Beef & pork burger.

Hey all.

This is my take on V-day's dinner, a burger as he requested. This fella asked for pizza and stuff - all kinds of weird choices that couldn't survive a few hours' trip, so burger was my only go.

I made the burger's prototype on V-day eve and I only had the demo's picture. The real valentine's deal looked and tasted much better.

The beef-to-pork ratio for the patty I made was 2:1 but you can add and subtract as you like, or make it wholly from beef or pork. A regular patty would weigh 1/2 pound (roughly 226 g) but I wanted a thinner patty, so 150 g meat was my standard for one burger.

Beef & Pork Burger (serves 2)

For the patty:
200 g beef, minced
100 g pork, minced
Garlic, minced
A pinch of cornflour
Light soy sauce
Ground pepper
Mixed herbs
Salt

1. Combine together minced meat and garlic, cornflour and enough soy sauce to cover. Mix well.
2. Divide into two equal portions. Place one portion in your palm, shaping it into a patty by pressing in the middle and pushing in the extras from the circumference.* Wrap the patty with a cling film. Do the same to the other portion.
3. Allow meat to rest in the fridge for 30 min. Before cooking, remove patties from fridge and season both sides with ground pepper, herbs and salt.
4. Heat butter in a non-stick pan. Place the patties onto pan, frying 2 min on each sides, until patties are cooked. Pan-sear to further brown the patties.

Taking into account that patties will shrink when cooked, size of the uncooked patty must be bigger than burger bun. Cooking time should vary with burger's thickness and desired doneness. Remove patties once they are done to retain moisture!

For the onions:
1/3 red onion, sliced

1. Using the remaining oil in the pan, stir-fry onion until slices caramelise.

To assemble, place lettuce on bottom bun. Stack with tomato slices, sauce, patty, onions and cheese. Microwave until cheese has melted before serving. Enjoy!

You can also grill to make burgers. Here's a good read on preparing burger patties:
http://bbq.about.com/od/hamburgers/ss/aa082507a.htm.