As unilaterally pig-headed as it might be to name a burger after a street in Saltaire without consulting the other 12 households (not to mention the butcher!) I’m doing it anyway.

Despite my fatigue with the UK high-street burger obsession and the relentless ‘reinvention’ of it in food media over the last few years, I decided to share a short post of my quick fix home burger recipe. I mostly blame this decision on being mercilessly ground down like a chuck steak patty tonight by marital peer pressure to make a post out of our supper.

Emily grew up with ‘mummy burgers’, less a cannibalistic nightmare and more a scrummy concoction of beef patty, back bacon, burger cheese and bbq sauce patented by my mother in law. I myself grew up in a house petrified beyond reason by the BSE crisis long after UK beef was certified safe, so I only have perfectly serviceable lamb burgers at summer BBQs as a frame of reference.

The recipe to follow is a relatively no frills affair which tries to marry the best of the ‘gastroburgers’ in vogue these last few years with the focus on quality ingredients and flavour that characterise the ‘farmers market’ burger which I usually prefer.

To this end, the little gem is from Orange Grove and Coppa is from Sergio and Cosimo at Buonissimo, all to be found on Bingley Rd. The wonderful patties came from Sutcliffes of Saltaire, Katherine St. These were their standard patties, reformed by hand for a chunkier shape.

I would take a marginally different approach when cooking outdoors on the grill, but this recipe is a no fuss solution to making a good weeknight burger indoors on a ridge-less cast iron griddle.

INGREDIENTS

makes 2 burgers 

• 2 x good white rolls, to match the diameter of your patties
• 1/2lb course ground chuck steak, shaped by hand to 2.5cm patties
• 2x thin slices of bavarian smoked cheese (or any sound, smoked melter)
• 4x thin slices coppa ham
• a good commercial BBQ sauce. I use Red’s Kansas City BBQ Sauce 
• 1x little gem lettuce, trimmed to make two even cross sections (pictured).
• extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt flakes

KATHERINE ST BURGER (sorry neighbours)

1. Heat a flat cast iron griddle over a medium high heat. (I prefer a non ridged version).
2. Lay the coppa ham slices toward the centre and turn every now and then until the fat has rendered and they are beginning to crisp. Set aside and keep warm.
3. Reduce the heat to medium. Dress the little gem lightly in oil and salt and add to the edges of the pan.
4. Add your patties to the pan centre and press down with the back of a spatula.
5. Slice open your rolls and lay atop your toaster. Toast once until the cut edges are golden. Dress lightly with oil and BBQ sauce.
6. After 4-5 minutes, ease your patties up from the pan and flip (they should have formed a nice golden crust). Press down with the spatula, lay over the cheese slices then flip then flip the lettuce and cook everything for a further 4-5 minutes. 
7. Remove the lettuce and check your beef patties. I like to cook them medium well but leave them longer if you desire.
8. Assemble the burgers as follows: bread base, BBQ sauce, coppa, patty with cheese, lettuce, coppa, bread top.
9. Enjoy!