
3. You’ve got to have good burger buns. I like brioche.
4. A little crisp lettuce, some cheese – and pickles – are essential.
I love a Big Mac, so when Chippa sent me some of their awesome ketchup and mayo, I decided to have a crack at the Big Mac thousand island style sauce and knock up my homage to McDonald’s most famous burger.
Chippa sauces are gluten-free, so they make a wise and inclusive choice when you’re having a BBQ and have coeliac or gluten-avoiding guests (and there are lots more people avoiding gluten nowadays) – this would be great recipe to serve alongside gluten free burger buns (which you can get hold of easily). They also offer gluten free brown sauce.
The ketchup and mayo (which is also egg and dairy free) are both ace. They taste great and you wouldn’t know they were any different to normal. Of course, you can still make this Big Mac style sauce with normal ketchup and mayo too. The burgers are just so, so easy and infinitely better than the ready made bought ones. It takes literally 2 minutes to make them. Even leave out the finely chopped shallot if you like – I only included them as I had some for the sauce.
A lovely recipe for the weekend – perfect for the BBQ. We did ours in a frying pan, but next time I will definitely try them on the grill. It went down a storm with my parents and kids. The wedges were spot on too.
Now watch that Eddie Murphy clip if you haven’t already. LOLZ guaranteed.
Ingredients:
Burgers
450g beef mince
1 tablespoon of shallots, finely diced
1 scant teaspoon salt
Big Mac sauce
5 tablespoons mayo
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
1 tablespoon of shallots, finely diced
- First make your patties. Mix salt, finely chopped shallots and mince beef with your hands. Divide mixture into 4 and shape into the same size as your buns. Flatten them nicely and set aside until needed.
- To make the sauce, simply mix everything together.
- Preheat oven to 200C. Chop sweet pots into wedges. Sprinkle with Cajun spice, olive oil. Toss and roast for 30 mins or until nice and brown.
- When the wedges are nearly done, heat a large frying pan (ideally one with a lid) and add a little oil. Pop the burgers in. Fry for about 5 minutes on each side.
- Slice cheese and, once the burger is flipped, add 2 slices of cheese on top each one. Pop the lid on and steam for a minute. This melts the cheese and keeps them juicy.
- Toast the buns. Spread the bottom liberally with the sauce. Then a little shredded iceberg. Add a burger with cheese on. More sauce. Gherkins. Wedges alongside.
- Top with other bun half and I always like to squash it down a bit! Enjoy!
A tablespoon of mayo and a bun isn't going to kill anyone. These look AWESOME! I LOVE a Maccy D's cheeseburger and I'm proud. But I've never experimented with trying to recreate this…. guess what I'll be doing later this week? These look so good thanks for sharing x x
That looks so tasty! Great recipe, will have to have a go x
Yeah it's about moderation isn't it? X
Thank you XX