Midweek AUS Angus Beef Burger

Let's face it, sometimes during the week after a day at work you really don't want to spend a lot of time cooking. Although I normally make my own burgers/rissoles I do find that the Angus Beef pre-formed patties you can buy at the supermarket acceptable and, well, convenient.

Recipes that use Australian ingredients are something that interests me, so I've come up with this recipe. I'm going to tweak it a bit next time I make it but this attempt was pretty darn good (IMHO).

The two Australian ingredients (apart from the beef) I used are wattleseed and Tasmanian pepperberry. The wattleseed has a mild and subtle flavour somewhat reminiscent of coffee and often used in dessert recipes. The Tasmanian pepper has a bite; it's hotter than black pepper and has a unique aroma and flavour. You may think these two flavours won't go well together, but trust me and give it a shot.

Minced Angus Beef Patties with an Australian Twist

Ingredients
4 x Angus Beef Rissoles/Patties (from supermarket or butcher)
Extra virgin olive oil

Spice mix
1 tsp tellicherry black peppercorns [Before grinding]
1/2 tsp whole Tasmanian pepperberries [Before grinding]
1/4 tsp ground wattleseed
1/4 tsp dried oregano [Before grinding]
1/4 tsp sea salt [Before grinding]
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Sauce
1 cup homemade beefstock
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 tbls chives finely chopped
1/2 tsp spice mix

Note: if you don't use homemade beefstock there may be too much salt in the spice blend. You can either adjust or omit the salt in the spice mix and add later in cooking or reduce the sauce less when cooking)

Method
Make the spice mix. For the ingredients that are not already ground, grind them with a mortar and pestle before mixing with the ingredients that are already ground.



Preheat oven to around about 180C.

Sprinkle the spice mix evenly over the Angus Beef patties (both side), pressing the spices in gently with your fingers. You should have a bit of the spice mix left over which is added to the sauce. Leave rest on bench for 15-30 minutes.

Fry the patties in a frypan with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil until they are browned on both sides. Transfer to oven in a baking dish with rack to finish cooking through.

Using the same frypan you used to cook the patties, add beefstock, garlic, chives and a dash of left over spice mix. Simmer until the sauce reduces (see note above regarding salt)

When the beef patties are cooked through, top with sauce and serve with salad or vegetables.