I’ve been making this burger over six years at home and I have yet to try a better burger recipe.

Making burgers at home might seem scary and a lot of effort, but it really doesn’t take more time than making a nice pasta. All you need is fresh ingredients.

I go as far as making my own burger buns – that’s actually where most of the effort lays! I could say that you don’t have to make your own burger buns (you don’t, I’ll forgive you), but trust me – these burger buns by Joshua Weissman are the best you’ll ever have. So many burger restaurants don’t even compare to them!

This is the the brioche kind of bun, but better – it’s light, fluffy and glossy and just amazing. Trust me, you want to make them. Plus, Joshua’s video is so easy to follow that I leave this task to my boyfriend who NEVER cooks, and he was so amazed by how easy and satisfying it is, that he is now looking into making sour dough bread and using terms such ‘levain’ (love you Seb ❤️).

So please do yourself a favour, go watch the video and make these buns.

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As for the star of this show – the Insanity Burger is a Jamie Oliver recipe. And to me, this is his absolute best recipe.

What makes it so great is the brilliant technique of brushing the burgers with mustard and a dash of Tabasco Chipotle sauce. And the incredible burger sauce. Nothing beats it.

I adjusted the recipe a bit to my liking, and here is how I make it.

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Ingredients:

Serves: 2
Time: 35 min

For the burger patties
400g good quality minced beef
2 tbsp canola oil
Freshly cracked sea salt & pepper

For the toppings
1 small red onion
2 – 3 tbsp of red wine vinegar
1 large gherkin
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 tsp Tabasco Chipotle sauce
1 tablespoon butter
2 slices of cheddar cheese
4-6 pieces of bacon
2 homemade burger buns

For the sauce
Two handfuls chopped lettuce
2 heaped tablespoons mayo
1 heaped tablespoon tomato ketchup
1 teaspoon Tabasco Chipotle sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon brandy, or bourbon (optional)

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Instructions

1.

First, prepare the burger patties. Divide 400g of minced beef into two, and roll each half into a ball. Press flat into a 10-12cm wide and about 2.5cm think patties. Season generously with freshly cracked salt & pepper – do not go gently on the seasoning! This is where a lot of the flavour is coming from. Then pat them with 2 tbsp canola oil (1 tbsp each patty) all around and set aside.

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2.

Prepare the toppings. Slice 1 large gherkin lengthwise and set aside. Chop 1 small red onion into very thin slices, then put in a bowl and dress with 2 – 3 tbsp of red wine vinegar, some salt and set aside.

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3.

Mix 2 teaspoons dijon mustard with 1 tsp Tabasco Chipotle sauce and set aside to be ready for when you fry the patties.

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4.

Make the burger sauce. Mix all the ingredients of the sauce besides the lettuce together in a bowl: 2 heaped tbsp mayo , 1 heaped tsp tomato ketchup, 1 tsp Tabasco Chipotle sauce, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce and 1 tsp brandy or bourbon (optional). Then finely chop 2 handfuls chopped lettuce and mix in with the rest.

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5.

Fry the bacon. Put one large non stick pan on medium heat and fry the bacon until it’s crispy.

I find that it’s better to have the bacon ready just before you put the patties on the stove, because the patties cook so fast and it’s easy to overcook them if you want your patties to be medium-rare (and you do 💛)

Put it on a paper towel to get rid of the excess fat. Don’t take the pan off the heat!

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6.

Use the same pan that you made the bacon in: put your split burger buns in the bacon fat and let them become slightly golden before you take them off the heat. Then top each bun base with the burger sauce.

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7.

The most crucial step – frying the patties. If you get this part wrong, you’ve done everything for nothing and your burger will end up being just average. So I need you to focus – tell your family to stop talking to you, your cats to stop bothering you, and forget about the bacon burning (if you didn’t do as I asked and are still frying it).

You can use the same non-stick pan that you used for the bacon, just increase the heat to high and pour in 1 tbsp of canola oil.

Now you gotta act fast. Place your patties on the pan, fry for 1 minute and add 1 tbsp butter to the pan at the same time. Now flip, brush with 1/2 of the mustard & tabasco mixture and fry for one more minute. Meanwhile taking a spoon, collecting the juices of the pan (that would be mostly butter) and pouring them over your burger. Flip again onto the mustard side and brush the other side with the mustard & tabasco (now you should have both sides brushed with your mustard mixture) and your burger had been cooking for 2.5 – 3 min). Place the bacon, then the cheddar, now quickly close the pan with a lid to let the cheddar melt – this should take about 30 seconds. You’re done. Your total cooking time should have been not more that 3.5 min.

Take the patties of the heat and place them directly on top of your bun bases (that have the sauce on them already).

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8.

Drain the onions of the excess vinegar and place them on top. Now place the sliced gherkins and seal the deal with the your homemade bun tops. Done.

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Your burgers are ready and they are perfect. You don’t even need fries. Dig in.

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