Impress with these homemade burgers smothered in a gooey, silky cheese sauce and topped with crispy bacon.
To make the burger patties put the minced beef/ground beef in a large bowl with the yolk of 1 egg and a little salt and pepper. Bring together with your hands and divide into 4 equal sized balls around 1/4 lb (115g), then squash each ball down to create the classic burger patty shape. Cover and place in the fridge until ready to use
The egg is required for lean beef mince/ground beef, if you have good quality 20% fat beef you won't need the egg yolk
To make your cheese sauce melt the butter in a pan, then gradually stir in the flour with a wooden spoon to make a roux. Keep stirring for a further minute then gradually pour in the milk while continuously stirring; switch to a whisk when your sauce starts to become fluid.
For best results you should use warm milk to avoid getting clumps in your roux
Tear in the cheese slices into pieces and stir them a few pieces at a time allowing them to melt, once melted stir in the cheddar cheese and season with salt and pepper. Keep the cheese sauce over the lowest heat your stove will allow while you cook your burgers, giving it a stir every so often. If you see the sauce getting too thick, add a splash more milk.
Cheese slices contain sodium citrate which prevents the cheese from separating, helping create a silky smooth sauce
Heat a bbq/grill or griddle pan and cook your beef patties on the first side for around 4-5 minutes until nicely browned - sprinkling a little salt and pepper over the top - turn and cook the other side, once again season with salt and pepper.
While your beef patties are cooking, fry your bacon until nice and crispy and in the same pan, fry the onions coat them in the bacon fat.
Once your burgers are cooked remove them from the bbq/grill/griddle pan and cover while you toast your buns. To do this, brush the inside of each bun with a little olive oil, then place on the bbq/grill/griddle pan until golden brown, we're now ready to build our burgers!
Place the bottom of each bun on a plate and top with a couple of gem lettuce leaves; this provides a barrier to prevent the bun from becoming soggy, then top with the beef patty. Spoon over the cheese sauce until it begins to drip down the side of the burger, then top with a few onions, a rasher of the crispy bacon broken in half and a couple of halved cornichons or a few gherkin/pickle slices.
Add the top of the bun and serve - you can use any left over cheese sauce as a dip for fries or onion rings.