Crispy Cheese Burger

In my house a dinner that is always appreciated, any time of the year, is a home-made burger with home-made potato wedges. So simple to make and yet this dish can be something quite delicious. I've been using the same burger mix for years so when I wanted to vary my recipe a little I decided to see what ingredients I could substitute with others. 

I had an idea for my burger mix but was unsure, until I tried it, whether or not it would work. Breadcrumbs can be useful for helping to bind a burger mix together but I decided to try out some crushed crisps, in place of the breadcrumbs, and they seemed to do the trick. My crisp of choice was Keogh's, using their Dubliner Cheese & Onion variety. 

The crushed crisps not only helped to bind the burger but also the flavour from the crisp enhanced the seasoning of the mix. I have mentioned here before about my love of crisps and as an avid crisp eater I'm always keen to sample new brands, especially when they are Irish. One of the latest crisps on the block are from the Co. Dublin based potato farmers Keoghs, and they certainly have brought to market a superb product. Keogh's crisps are available to buy on-line and are an example of another wonderful quality product, flying the flag for Ireland worldwide. To add another dimension to this burger, I've added a piece of creamy Irish Cooleeney cheese, to the centre of each of the raw burger patties. The cheese then melts, while the burger is being cooked, adding a succulent moistness to the finished burger. 

Burger Mix

• 450g/1 lb good-quality minced beef
• 35g Keogh's Dubliner Cheese & Onion Crisps
• few sprigs of fresh flat leaf parsley & chives
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teasp smoked paprika
• 1 large egg, preferably free-range or organic
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil

Filling

100g Cooleeney Cheese, Brie or Camerbert

To Serve

• 4 burger baps
• lettuce
• 2 tomatoes
• fried onions
• ketchup

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C(fan)/390°F/gas mark 6.
2. Wrap the crisps in a plastic bag and smash up until fine, breaking up any big bits with your hands, and put them into a large bowl.   
3. Finely chop the parsley and chives. Add the herbs, mustard, smoked paprika and minced beef to the bowl. Crack in the egg and add a good pinch of salt and pepper. With clean hands, scrunch and mix everything up well. 
4. Divide into four portions, then, using wet hands, shape into patties that are 2.5cm (1in) thick. Cut the Cooleeney cheese into four even-sized pieces. Make a deep indentation in the middle of each patty and push in a piece of the cheese, pushing the beef back around the mixture so that it is well sealed. Chill for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours until ready to cook
5. Add to an oven-proof pan and cook for 5 minutes on each side then place in the oven for 15mins or until the burger is completely cooked through. When cooking burgers it's important to keep in mind that any meat that has been minced must be completely cooked through, as it can contain bacteria throughout.

To serve, toast the cut sides of the baps on the grill rack and place on warmed plates. Cover one side with a large dollop of ketchup, some lettuce, sliced tomatoes then the burger and top with some fried onions. Then sandwich it all together. Enjoy!