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Britain's Best Burger – a recipe and an incredible meat pack giveaway!

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… if truth be told i’m not a huge burger fan.  I know!  Shock-horror, a food-blogger who doesn’t like burger.  But it’s like this; when you’re surrounded by diamonds you’re gonna seek out the sandstone just for something a little less shiny to look at… and the problem is that we’re surrounded by burgers.  They’re everywhere you look from actual burger joints of which there are too many to name, to your regular restaurant that has whacked a burger of some kind onto its menu in fear of not seeming on trend.  I hate this.  It’s as though the world has gone silently mad and I’m the only one who can see it. It’s such a cheap shot and most of the burgers are so horrid they make me feel sick as i’m eating them and leave a horrid taste in the mouth that for such a long time afterwards you’re regretting the choice. Maybe it’s because i’m slowly going of meat in general or maybe it’s because I simply can’t stand food trends like this that just won’t move on. When I was a little boy I used to know a kid who would only eat jam sandwiches on white bread.  For every meal.  I didn’t blame him for this, I blame his mother for allowing this indulgence… and that’s a little how I feel about the burger trend.  We all need a slap on the wrist and told to grow up a little and move on from soft bread and meat…

Britain’s Best Burger
I was recently sent a wonderful selection of delicious barbecue food from the amazing Chadwicks Butchers.  Chadwicks have been trading in organic and rare breed lamb, beef and pork in London since 1999 and let me tell you, their meat is damn fine… and of course it’s the quality of the meat that really makes the difference. Their gourmet beef burger is made with rare breed pure Hereford rib eye steak and beef skirt and is very simply made with a little ground onion and garlic which I adored… it’s actually been awarded the accolade of Britain’s Best Burger by the Q-Guild of Butchers.

i’m hoping barbecue season isn’t quite over yet and i’m sure the guys at Chadwicks are too as they sell an incredible range of delicious sausages, lamb kebabs and steaks but to be honest I think I prefer an indoor barbie myself anyway… there’s nothing quite like the assurance of a local butcher and if you haven’t shopped at your local butcher yet I would urge you to give it a try.  You may pay a little more for your produce but the relationship you form with your you butcher can be the difference between feeding decent food to your family and never knowing where your meat comes from… and if you can’t make it to the hughstreet then you can purchase all of the Chadwicks products on-line or even go visit the team at their store in Balham High Street.

I think a burger like this deserves nothing better than a good quality home-made soft bun and slice of cheddar and some fresh lettuce and tomato and whilst I can’t give you a recipe for the Chadwicks burger I can give you a recipe for a delicious wholemeal bun that is an absolute winner with these beauties…

to make 6 rolls
300g strong white bread flour
100g wholemeal rye flour as it is sometimes known
2 teaspoons fact action dried yeast
1 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons runny honey
300 ml water
olive oil to knead

place all the dry ingredients into a bowl, along with the honey and stir together, then add the water and bring together with a rubber spatula until you have a sticky shaggy mess – cover with a tea towel and set aside for 10 minutes

after 10 minutes, drizzle a little oil onto your work surface, rub around with your hand and then using your oiled hand lift the shaggy mess from the bowl and place it onto your oiled surface

drizzle a little more oil into the bowl and rub this around the inside of the bowl with your oiled hand and set aside

now knead the dough 10 times and then place it back into the oiled bowl, covered with a tea towel, for another 10 minutes

repeat this 2 more times, each time you will feel the dough getting softer and silkier and it will begin the expand and swell too

after the last time, place the dough back into the bowl and stretch cling film over the top of the bowl and set aside for at least an hour or until the dough has doubled in size

after an hour pre-heat your oven to 220C or as hot as it will go and place an oven proof pan in the bottom of the oven

prepare one baking tray with some well floured parchment paper

oil your work surface and then scoop out the risen dough onto the oil, you want to knock it back with your knuckles and fold it over envelope-style a few times and then divide the dough into 6 equal portions

roll each portion into a ball shape, place it on the baking tray and cover with oiled clingfilm or place them in a plastic bag, then set aside for 30 minutes as they prove.

