Badass double beef and bacon burger

Olivia Galletly, who lives north of Auckland and is author of food blog "The Hungry Cook", likes to cook food with bold flavours which is comforting, not too fussy and most importantly delicious.

In this burger she likes to use a fatty beef mince for the patties, but they also work well with lean mince if you prefer.

The burger sauce is also great served alongside hot chips.

Makes 8

Burger sauce

1 cup good-quality mayonnaise

2 Tbsp tomato sauce

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, crushed

3 Tbsp chopped pickled gherkins

2 Tbsp finely chopped pickled jalapenos

½ tsp cracked pepper

Burger patties

750g beef mince

2 Tbsp barbecue sauce

1 size 7 egg

¼ cup fine dried or fresh breadcrumbs

1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp smoked paprika

¼ tsp table salt

¼ tsp cracked pepper

olive oil or neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable oil, for frying

To assemble

2 brown onions, thinly sliced

8 slices cheese

8 slices streaky bacon

2 Tbsp salted butter, softened

4 soft burger buns, sliced in half

4-8 cos lettuce leaves

12 tomatoes, thinly sliced

12 slices pickled gherkins

Method

In a medium bowl, combine the burger sauce ingredients. This can be made in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator.

Allow the sauce to return to room temperature before using.

In a large bowl, combine the patty ingredients. Roll into 8 even balls and place on a large plate. If making in advance, cover and refrigerate then bring to room temperature before grilling.

Heat the barbecue flat plate to high and drizzle with a small amount of oil.

Put the sliced onion on the flat plate and fry until golden brown, then set aside.

Place the patties on the flat plate and use a fish slice, spatula or burger press to press down on them until they are about 57mm thick. Grill for 3 minutes or until browned on one side. Carefully flip the patties then place a slice of cheese on each.

Fry for a further 3 minutes. If the cheese hasn’t melted, close the barbecue lid and cook briefly until melted. Remove the patties from the grill and place in a roasting dish. Cover loosely with tinfoil and set aside for 5 minutes to rest.

While the patties are resting, fry the bacon on the flat plate until crispy.

Butter the buns and place butter-side down on the barbecue until lightly toasted.

Smear a spoonful of the burger sauce on each of the bun bases and top with lettuce, tomatoes, gherkins, patties, onions and bacon. Smear a little extra sauce on the top bun and place on top.

Tip: If you’re serving these burgers to children and don’t want to use jalapenos in the sauce, up the gherkins by another 2 tablespoons.

The book

Images and text from The Hungry Cook by Olivia Galletly, published by Allen & Unwin, RRP $45.