PBJ Burger

by Barry Lewis

Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

Burgers

500g beef mince

1 onion, diced

1 egg

2 slices Mozzarella

2 slices Red Leicester

Salt &pepper

2 x burger buns

6 rashers smoky bacon

Chilli jam

300g strawberry jam

½ tsp vinegar

1 garlic clove

1inch square of fresh ginger

1 red chilli, de-seeded

Satay sauce

3tbsp Crunchy peanut butter

1tsp soy sauce

½ onion, chopped

½ tsp chilli flakes

1tbsp brown sugar

150ml coconut milk

Alright so this was something i’d tried recently in a grunge type burger place in my hometown….. and it was amazing, I just had to replicate it. The peanut butter jelly (or jam to me) burger! Yep and it’s not just peanut butter and jam, it’s a satay sauce topped bun crossing over with a chilli jam one and the flavour combination just works an absolute charm! You gotta try this out if you can!! I even added bacon to my burger because, well, I love bacon in burgers so it had to be done. This is up there with one of the tastiest things i’ve made ever, it genuinely replicated what I had in the restaurant, plus I added my own tweaks to it. You’l love this!

Add the beef mince, egg, onion and a pinch of salt & pepper to a mixing bowl. Beat together well until merged then use your hands to shape into patty shapes. Flatten, place on baking parchment with another piece on top and chill for a good 25-30 minutes, this helps to firm them up and hold their shape.

To make the satay sauce add the peanut butter, chilli flakes, onion, brown sugar, coconut milk and soy sauce to a frying pan. Warm through until combined but there is no need to boil it, if it gets too thick stir in a little coconut milk off the heat. Allow to cool then, place in fridge until needed.

Warm jam in microwave briefly until it’s loosened up (optional, your blender should get through it anyway). Add in the vinegar, garlic clove, ginger and chilli. Whizz through a food processor until smooth, keep chilled until ready to serve. Tweak to your liking if too strong add more jam, too sweet more vinegar etc.

Warm a griddle pan and get it hot, then toast your buns until charred, this is good for flavour and helps the sauce not soak into them. Meanwhile also cook your bacon to your liking and allow to rest on kitchen towel.

To cook the burgers place a little dribble of vegetable oil in a frying pan, add the burgers and place a lid on it. Cook until the bottom is nice and browned / slightly charred. Remove the lid, turn the patty over, then return the lid for a few more minutes. For the last minute place a slice of the mozzarella and red Leicester cheese on top of the pattys, put a lid on top one last time and let the cheese melt on the patty, season with cracked pepper before placing on kitchen towel to rest for a moment.

Build the burger by spreading some sweet chilli jam on the base of the burger, lifting in the cheesy burger patty, topping with bacon strips, and then the lid which you need to give a little coat of the satay sauce… this is sensational if you like these flavour combos! A real favourite, enjoy.