Welsh Rarebit Cheeseburger
Seen on Britain's Best Home Cook, 10th May 2018
When I told Alan I’d decided to just make a plain burger for my first Ultimate on Britain’s Best Home Cook, he thought it was too simple. Initially, it does seem simple, especially given the fancy and varied burgers we saw in episode 1, but I think there is an art to doing a simple recipe very well. Plus there is nowhere to hide!
My strategy going into to cook for the first time was to fly under the radar, nothing too wacky or unusual with the flavours, some of my fellow competitors fell down trying to do too much.
I knew straight away that I wanted to make my burger welsh, what better than Welsh rarebit on top of a burger. My mother would always make us Rarebit on toast for supper. I thought the recipe needed a boost so I used whole grain mustard for my Welsh rarebit cheeseburger.
The bacon lattice on top of the burger was created because Alan hates nothing more than a cheese and bacon burger where the bacon falls out… by latticing the streaky bacon you ensure a bite of bacon with every bite of burger.
For the Burger:
500g Braising beef or blade of beef minced – 20% fat
1 beef tomato, sliced
Pack of living salad
4 Brioche Buns
Pack of streaky bacon
Olive Oil
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp White pepper
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Mild chilli powder
1 Garlic Clove
For the Cheese Sauce:
170g Welsh Mature Cheddar Cheese
50g Butter
2 tbsps Welsh Ale
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp Whole grain mustard
White pepper
Cayenne pepper
For the Burger:
1. Place beef in a bowl, season and add spices.
2. Mix until just coming together, don't over mix.
3. Form into 2 patties with a dimple in the centre and chill.
4.. Griddle the bacon in a lattice.
5. Lightly grill the brioche buns.
6. Rub patties with a little oil and cook in a griddle pan approximately 10 mins.
For the Cheese Sauce:
1. Heat all the ingredients, except the beer and seasoning, gently in a saucepan until melted.
2. Add beer to slacken and season to taste.
Top Tip
When cooking the burger patties don't be tempted to push down on them, it just pushes out the juices and can make
them dry.
