The BEST Burgers EVER

Let me start by saying that the above quote is not by yours truly. It is by my food experiments guinea pig, AK, who gamely swallows what I conjure up and tries his best to give constructive criticism whilst I hover over him, eyes narrowed, demanding feedback as payment to my feeding him.

The burgers were made with stewing beef cubes, minced using my hand and a knife (when I told AK I hand-minced the meat he literally had a mental image of me karate-ing it into submission).

Then, onions are sliced and softened slightly in a few tablespoonfuls of bacon fat, then cooled and added to the meat.

Flavouring the patties are French Sea Salt, Maggie Seasoning, freshly ground black pepper AND some coriander seeds, freshly ground in a pestle and mortar and then sifted over to remove any larger bits.

To bind, an egg, and the bread I froze from a few months back and whizzed in the processor, as well as some organic oatmeal.

With the meat, the onions and all the bacon fat (the bacon fat is key, so the more the merrier), the egg (use only as much as it takes to bind, with the liquid fat it might take less than one egg), crumbs and seasonings, then left to rest and meld in the fridge whilst I take a break to watch Nigella Lawson on TV.

After a few hours in the fride, shape into patties about an inch thick (how wide they are is really a matter of choice). Leave to rest and get to a warmer temperature before cooking them.

Then, a wide and thick- bottomed nonstick pan on high heat (I suppose griddle would be good too, but I don't have one). Preheating of the oven to 200 degC. Prep a baking tray by covering it with foil and a spritz of oil (any oil).

A little bit of fat in the pan, then on go the burgers, just a single layer, no crowding and they're not supposed to touch each other in the pan. Make sure they get nice and dark, dark brown (that's flavour and the sealing of the juices). Flip/turn them and get the other side seared. Repeat as necessary.

Place the burgers in the oven for 30-45 minutes, until they are cooked through.

I like mine inRamlee-burger fashion, wrapped in a liberally peppered omelette with no cheese (except maybe a really mild, gooey one like mozarella, but no cheddar please), on a lightly sweet toasted potato bun. AK likes his with the works - a sunny side up with the yolk still running, and molten cheddar cheese. With this one, I wouldn't want a chilli sauce or ketchup to muddle up the deeply savoury taste.