Go Big Tower Burger

I love burgers. A lot. To the point that if there is a burger on a menu, the struggle is very real to try and choose something else.
I find the quality of the burger ensemble presented to me in a pub is a good marker for the overall pub itself. A bad burger usually equals a bad pub.

Too often I see style over substance. Extend me a minute while I get my rant on….

Call me old fashioned but I just want a big plate, not a woodern board , containing a good solid burger with some chips. This should be the starting point, if these things are not right on a plate, then the rest is pointless.
I don’t need a burger as thick as an elephants foot for the sake of it being big. A decent burger that works with the rest of the toppings is what’s needed, not a meatloaf.
I don’t need chips served in a pot, that’s what the plate is for. Cynically I see this as a way to try and charge more, for fewer chips, with pointless upscaling.
The burger needs to be cooked properly.
And finally, clean the grill!!!
The number of times you can taste that the grill wasn’t given the cursory scrape and regularly cleaned bothers me.

Anyways, I’ll jump off the soapbox now.

My burger obsession comes from my youth when I used to be the cook in a pub back in the ’90s. One of the perks was that I could have anything off the pub menu, just not the ala carte menu.

So four nights a week I would construct all sorts of fat staked burgers with many different combinations with a full kitchens pantry at my disposal. Heady times.
This has left me very opinionated about what works and what doesn’t in a burger.

So fast forward many years and my eldest has started to get a taste for burgers too.
Whilst he still has his stabilisers on and is finding his feet, I always use this excuse to add a few extra things to mine.

I haven’t done any ingredients, this should only serve as inspiration to go big yourselves.
As long as you have a burger and a bun you are good to go. Everything else is a bonus.
But I have to say bigger really is better!

So here’s a rundown of one of this creation.

Step 1 - The bun and start the build

• An obviously crucial part is the bun. Whilst I love a simple white bap, my local shop had some “Ultimate Burger Buns” on offer which are sourdough and buttermilk with some sesame seeds on top. Certainly beats a brioche which is ok, but never quite hit the mark of a bap.

• Cut in half and toast. You must must must toast your buns. Also, show a little heat to the outside too to add a little resistance,

• On the bottom, put a few salad iceberg salad leaves to stop the bun from getting too moist. This barrier is essential for a big burger.

• Add a layer of coleslaw and top with sliced tomatoes.

• Next some sliced gherkins. Mrs Elswood sweet ones are best. Also, a good jar for other stuff when finished!
  

Step 2 - Get cooking

• Heat the oven to 200C and put in some onion rings. I went for some ready-made ones in the freezer as I had some.

• On a nice hot griddle pan, cook your burger.
  Go for a decent meaty burger. Obviously, you can make your own, we have a few recipes on the blog but this is all about the build using shop-bought ingredients.
  When you flip it, add some smoked back to the pan.

• With the bacon cooking, add some sliced cheese to the top of the burger and cover. You want the cheese to start to melt but not overcook the burger.

• Add this to the burger build

Step 3 - Top it off and serve

• Top it off with some chilli, I happened to have some in the fridge (recipe to follow soon).
  Make sure it’s hot and nice and thick, a runny chilli won’t do here.

• Finally, add your crispy onion rings and cap it with the top of the bun.

• Serve with some chips or fries, maybe with a few extra onion rings for good measure!