HAND CHOPPED BURGER

I prefer a hand-chopped burger patty to one made with a mince at home as each piece of mince has a unique shape. However, it is way more effort.
A cleaver or even a big chopping or chef’s knife will do the trick for hand chopping, and it’s best to use a plastic rather than a wooden chopping board.
When making hamburger patty mince, I like to use at least 50% hindquarter meat as it is most tender. In practical terms this usually means sirloin or rump steak. For the other half of the meat, I use meat from the more flavourful forequarter. This includes any one or a combination of rib-eye, prime rib, chuck or brisket. I’m happy to buy off-the-shelf sirloin, rump, prime-rib and chuck at supermarkets for this job. When converting steak into mince with a mincer or chopping it by hand, you want the meat as cold as possible. It works best to cut the steak into small cubes, put them in a bowl and place in your freezer for an hour or two before you start.

Ingredients

• 500g sirloin and/or rump steak
• 500g rib-eye, prime rib, chuck and/or brisket steak
• salt and pepper
• Jan Braai Original Basting sauce
• 4 hamburger rolls
• lettuce
• tomato, sliced
• onions, sliced
• 1 cup grated cheese

Method

1. Remove the steaks from their packaging, rinse under cold water and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Now debone any steaks that still have bones, and discard the bones. Cut the steaks into fairly small cubes or strips, put in a bowl and place in your freezer for an hour or two to cool down.
2. Wash your hands, get your biggest plastic chopping board at the ready and sharpen your cleaver or the biggest and heaviest chef’s knife you own.
3. Put the plastic chopping board on a very steady surface. Outside in the shade works well as bits of meat will fly offin strange directions, but a steady surface trumps outside and shade. Also put on that apron someone gave you as a present and you never knew what to do with.
4. Place half of the meat cubes or strips on the chopping board and start chopping away. Te nice thing is, you will get better as you go along and there is a lot of meat to practise on. You need to generate some real power to cleave through the meat, so don’t be shy to hit hard. Some pieces of meat will try and escape the action, so pause now and again to bring them back to the herd. Once you’re happy with the consistency of the meat, go on to the next batch.
5. When you have all your hand-chopped mince ready, shape it into 4 100% pure beef hand-chopped burger patties.
6. Carefully lay the patties down on an open grid over very hot coals and braai for 8 minutes in total, only turning them once. During the braai you can put salt and pepper on both sides of the patties.
7. Just before you take the patties of the fire, baste the one side with Jan Braa original basting sauce
8. During the final few minutes of the braai, cut and butter the rolls, and toast the insides over the coals.
9. Build the burger starting with the lettuce, then the tomato, onion, patty, cheese and the top roll.