Euroboozer Fires Up Cole for Burger Day Bonanza

We've teamed up with award-winning beer expert and writer Melissa Cole for a takeaway twist to the
burger bonanza this National Burger Day.  

Taking place on the 25^th August, National Burger Day is a UK-wide celebration withpubs, restaurants, cafes and street food vendors promoting all manner of special creations to really push the burger boat out and ramp up
celebrations. 

While hugely popular, the boisterous burger does not get anywhere close to top of the UK charts for favourite takeaway meals. Instead, Chinese, Indian, Pizza, Fish ‘n Chips and even Thai reign supreme.  

To take the attack to takeaway and help put burgers on top of the pile, Melissa was challenged to flip the country’s top five takeaways into four takeaway fusion burgers, which could be perfectly paired with the nation’s favourite drink – beer. 

Her recipes and pairings for the big day are below:

• Thai ‘fish & chip burger' with Stiegl Goldbrau
• Chinese Curry Chicken Burger with Brooklyn Stonewall Inn IPA
• Indian-Inspired Lamb Burger with London Brewing Co Beer Street
• Mushroom ‘Pizza Burger’ with Bohemia Regent Premiun

Thai ‘fish & chip burger’ - makes two patties

Fish patty recipe 

• 180g firm white fish (look out for coley or hake as these are very sustainably sourced)
• 8 large / 12 medium- raw tiger prawns (defrosted if frozen), chopped into small chunks
• 2 tbsp red curry paste
• 1 medium free range egg
• 8 green beans, chopped into 1cm pieces
• 5 kaffir lime leaves, stalks removed andfinely chopped
• 10 Thai basil (or ordinary basil), leaves chopped finely
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1-2 tbsps fish sauce, to taste (see advice about frying off mixture)
• Neutral oil like grapeseed or groundnut

Quick Pickled Onion & Cucumbers 

• Quarter of a cucumber
• Quarter of red onion
• 1tbsp castor sugar
• 2tbsp fine salt
• 4tbsps rice wine vinegar
• Splash of boiling water

Sauce: 

• 4tbsps Thai sweet chilli sauce
• 1tbsp mayonnaise

To Serve: 

• Two hamburger buns
• Crispy shallots/onions (optional and canbe purchased widely)
• Thai shrimp crackers

Specialist Equipment: 

• Food processor
• Mandolin (optional)

Method: 

First make your quick pickled onion & cucumber by adding your sugar and salt to a cereal bowl then add a splash of boiling water, stir until dissolved, then add the rice wine vinegar, and set aside to cool.

Whilst that is cooling, put your mandolin on its finest setting, and slice the veg (alternatively you can do this by
hand, just take your time and get them nice and thin). Add the cucumbers and the shallots to the bowl, stir so they are evenly covered and place in the fridge.

Get your food processor and fit the chopping blade then roughly chop the white fish into chunks, and add it to the
processor along with the egg, lime leaves, basil, curry paste, sugar and fish sauce, blitz until you have a firm paste.

Use a spatula scrape the fish mix from the processor into a mixing bowl, and gently stir in your green beans and prawns. Set aside.

Mix your Thai sweet chilli sauce together with the mayo and spread over your cut hamburger buns.

In a frying pan, heat 2cms of neutral oilover a medium-high heat, and take a teaspoon of the mixture and fry it off,
check for seasoning, add more curry paste/fish sauce/sugar to the mix if needed. Once you’re happy, oil your hands and form two patties from the fish paste, and fry on one side, until you can see it’s cooked nearly halfway up (about three minutes) and turn carefully.

Once you’ve turned them, take this opportunity to set up some kitchen towel on a board or plate and drain your
pickles.

Once the fish patties have finishedcooking, leave to drain on the kitchen towel and assemble your buns.

Place a single large shrimp cracker on thebase of your bun, put the patty gently on top, add your pickles on top of the patty and sprinkle over a layer of crispy shallots or onions if you’re using them, place the second half of the bun on top, put more shrimp crackers on the side, pour your cold Stiegl Goldbrau and just before you eat your fish burger, press down on the patty for a satisfying crunch!

Chinese Curry Chicken Burger - makes two patties

Chicken Mix 

• 400g free range chicken breast
• 1 medium free range egg
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2tbsps of Chinese curry concentrate (available in supermarkets)
• 3cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
• Pinch of fine salt
• Pinch of sugar

Batter & Cooking 

• 50g corn starch
• 1tsp fine salt
• 1 egg
• 50ml cold Brooklyn Stonewall IPA
• A deep fat fryer or 500ml neutral oil like grapeseed or groundnut

Sauce 

• 1 tbsps Lao Gon Ma Chilli Crisp (available online)
• 2 tbsps hoi sin sauce
• 1 tbsp ketchup

Garnishes 

• 1 spring onion, green parts only finely chopped
• 2 large crunchy lettuce leaves, shredded

Specialist Equipment: 

• Food processor
• Deep fat fryer (optional)

To Serve: 

• Hamburger buns (or use shop bought bao buns and make two smaller patties)
• Chips, with extra curry sauce made up for dipping as per instructions on the side

Method: 

First, check how long the method of cooking your chips will take and factor it into your timings, then mix up your
three sauce ingredients, taste for heat/seasoning and set aside, and finely chop the green parts of your spring onion and shred your iceberg lettuce.

Prepare a small plate with some greaseproof paper on it and some space in the freezer.

