Classic cheeseburger with special sauce and cheese skirt
Anthony Murphy shares his irresistible burger recipe, featuring dill pickles and a caramelised ‘cheese skirt’.
Ingredients
For the special sauce (makes 500ml/18fl oz)
- 230g/8oz mayonnaise
- 80g/3oz American mustard
- 80g/3oz store-bought tomato relish
- 80ml/5 tbsp store-bought French dressing
For the dill pickles
- 2 tsp black peppercorns
- 2 tbsp mustard seeds
- 120ml/4fl oz white malt vinegar
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- pinch chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp salt
- 250g/9oz baby cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- small bunch fresh dill, chopped
To assemble
Method
To make the special sauce, combine all ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
To make the pickles, set a small frying pan over a medium heat and add the peppercorns and mustard seeds. Toast until fragrant, then pour in 240ml/8½fl oz water and the vinegar. Add the sugar, chilli flakes and salt, then stir until they are all dissolved and the liquid just starts to boil. Remove from the heat.
Put the cucumbers, garlic and dill into a sterilised jar and pour over the warm pickling liquor. Keep in the fridge until needed.
Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon to the pan. Fry for 2–3 minutes on each side, or until the fat is golden. Remove and keep warm.
To make the burger patties, separate the beef mince into two equally sized balls. In the same pan, place the patty balls on the hot surface and smash the burger into the frying pan with a spatula or burger smasher. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 3 minutes. Flip the patties and cook for a further 3 minutes.
On the base of the brioche bun, layer the special sauce, patties, slice of each cheese, a tablespoon of pickles, bacon, red onion slices and lettuce leaves.
Finally, make the ‘cheese skirt’. Divide the cheddar into two mounds in the hot frying pan, Allow the cheese to crisp up and caramelise, then flip the cheese disks over to cook the other side.
Finish the burger with the cheese skirt and bun lid and enjoy one of the most indulgent cheese burgers yet.
Recipe Tips
This recipe makes about 500ml/18fl oz special sauce. Keep it in a sealed container in the fridge for your next burger day.