once you’re ready to bake and your oven is extra hot, spritz the buns with water, then sprinkle on a little rye flour and rub gently with your hand.

quickly open the oven and pour a little cold water into the tray in the oven and then place in the buns and bake in the oven for 10 minutes on 220C followed by 20 minutes on 180C.  They will be done when they are risen and golden and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom

when they come out of the oven, place them on a wire rack to cool.

and as if this stunning recipes wasn’t enough, i’m pleased to say that the good folks at Chadwicks have very kindly given me one of their stunning Devonshire BBQ Packs (worth £69.99) to giveaway to one lucky UK based Belleau Kitchen reader…

the Devonshire Pack includes:
10 x 175 gram Classic 100% Beef Burgers

10 x Lemon & Herb chicken kebabs
20 x Lamb Kofta Kebabs
12 x 125 gram Sandwich steaks made from Angus sirloin
… all you have to do to be in with a chance to receive this pack is fill in the rafflecopter gadget below…

a Rafflecopter giveaway//widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

eat and of course, enjoy!

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Comments

  5. Jenny Eatwell says

    We've just started smoking, not just barbecuing – and our best product to date has been smoked chicken breast that we served with a mixed veggie kebab that we'd done on the barbecue once we picked the temperature up. Yumsters!

  21. Jane Willis says

    Ooooh Dom, I'm with you on not being a huge burger fan except that when you get a really good one (as I did in a pub only last weekend) on a perfect roll, it can be truly amazing. And that's how these look – truly amazing. However I'm not too keen on burgers on the barbecue. What I really love is kebabs – either lamb or chicken – with lots of big chunks of onions and peppers. I love the way the veg char and go slightly sweet around the edges while still staying crunchy in the middle. And there has to be lots of sticky sauce to stop the meat from drying out.

  22. Lynn Savage says

    My favourite thing on the bbq is a good kebab, preferably with chunks of chicken or lamb (marinated in natural yogurt, olive oil and lemon juice) and onions, peppers and mushrooms.

  30. Mark Willis says

    I am not a fan of burgers – especially when they are served on massive soggy buns. I think the meat would be better used in a different way. Or maybe serve only half a roll ? Maybe also forget all the trimmings that everyone seems to feel obliged to add to the assembly. I feel these are distractions that only serve to conceal the real star of the show (assuming that the burger is made of decent-quality meat). When it comes to favourite bbq food I think mine would be some good sausages.

  35. Anonymous says

    Sausages – but cooked the way a Danish friend taught me some years ago. She said to boil them first, then put them on the BBQ to take up the lovely BBQ flavour without ending up hard on the outside and not cooked through. Produces perfect sausages every time!

    Hazel Rea – @beachrambler

  45. Tracey Gwynne says

    I love salmon steaks ( as long as they don't fall through the grills), and as a veggy alternative, halloumi and vegetable kebabs….with a chilli and lime dip.

  79. Emma Douglas says

    I'm more about the accompaniments at a barbecue than the meat as a rule, unless of course it's good quality and that makes ALL the difference. Unfortunately, if you are on a budget, dining like this is a treat and when it's nicely cooked I'm as carnivorous as the next person and will happily eat burgers, lamb and chicken off the grill with a nice salad or vegetables. I love the simplicity of good quality meat that hasn't been tampered with, I think that's the best way to enjoy a barbecue. A nice glass of wine doesn't go amiss either!

  105. JudeVFR400 says

    I prefer cooking most things in the oven, you know what temperature it's cooking at then. Then you an always have someone carry it all outside to eat. Sausages are okay done on the bbq. If I'm being honest, I don't like a smoky taste to anything. I know, just me, but there you go.

  122. Mary Campbell says

    Pork Chops – an oldie but a real goodie. Many happy summers were spent stood by the barbecue as Dad barbecued them, the smoky aromas filling my nostrils 🙂