Burger Meat- Wise Shopping

Hello Foodies!

Happy Wednesday, have we recovered from Valentine yet? I know I had mentioned in a recent post that I don’t participate in politics but the postponement got to me I no go lie! What pained me most was the fact that this years Vals day fell on a Saturday and thanks to our electoral commission, lots of couples were denied having that day as a wedding anniversary! Then the fact that I had already stocked up my freezer with food for ‘incassities’ (being real). Now thanks to the six-week postponement, I have to make fresh shopping arrangements, let’s not even go into the devaluing of our naira due to fuel price drops and foreign investors pulling funds out of the country thanks to the uncertainty caused by our leaders!

Phew! Thanks for letting me rant, lol…took to twitter to express my displeasure, now I think it’s out of my system, have to start planning shopping again and I honestly hope and pray that in wisdom the election is not postponed again. Hope our week has gone well  and we are taking pictures of our local meals and uploading to Royco Nigeria Page app.

Today I want to share a trick I started using to shop, I love burgers and we eat it as breakfast alot but buying ready made burger meat/patties from Shoprite with only 4 sometimes 3 in the pack is too pricey. One day it suddenly occurred to me that rather than make only meat balls with my minced meat, I should also make my burger patties with a full pack and keep in the freezer, I know many blog readers already do that but for some of us who its never occured to, here’s what I did.

Ready made burger meat – 3 in the pack

Minced meat- our star ingredient ( makes 10-12 burger meats)

I prefer to use dry garlic chunks and flaked onions, this helps give a smoother finish to the patties. I took pictures of both fresh onions and dry onion flakes, decide which works for you. Someone suggested grating/rough grinding the onions which should also give a smooth finish.

Ingredients: (make 12 patties)

1 pack beef mince – Shoprite

1/2 medium sized (onions chopped small)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons worchestershire sauce -Shoprite

1 teaspoon dry chunks of garlic (1 large clove if you choose to use fresh ones)

1 seasoning cube

1 egg (for binding)

2 sprigs of spring onions (sliced thinly)

Parchment/Baking paper (cut in small squares) – Any baking shop

I prefer to use flaked oniins and garlic chunks

Method:

Combine all the ingredients in a wide bowl, with your hand or a wooden spoon, mix until all the ingredients are well combined.

A little bumpy

Second option.

With flaked onions & paprika

Prefer mixing with my hand

Divide the meat batter into 10-12 portions, with slightly wet hands start by moulding each portion into a ball first, then flatten it.

Alternatively,  flatten out half mixture then use a small bowl and cut out neat circles.

Lift using a flat frying spoon

Place on the baking paper and cover with baking paper, continue layering until you are done- 1 layer of baking paper 1 layer of meat patty.

You can make the meat thick.

Or even use cling film if you can’t find baking paper.

Layer it like you would the baking paper

Cover the container and freeze, bring out of the freezer a few minutes just before you start making the burger. Even if the patties are frozen, the baking paper makes it easy to remove.

Ready for the freezer

The stack of 3 on the left is the ready made burger meat =N560, while the stack on the right and behind 10 patties in all is our homemade one from minced meat =N626

You get to save money by getting 12 burger meats from 1 pack of minced meat, though the ready made one is wider…I sha prefer my mix, lol 🙂 . You can add any other seasoning you want, just make sure you enjoy!

Preparation is same as with the mini-burgers but here’s a picturial step by step.

Place in a hot pan with a little oil

Turn when one slde is golden

Done

Toast the burger buns by slicing in two and placing on a dry pan over low heat for a few minutes

Apply mayonnaise

Place cabbage or lettuce and sprinkle a little hot sauce on top

Place the burger meat and pour on top ketchup or sriracha

Added tomatoes and Chinese cabbage to this one…

Enjoy your weekend shopping!

Azu…

**Notes: other things you can add to the burger patties, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, grated carrots, cabbage and breadcrumbs, the combination is endless. Experiment and find what works for you.

You can grind the onions, garlic and fresh pepper before adding into the minced meat.