Chelsea’s Cheeseburgers with secret sauce
Why ‘secret’ sauce? Because gherkin is the magic ingredient – and even the most passionate anti-gherkiners won’t be able to deny the deliciousness. They’re chopped up very small and disguised in a cloak of mayo and tomato – so that’s the secret. Once you’ve made these, you’ll realise how easy it is to make a burger that’s a million times healthier and tastier than a greasy takeaway burger. The bun is very important; I try and avoid the standard burger buns from the bread isle at the supermarket – too crumbly and too processed I reckon. Try soft ciabatta rolls, or burger buns from your local baker or specialty food store – you’ll notice the difference. The secret sauce is a killer! Enjoy these burgs with my crispy roasted potatoes if you want a real treat.
Ingredients
Plant-based burger patties
Dairy-free cheese
Secret sauce
3/4 cup vegan mayonnaise (recipe here)
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped (or 2 tbsp onion, minced)
3 gherkins, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon tomato paste
To serve
Burger buns, halved
Lettuce leaves
Red onion, very thinly sliced
Crispy bacon (optional)
Patties
Preheat the oven to grill.
Preheat a BBQ or frying pan to a medium heat. Brush the patties with a little oil and cook for a few minutes until browned on one side. Turn the patties over, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for another 8-10 minutes until cooked through.
Transfer the patties to a roasting dish or oven tray and lay a slice or two of cheese on top of each one. Cook under the grill for a minute or so until the cheese starts to melt over the patties.
To make the secret sauce, combine all the ingredients and season as required.
Place a patty onto the bottom bun, add the lettuce leaves, slices of red onion and top with a dollop of sauce.
I have the book with this recipe but for ease I came here to print it. It is now “plant based” recipe? I’m sure it was real meat and the bread/milk trick/onion etc or maybe I’m going nuts???
Hi Chelsea, do you use prime or premium beef mince? I’m not sure which level of fat content would be best for your recipe. Thank you!
Our go to burger recipe – absolutely YUM! My daughter calls them McMummies (sorry)! We make them slightly smaller and put between slider buns…delicious!!
Help! What am I doing wrong? Every time I have made these they seem to start splitting/falling apart in the pain! What could I be doing wrong?
Make sure the onion is really finely chopped – and don’t turn them too soon :)
Yummy de yum yum!!!
These burgers are a-maz-ing!!! I’m not a burger fan but I am sooooo looking forward to having the leftovers tomorrow night. YUM!
YUM! Will be making these this weekend! Thanks Chelsea – they look deeeeelish!
Could these be frozen raw?
The onion might go a little funky but yes, you can.
These are epic Chelsea, and easy to make!
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Chelsea, what burger buns are they – it’s always a hard task finding the perfect bun!
The slice wholemeal toast bread, crusts removed, soaked in 2 tablespoons milk.
Do you just tear that up and mix it into the pattie mixture?
I’m a Kiwi living in the USA and boy I miss our food. So it was so cool to see u put ur recipes on Facebook so I print as much as I can to feel like I am eating like I’m eating nz food again. I must get ur recipe book one day. Well keep them coming :)
I made these last night from your new cookbook and LOVED them! The best patties I have ever had and the sauce just took them to the next level. I’m going to make a batch to freeze for the upcoming BBQ season. Waaaaaaay better than any bought patties!
These burgers surprised me – in a good way!
The pattie mixture was pretty basic and had nothing too special that made me think ‘Wow, they will be amazing’ but they actually were!! Goes to prove, keeping things simple and fresh really does deliver.
I loved the secret sauce too. It tasted like NZ, Summery, BBQ’d goodness. The kind that a homemade burger must have!
We had ours with only some lettuce leaves and tomato sauce on garlic buttered grilled buns and as simple and easy this dinner was, it was a hit all round! Thanks Chelsea!
Hi Chelsea, stupid question I’m sure – I made this sauce last night & it was a disaster :-(
do you use mustard powder or ready made mustard in your recipes – I used mustard powder as was all I had on hand & think this was why it was a flop but I’m never sure when it says mustard in recipes if it’s powder or sauce to use :-)
Hi Michelle, I always use Dijon mustard from a jar – it has quite a different flavour to powdered English Mustard :)
Your special sauce is fanfreakentastic!!
LOVED these tonight. any ideas what we could do with the leftover special sauce? It’s so so good!
You can use it with steak or rissoles, on sandwiches or wraps, on chicken, as a dip – lots of uses!
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Oh my gosh… Serious secret sauce crush!!!!
Also added a little BBQ sauce and some bacon. These burgers are amazing!!!
Thanks Gemma, glad you like the sauce!
OMG these burgers are delicious! We are having them for the second time this week lol
That’s amazing feedback! Fabulous to hear Natasha.