Beef burgers with a bacon-sauerkraut jam

This recipe is adapted from the Burgers with Bacon-Sauerkraut Jam recipe.

The flavours in this burger work in perfect harmony.

• beef mince, 500g
• salt and pepper, to taste
• burger buns, 4
• rocket or baby lettuce, 1 cup
• gouda cheese, 4 slices
• sauerkraut-bacon jam
• thick bacon (streaky bacon works well), 225g
• reserved bacon drippings or butter, 2 tbsp
• red onion, chopped, 1/2 cup
• sauerkraut, drained and chopped, 1 cup
• apple cider or apple juice, 1 cup
• cider vinegar, 1 tbsp
• brown sugar, 1/3 cup
• celery seed, 1/2 tsp
• paprika, 1/2 tsp 

Bacon-sauerkraut jam

Cook bacon until crisp, then crumble it.  Reserve 2 tbsp of the bacon drippings (or just use butter).

Saute the onion in the bacon drippings (or butter) until soft, then stir in remaining jam ingredients along with the bacon.

Simmer jam over low heat 30-45 minutes or until thick.  Makes one cup of jam.


Patties

I find this the best way to make patties.  It doesn't overwork the meat, and keeps it loosely-packed in the patties.

Lay some baking paper over a chopping board and pull apart the mince onto it (you don't need to be finicky - just do a rough job of it), and gently spread it over the area.  Add some salt and pepper.

Instead of forming the mince into balls then flattening them out, just form the mince straight into patty-shaped discs.  Push a hole in the middle of each patty with your thumb, so it won't bulge up in the middle while cooking.  The baking paper makes it easy to pick the patty up to transfer it to the pan.


Cook patties

To your desired doneness.  Five minutes on each side at a medium-low heat (remember to pre-heat the pan) should get them reasonably well done.

Loosely wrap the cooked patties in aluminium foil to let them rest.  Before you close up the foil you can sprinkle them with a bit of salt and pepper.  If you like your cheese melted, you can add a slice on top of each patty before closing up the foil.


Toast buns

Turn the heat down in the pan to a medium-low heat (the exact temperature doesn't matter much), and wipe the fat and burnt bits out of it with a paper towel.

Cut the buns in half, and toast them, cut side down, until they're lightly toasted.


Assemble burger

You'll want the patties to have rested for about 5 minutes before you assemble the burger (so they aren't scorching hot, and so the temperature will be even within them.  Remember that the foil will keep them warm).

Put the rocket (or lettuce) on the bottom bun (be pretty generous with it, as it will squish down a fair bit when the burger is fully assembled), the patty on top of that, then the cheese (if you haven't already put it on the patty).  Spread a generous amount of the bacon-sauerkraut jam on the cut side of the top bun, add the top bun to the burger, and you're done.