Healthy Beef Burger
Lunch | American
This is my lighter take on a classic cheeseburger which I made in a recent video with Adam Sullivan from EBT. It’s a grilled beef patty with melted American cheese, a tangy burger sauce, crisp lettuce, tomato, pickles and onion, all in a soft potato roll. To keep the calories down, I use lean beef mince, light cheese, light mayo and low-sugar ketchup, but I cook the patty in a little beef tallow so it still gets that deep, beefy crust you want from a burger. The high heat browns the outside of the meat fast, which is where most of the flavour comes from.
Ingredients
- 640g lean beef mince
- ½ iceberg lettuce
- 2 ripe tomatoes
- ½ brown onion
- 12 sour pickle slices
- 1 tbsp light mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp low sugar ketchup
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- 1 tbsp Sriracha
- 1 tbsp beef tallow
- 4 potato rolls (I like to use Martin's)
- 4 slices light American cheese
- olive oil spray
- salt to taste
Directions
- Divide the mince into four, even-sized balls 160g each. Press each ball into a burger patty just wider than the bun.
- Finely shred the iceberg lettuce. Slice the tomatoes into thin rounds. Finely slice the onion and rinse once under cold water then drain. Place the drained onions on a paper towel to dry.
- In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and Sriracha.
- Preheat a frying pan or flat top grill on high heat. Add the beef tallow and wait until melted.
- Season the burger patties with salt on both sides. Place the patties in the hot frying pan and sear for 3–4 minutes before flipping them. Sear on the other side for 2 minutes before adding the cheese. Continue to sear for 1 more minute until the cheese has melted and the patties are cooked through yet juicy. The patties are ready when the internal temperature reaches 54ºC. Place the burger patties on a tray fitted with a wire rack to rest.
- Build the burger. While the patties rest, place a clean pan over medium heat. Lightly spray the pan with olive oil. Toast the cut side of the buns for 1 minute or until golden brown.
- Spread the burger sauce on both sides of each bun. To the bottom bun, add the lettuce, patty and tomato. Season the tomatoes with a light pinch of salt. Top with the sliced onion, pickles and the top of the bun. Enjoy.
Recipe notes
Lean beef mince
Lean mince is considerably lower in calories than regular beef mince, and it’s the biggest swap that makes this burger lighter. Most supermarkets stock it, but if yours doesn’t, ask your butcher to mince a lean cut for you. Because there’s less fat in the meat, don’t overwork it when you’re shaping the patties, or it’ll cook up tough.
Beef tallow
Tallow is rendered beef fat. It handles high heat without burning and gives the lean patties back some of that rich, beefy flavour you’d normally get from fattier mince. You’ll find it in jars at most butchers and bigger supermarkets. If you don’t have any, a little olive oil spray will do the job, but you’ll lose some of the flavour.
Potato rolls
I use Martin’s potato rolls. They’re soft, slightly sweet and squish down nicely around the patty, which is exactly what you want in a burger like this. Because they’re so pillowy, they soak up moisture fast, so make sure you toast the cut sides before you build the burger. Any soft burger bun will work if you can’t find them.