Next, in a food processor, put all the ingredients for the chicken part of the process in with the chopping blade and
blitz until it starts to come together in a ball. Oil your hands and form into two patties just smaller than the circumference of the bun and place on greaseproof and freeze for half an hour.

After 20 minutes, it’s time to assemble the dredges to create the batter by placing the corn flour on a small plate and whisking the egg with the beer, salt and sugar in another (pop your beer back in the fridge to enjoy with the burger, probably best to keep drinking and deep fat frying separate!).

Then heat your oil in a deep fat fryer or deep pan, that is wide enough to take both patties side by side (you can also fry one at a time and keep the other in a warm oven) and heat the oil to 180C.

Take your chicken patties out of the freezer and dredge them gently in the cornflour, making sure to get all parts
well covered, then dip in the egg and beer mix and gently lower into the hot oil using tongs, repeat for the second patty. Cook for 10 minutes, they should now be done but it’s really important to use a temperature probe to check that they are 75C in the centre or that the juices are running completely clear.

Just before the patties are done, slice your hamburger buns and spread both halves with the sauce and make up some additional curry sauce for dipping your chips in, as per packet instructions.

Rest your patties for a moment and makesure your chips are ok, then assemble your burger by placing some iceberg lettuce on the bottom, then the patty and the chopped spring onion greens, then more iceberg on top. Repeat for second burger. Add your chips and dipping sauce to the plate, and enjoy with the rest of the Brooklyn Stonewall IPA.

Indian-Inspired Lamb Burger - makes two patties 

Patty method 

1. 300g fatty lamb mince
2. 1 tbsp garam masala
3. 2 tbsps aubergine chutney
4. A splash of London Brewing Co Beer Street
5. 10 grinds of black pepper
6. A pinch of fine salt
7. Neutral oil like grapeseed or groundnut

Yoghurt Sauce 

• 4 tbsps good quality mango chutney, like Geeta’s (or lime chutney if you prefer more tang & heat)
• 4 tbsps thick natural yoghurt
• 10 decent-sized mint leaves
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of sugar

Garnish 

• 2 large crunchy lettuce leaves, shredded
• Finely sliced red onion

To serve: 

• Mini poppadum or large ones broken in to bite sizes
• Mini naan breads

Specialist Equipment: 

• Blender

Method:

First make the yoghurt sauce by blitzingall the ingredients in a bullet blender (or use a stick blender), taste for
seasoning and set aside. Then shred lettuce and slice onion, keep in fridge.

Check the cooking instructions on the mininaans and make sure to factor that into your process.

In a pestle and mortar, pound the chutney,pepper, salt and garam masala, until it’s a smooth thick paste, stir in a small splash of the beer, knead into the lamb mince until the mixture is holding together, set aside for a moment.

Then put a seasoned or non-stick frying pan on a medium heat and get your temperature probe ready if you have one.

Oil your hands and form up the patties, place gently in the pan, check them periodically to make sure they aren’t going too brown and flip them as the colour changes halfway up, cook on the other side and check they are done with your temperature probe, they should be 72C.

Once the patties are done, apply the sauce to both sides of your cooked mini naan breads, put a layer of lettuce on the bottom, then the patty and then the finely sliced onion on top, then more lettuce. Serve with the poppadum and any left over yoghurt sauce on the side for dipping.

Mushroom ‘Pizza Burger’ - serves two

Mushroom ‘Patties’ 

• 2 large Portabello/field mushrooms, stalk removed but retained
• 6 semi-dried tomatoes in oil
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1/4 red onion, chopped finely
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp garlic paste or 2 garlic cloves ,pounded with a pinch of salt
• One ball of mozzarella (or vegan equivalent), drained and dried with kitchen towel
• Pinch of sugar
• Black pepper
• Fine salt
• Basic olive oil

Sauce 

• 4 tbsps tomato ketchup
• 2 tbsps freshly grated parmesan (or vegan equivalent)
• 6 fresh basil leaves, chopped finely
• 0.5tsp chilli flakes (more if you like it hotter)

To Serve: 

• Ciabatta buns
• Rocket
• Parmesan and truffle/hot honey fries (take nearly cooked fries, cover them in grated parmesan, place on a heated tray in a 220C oven for three minutes, finish with a small amount of truffle/hot honey and salt before serving)

Method: 

First bake your ciabatta buns and mushrooms. Heat oven to required temperature on roll packet, brush mushrooms with olive and season with salt and pepper, bake the mushrooms for the same length of time as the buns on a wire grill tray.

Whilst the mushrooms are cooking, chop upthe retained stalks with the semi-dried tomatoes and onion, and mix in a bowl with the oregano, garlic, sugar, a pinch of salt and lots of ground black pepper, set aside.

Take your mozzarella from the liquid, dryit well and cut in half lengthways, season on the cut side.

When the rolls are done (wrap them lightly in foil to keep them warmif you like), take your mushrooms out of the oven and pour off any liquid that’s accumulated in the cup part before spooning in the tomatoey mix; top with the mozzarella, cut side up, and put back in the oven to bake on the highest rack until bubbling and golden on top - you can always finish them with the grill if they aren’t quite golden enough for you.

When the mushrooms are ready, slice your ciabatta roll, spread with the sauce on both sides, put a layer of rocket on the bottom, then the mushroom, more rocket on top and serve with parmesan and truffle/hot honey fries if desired and a cold glass of Bohemia Regent on the side.