My perfect burger, 100% handmade

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 8 Burger Buns according to recipe: Burger Buns Fiefhusener Style
• 8 burger patties according to the recipe: Finely seasoned burger patties “Fiefhusen-Style”
• n. B. Hamburger sauce according to recipe: My burger sauce from Fiefhusen
• n. B. Salad according to recipe: Cabbage and Smart Salad from the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein
• 1 cucumber(s)
• 2 onions
• some rapeseed oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 pinch(s) of sugar
• n. B. Salt and pepper, freshly ground
• 8 slices of cheddar cheese or sandwich cheese of your choice
• 16 slices of breakfast bacon
• n. B. Mustard, medium hot
• ½ head of iceberg lettuce or 2 mini romaine lettuce
• 4 vine tomatoes, aromatic

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours; Rest period approx. 1 day; Cooking/baking time approx. 10 minutes; Total time approx. 1 day 2 hours 10 minutes

Do-it-yourself without pre-made products, according to my recipes

We regularly host a burger weekend (as an event, so to speak) with 100% homemade burgers. Since I think it would be too confusing to combine all the preparation steps and ingredients into one recipe, I’ve divided the preparation into five recipes. The day before the burger feast, the buns and salad are prepared according to the given recipes. This is especially important for the salad (a variation of coleslaw), as it needs to sit for 24 hours. The sauce is also not tied to the day of the burger meal; you can easily make it a few days in advance. We always make the patties fresh the day of the burger itself, so the meat stays fresh and beautifully colored, about two hours before the meal. The other ingredients are prepared as follows: Thinly slice the cucumber with a mandoline, lightly salt it, and let it sit for at least 20 minutes. Then roughly desalt it under running water, spin it dry, and set it aside in a bowl. Also slice the onions into thin rings using a vegetable slicer. Now melt 2 tablespoons of rapeseed oil and the butter in a non-stick pan, reduce to half to 3/4 heat, and sauté the onion rings until translucent. Add a pinch of sugar and some salt and pepper from the mill. Sauté until slightly softened, then transfer to a bowl and let cool. Slice the tomatoes (without the tough, unpalatable stems) into not-too-thin slices and set aside in a bowl. You need a really sharp knife here, otherwise it will be a pain and the slices will become mushy and bruised. Fry the bacon slices on both sides in a grill pan at 3/4 heat until crispy and drain on a sheet of kitchen paper. Toast the bacon shortly before making the patties so they stay nice and warm. If necessary, keep them warm in the oven at 70 degrees Celsius. The grill pan will also be used for the patties; please do not rinse them to preserve the bacon flavor. Now add the burger buns to the bacon and place them in the oven for at least 15 minutes to warm them up nicely. Cut the lettuce of your choice (iceberg or romaine) into relatively fine pieces and arrange in a bowl. Also on the table now are the cabbage lettuce, the mustard, the burger sauce, the cheese slices, and the salt and pepper mill. This completes the mix-en-place. We always cook the patties with “ballast” on top so they don’t curl up and shrink as little as possible. When cooking at 1/2 or max. 3/4 heat, you have to consider your personal taste as to how “done” you want the patty (see also my patty recipe). Our classic burger setup from bottom to top looks like this: – bottom half of the bun; – spread some mustard on it; – iceberg or romaine lettuce; – some drained cabbage lettuce; – burger patty; – cheese slice (quickly add it so it melts); – 2 bacon slices; – Cucumber slices; – Tomato slices; – Onion rings; – A generous dollop of burger sauce on the top of the bun and spread it; – Bun top on top and you’re done. When it comes to putting together the ingredients, there are no limits, and everyone can create their own. Cross-cooking is also possible, of course, with Korean kimchi (lactic acid fermented Chinese cabbage) as a salad topping. Normally, all the salad ingredients (cucumber, onion, tomatoes, lettuce) are already planned. But if you have any leftovers, simply whip them up into a small salad the evening before or the next day.