Cheeseburger with triple-cooked beef dripping chips and beef salt
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- no cooking required
- Serve
- Serves 2
This cheeseburger is topped with homemade Westcombe cheddar burger cheese and caramelised onions, with crisp triple-cooked beef dripping chips and beef salt on the side.
Ingredients
For the cheddar burger cheese
- 15g/½oz sodium citrate
- 300ml/10fl oz whole milk
- 500g/1lb 2oz cheddar, finely grated
- pinch fine sea salt
- pinch ground white pepper
For the patties
- 2 x 150g/5½oz coarsely ground brisket patties
- beef dripping, for frying
- 2 slices Westcombe burger cheese, see above
For the caramelised onions
- 200g/7oz onions, finely sliced
- 2 tbsp beef dripping, for frying
To build the burgers
- 2 shokupan milk bread buns or brioche buns
- butter or beef dripping, for toasting
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
For the beef dripping chips
- 500g/1lb 2oz Maris Piper potatoes
- 2½ tsp table salt
- 1kg/2lb 4oz beef dripping
- ½ beef stock cube
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
To make the cheddar burger cheese, put the sodium citrate and milk in a heavy-based saucepan. Whisk over a medium heat until the sodium citrate has dissolved and the milk is just steaming. Don’t let it boil.
Add the grated cheddar in three batches, whisking constantly and keeping the mixture at 70–75C. It should become smooth and glossy. If it starts to look greasy or split, reduce the heat.
Stir in the fine sea salt and white pepper.
Immediately pour the mixture into a cling film-lined terrine or loaf tin. Smooth the surface, fold over the cling film and press out any air. Chill for at least 4 hours, or until completely set.
Turn out the cheese and cut into slices about 5mm/¼in thick.
To make the patties, shape the patties loosely into roughly 2cm/¾in-thick rounds and chill until needed.
Season the outside of the patties with salt just before cooking.
Heat a plancha and add enough beef dripping for frying. Cook the patties on both sides until they have a deep brown crust and are cooked through.
Put a slice of the burger cheese on each patty towards the end of cooking. Cover briefly until the cheese has melted, then rest the patties for 1 minute.
To make the caramelised onions, cook the onions gently in beef dripping with a pinch of salt until very soft and deeply caramelised.
Add a splash of water if the onions start to catch, scraping any browned bits from the base of the pan.
To make the chips, cut the potatoes into roughly 1.5cm/⅝in-thick chips, leaving the skins on. Rinse under cold running water for a couple of minutes, then drain.
Bring a large pan of water to a simmer with 1½ teaspoons of the table salt. Add the chips and simmer gently until almost cooked through. They should be soft with the edges just beginning to crack but should still hold their shape.
Carefully remove the chips with a slotted spoon. Spread them in a single layer on a rack set over a tray and leave to steam-dry. Chill uncovered in the fridge or freezer until cold and dry to the touch.
CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.
Heat the beef dripping to 130C in a large deep pan. Fry the chips in batches until a pale, dry crust forms but they haven’t coloured. Drain on the rack, leave to cool, then chill uncovered again until completely cold.
Crush the beef stock cube to a fine powder and mix with the remaining 1 teaspoon table salt to make the beef salt.
Heat the dripping to 190C. Fry the chips in batches until deep golden and crisp, then drain briefly. Put them in a bowl and immediately toss with the beef salt.
To build the burgers, toast the buns cut-side down in butter or beef dripping until golden.
Spread the mayonnaise over the bottom halves of the buns.
Top each with a cooked cheeseburger patty and caramelised onions. Add the bun lids.
