Unless you are a vegetarian, vegan or anything like that, you probably do like a good burger… I mean, what’s there not to like?! A nice beef patty, topped with some good cheese, veggies and a toasted bun, dressed with barbecue sauce and aioli… So here’s my take on the all times classics – beef & lamb cheeseburgers, recipe I’ve been making for the past two years, mainly because my boys simply won’t give up on it every weekend 🙂

For 12 1/2-lb (~220 g) patties we will need:

• 3 lb (1.3 kg) ground beef, not too lean (chuck, preferably)
• 3 lb (1.3 kg) ground lamb
• 2 large yellow onions
• 5-6 garlic cloves
• 1 cup of fresh coriander leaves
• 4 tbsp ketchup
• 2 tbsp of the BBQ dry rub (mine, from here, or any commercial brand will work)
• 12 fresh burger buns
• 12 slices of good cheddar cheese (I prefer vintage, but any will do)
• lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers etc – any veggies you like in your burger.

So, the top secret part of this recipe is, in fact, it’s very beginning. Instead of chopping the onions and the coriander, I simply combine all the ingredients, but the meat, in a blender (juicer)

And process it till it becomes a smooth puree, of a baby food consistency.

In a big non-reactive bowl mix the meat with the onion puree and knead a little to blend well (try not to overwork the meat).

That’s it. Plastic wrap on, and off it goes to the refrigerator for couple of hours.

When the time comes to grill the burgers, I pull out this neat little device I bought few years ago on Ebay for 3$ – hamburger press.

You take some of your meat mix, shape a ball, put a sheet of wax paper in the press, then meat ball, then another wax paper, press on it, and voila! Perfectly shaped patty, ready for storage :).

Preheat the grill to medium heat (175C/350F), brush and slightly oil the grill grates, and grill the patties about 7-8 minutes on each side, flipping only once, until they feel firm to poke.

Once almost ready, place a cheddar cheese slice on each burger and wait till it starts melting. Meanwhile also grill some halved burger buns.

When the burgers are ready, get some veggies on the bottom half of the bun, place the burger, apply any BBQ sauce you like, aioli and top with the other half of the bun…

And that’s how it looks from inside.

Enjoy!