Welcome to McBrenda's!

Healthy hamburgers are an oxymoron? Not necessarily so! *grins* Homemade burgers are not only delicious, they are a chockful of healthy veggies, proteins and carbohydrates. Besides, you're almost guaranteed an empty plate after the kids have sat at the dinner table. *winks*


McBrenda's Burgers
Ingredients for Beef Patty:
500g lean minced beef
1/2 red onion, chopped finely
1 garlic clove, chopped finely
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 egg yolk
1 dash dried oregano (and other dried spices for taste)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Mix all the ingredients together.
2. Weigh the entire mixture and divide the amount to get your desired number of patties. This ensures that not only will you get the right number of patties for the number of hamburger buns you bought, but also that each patty is equal in weight... which help you avoid all those "But mmmmuuuum, his patty is bigger than mine!" complaints. heh.
3. Pat the patties into shape and put it in the fridge for about half an hour for the flavours to mingle, and for the patties to retain its shape. If you'd like to freeze the patties, do so by all means - just make sure to separate the patties by sandwiching them between plastic bags. When you want to use them, just thaw them out before cooking.

4. To cook them in the oven, pre-heat the oven to 200 deg Celsius. Put your patties on a rack and grill them to perfection... which takes about 10 to 15 minutes depending on how well-done you like your patties. (Warning: Be careful not to flip the patties too early, otherwise they might break up. If you do feel the need to flip the patties - which I don't - do it at the last minute and let the oven grill it on the other side for a minute or two.)


5. Assemble the burger. Make that a two-all-beef-very-special-sauce-lettuce-cheese-pickles-onions-on-a-sesame-seed-bun... erm... well, it helps, but you can put the usual suspects into the burger - cheese, lettuce and onions. I use my homemade mayonnaise to hold the patties etc to the bun. Serve with homemade baked potato wedges. *grins*