The Makeshift Chef: Classic cheese burger with caramelised onions and chipotle mayo recipe

A classic cheese burger, with baked fries, caramelised onions and chipotle mayo - what else needs to be said?

Classic cheese burger with caramelised onions and chipotle mayo

Ingredients (Metric)

Makes 2 portions

250 grams of minced beef
Iceberg lettuce leaves (6)
3 - 4 potatoes
60 ml of mayonnaise
2 red onions (or alternative)
2 slices of American cheese (or alternative)
20 grams of chipotle paste (or alternative such as sriracha or ketchup)
2 brioche buns

You'll also need:

Salt, pepper and oil

Instructions

(Scroll to the end for instructions with pictures)

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celcius (with fan) or 220 degrees celcius
Wash the potatoes and chop into chips
Place the chips on a baking tray and drizzle with oil, salt and pepper and give a good mix
Put the chips in the oven for 25 - 30 mins
Heat a pan with a drizzle of oil
While the chips are cooking, slice the onions thinly and place in the heated pan
Add salt, pepper and a sprinkle of sugar to the onions and cook on a low heat for 30 mins, until halved in size and soft
Wash the iceberg lettuce and remove three leaves for each burger and set to one side
Split the beef into two equal amounts and season with salt and pepper
Massage the meat for 1 min (this will help the patties keep their shape)
Create spheres with the meat then squash with something heavy (make the patties slightly larger than the buns as the meat will shrink while cooking)
Put the meat patties in the fridge until the chips have 5 mins left
In the meantime make the burger sauce with whatever ingredients are in your cupboard (such as ketchup, sriracha, gochujang). For a chipotle sauce combine the mayo with chipotle paste, salt and pepper
When the chips have 5 mins left, heat a wide non-stick pan with oil
Take the chips out of the oven and add the burger buns to the tray to crisp up and put back in the oven for 5 mins
Once the pan is hot, add the beef patties and cook on the first side for 5 mins (use a spatula to press down consistently to keep the burgers flat)
After 5 mins, take out the chips and buns from the oven and turn over the burgers and add the American cheese
Add a splash of cold water and cover for 3 - 5 mins until the cheese has melted and the burgers have cooked through
Finally, assemble the burgers with the lettuce, caramelised onions, burger sauce and patties on the burger buns with the chips and extra sauce on the side

Instructions with pictures

Steps 1 - 4

Preheat the oven (200 degrees with fan or 220 without) and while it it heating wash and chop the potatoes into chips. Place the chips on a baking tray, drizzle with oil, salt and pepper and place in the oven for 25 - 30 mins.

Steps 5 - 8

Heat a small or medium pan over a high heat with oil. Slice the onions and place in the pan with salt, pepper and a sprinkle of sugar - cook on a low heat for 30 mins. Wash and pat the lettuce leaves dry.

Steps 9 - 14

Split the mice beef into two equal sizes and massage the beef for 1 min (so it keeps its shape while cooking) then squash into patties (season) and refrigerate until ready to cook. Mix mayo and chipotle paste to make the burger sauce.

Steps 15 - 17

When the chips have 5 mins left add the burger buns and place back in the oven. Heat a large non-stick pan with oil and cook the patties for 5 mins on one side.