Serves 6
Beef patties
350g coarsely minced (ground) short rib
350g coarsely minced (ground) chuck beef
350g coarsely minced (ground) dry-aged beef rib cap
100g frozen beef bone marrow, grated
Stewed onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 onions, sliced
10g salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
60ml Sherry vinegar
To serve
4 tablespoons clarified butter or olive oil
6 slices pre-sliced orange American cheese
6 potato buns or brioche buns, split
Kewpie mayonnaise
6 tablespoons burger sauce (see below)
Shoestring fries and dill pickles
Salt and pepper, to season
To prepare the patties
Combine meat and bone marrow in a large bowl. Using your hands, mix for about 2 minutes. Divide the mixture into 6 roughly 200g portions and shape into patties. Set aside.
To make the stewed onions
Heat the olive oil in a stockpot or large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the butter and cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes. The colour should start to become a bit darker at this point. Add the Sherry vinegar and cook until the liquid has reduced by half. Reduce heat to low and cook for a further 15 minutes. If you find that the onions are catching on the base of the pot, just add a splash of water to loosen them up a little. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
To cook the patties and assemble your burgers
Heat 2 tablespoons of the clarified butter or olive oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over a high heat until hot. Add 3 of the patties to the pan, pressing each one down with a spatula to flatten to about 2 cm thick and a diameter equal to your bun size. Season with a good pinch of sea salt and a little pepper. Cook for about 3 minutes, then flip and cook for a further 4 minutes. Remove from the pan, top each with a slice of cheese and transfer to a tray to keep warm. Rinse the pan, then repeat to cook remaining patties.
Once you have cooked the burgers, rinse the frying pan again and place over a medium heat. Brush each cut side of the buns generously with mayonnaise, then toast, cut-side down, in the pan until deep golden brown.
Place 1 patty on each bun base and top with 2 tablespoons of the stewed onions (if using), 1 tablespoon of the burger sauce and the bun top. Serve immediately with shoestring fries and a wedge of dill pickle.
Burger sauce
Makes approx 400g
Keeps for a week, refrigerated – use it as dressing for a green salad or in a ham sandwich.
250g Kewpie mayonnaise
50g cornichons, finely chopped
60ml tomato sauce
50g American mustard
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/4 teaspoons onion powder
1 1/4 teaspoons ruby red paprika
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/4 teaspoons ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Whisk together the mayonnaise, cornichons, tomato sauce and mustard. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients and continue to whisk until combined.
Meatsmith by Andrew McConnell and Troy Wheeler (RRP $60, Hardie Grant Books) is out now and available to purchase online or in-store.