Really Scrumptious Burgers

There are millions of burger joints in the world, most of them serving up pre-packaged rubbish, where most of the time you don’t know what you’re eating. Slapping some meat in a bun when you know what you’re eating elevates burgers to a gourmet experience.

You’ll need

• ½ kg leanish ground mince (beef, ostrich, lamb, veld fed – not grain fed)
• a couple of slices of toasted bread – crumbed
• 1 free-range egg
• garlic, herbs, salt and pepper to taste

Put the mince in a bowl. Add the breadcrumbs to the mince along with all the other ingredients. Mix very well with your hands and then shape into patties. How big or how small you make them depends on your appetite and the size of your rolls. If you’re doing this at home, pop the mixture into the fridge to firm up and marinate for a while before grilling.

Now it’s time to make your sauces. Mine always start with a basic white sauce (the French call it a roux), and I make it the way granny taught me.

Melt a big knob of butter over medium heat, remove from heat then add enough corn flour so that you end up with a thick, yellow, creamy paste. Put back over a gentle heat, adding milk a little at a time and stirring constantly until you have the desired consistency. Allow enough time for the starch in the flour to cook off, then add whatever you like – garlic, Madagascan peppercorns, mushrooms. My trick is to pan-fry it first and then add it to the white sauce with all its juices –it’s to die for!

Sometimes I like to make tzatziki and use that instead of a roux-based sauce.

Grill the burgers over a medium heat. I like mine medium rare (more medium when I’m doing lamb). The smokiness imparted by the fire will make it really umami (say yummy).

All that’s left to do is assemble: fresh poppy seed buns, a juicy patty, a dollop of sauce, some sliced tomato and butter lettuce and whatever else tickles your fancy. When you eat something that is made from scratch with love it will always taste better and when you see your friends tucking in happily you know you’re on the right path. Lekker.