Beef burger with dill sauce, pickles and cheese

Serves: 4
Course: Dinner
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Prep Time: 10 mins
Ingredients
  • 250g baby cucumbers
  • 10g salt
  • 130ml white wine vinegar
  • 110ml water
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp mustard seeds
  • ½ tsp coriander seeds
  • ½ tsp black peppercorns
  • 600g minced beef
  • 4 slices of American style cheese
  • 2 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp ketchup
  • 2 shallots, diced
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper
  • 1 pinch smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp chopped dill
  • 4 burger buns
  • Lettuce leaves to garnish
  1. Start by making the pickles. Salt the baby cucumbers overnight to draw out excess liquid, do this by rubbing the salt on them and leaving in a bowl in the fridge. Wash off the excess salt and thinly slice the pickling cucumbers and place them in a bowl. In a pot, mix together the white vinegar, water, salt, sugar, mustard seeds, coriander seeds and black peppercorns and bring to a boil then take off the heat. Pour this mixture over the cucumbers and stir to combine. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least one hour.
  2. Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Divide the beef into four equal portions and shape each portion into a patty. Season each patty with salt. Grill the burgers for four minutes per side, or until cooked to your desired level of doneness. During the last minute of cooking, place a slice of cheese on each patty to melt.
  3. While the burgers are cooking, make the dill burger sauce. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, shallot, cayenne, paprika, apple cider vinegar and chopped fresh dill. Mix altogether and set aside.
  4. Toast the burger buns on the grill. To assemble the burgers, spread the dill burger sauce on the bottom bun, add the lettuce and then add a burger patty with melted cheese on top, then top with some of the home-made pickles. Cover with the top bun and serve immediately.
Gráinne O'Keefe

Gráinne O'Keefe

Gráinne O’Keefe is a chef, restaurateur and contributor to The Irish Times. She is chef-patron of the Dublin restaurant Mae