Triple Crown Burger

The Triple Crown Burger is a double cheeseburger with a golden surprise - it has a hidden egg in one of the burger patties (sshhh, it's a surprise!).

It is called the Triple Crown Burger as its ingredients are carefully selected from three of the United Kingdom's home nations. The beef is Scottish Aberdeen Angus, the cheese is the crumbly Welsh Caerphilly and the relish is made with Colman's English Mustard and the famous HP Brown Sauce, named after the Houses of Parliament (it also features a picture of the houses of parliament on the bottle).

If the ingredients mentioned above are not available in your local area you can substitute them with whatever is available to you, HP Brown Sauce is similar to what's known as brown steak sauce in the USA.

Note: The recipe can make either two or four burgers, depending on the size of your buns and burger patties.

Step 1: The Ingredients

To make the Triple Crown Burger you will need the following ingredients. The recipe includes a home-made bun, but you could alternatively use shop bought buns instead.

For the bread bun (Optional):

• 250g Strong white flour
• 15g Lard
• Pinch of salt
• 100ml Tepid milk
• 5g Fried yeast
• 50ml Tepid water
• 1 egg - beaten
• Sesame seeds (Optional)
  

For the Relish / Sauce:

• 1 small bunch of Flat leaf parsley - finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons of Mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons of HP Brown Sauce
• ½ a teaspoon of Tabasco sauce
• Pinch of Colman's English Mustard powder
• 3 gherkins - diced
• Zest of half a Lemon
• ½ a green chilli - finely diced

For the burger:

• 500g of Aberdeen Angus Beef - minced
• 1 teaspoon of Smoked sea salt
• 1 teaspoon of Black cracked peppers
• 3 Small onions - diced and fried in a small knob of butter until lightly colored
• 2 tablespoons of Colman's English Mustard
• 2 sprigs of Rosemary - finely chopped
• 1 Egg to add to the minced beef mixture
• 2 to 4 Eggs to make the golden surprise

To put the burgers together:

• Thick cut smoked back bacon
• Lettuce
• Welsh Caerphilly Cheese
• Large Tomato - sliced
  

Step 2: Baking the Bread Buns (Optional)

To make the buns, follow these steps:

1. Mix the yeast with the tepid water and stir until dissolved.
2. Weigh the flour, lard and salt into a large bowl.
3. Add the yeast and the tepid milk.
4. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 15 minutes until your dough is soft and elastic.
5. Leave to prove for 1 hour in a covered bowl left in a warm place.
6. Once proven, divide the dough into 4 or 6 (depending on how large you want them) on a lightly floured surface and roll into balls with your hands.
7. Place on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.
8. Using a rolling pin, flatten slightly.
9. Brush the beaten egg over each bun.
10. Cover loosely with cling-film and leave them in a warm place for 30 minutes.
11. Then brush with a second coat of beaten egg.
12. Cover loosely with cling-film and leave for a further 30 minutes to rise.
13. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).
14. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200°C / 180°C fan / Gas mark 6 for about 10-15 minutes until they are golden brown.
15. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Step 3: Making the Relish / Sauce

To make the relish / sauce:

1. Prep the ingredients by finely chopping the parsley, dicing the gherkins, zesting the lemon and dicing the chilli.
2. Put all of the ingredients in a bowl or ramekin.
3. Stir thoroughly to combine.
4. Place in the fridge to keep fresh until ready to serve.

Step 4: Making the Burgers

I'm mincing fresh Aberdeen Angus Beef steaks myself but you can also have your butcher mince your beef for you or you can buy ready minced beef off the shelf.

To make the burger patties do the following:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl with the beaten egg.
2. Divide into 4 or 6 and shape into burger patties.
3. Cut a hole in the middle of half of the patties (this is for the golden surprise egg).
4. Place on a plate and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
5. Turn on the grill and heat a frying pan with 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
6. Once hot fry the burgers on each side for around 4 minutes.
7. Crack one egg gently into the middle hole of the relevant patties and fry for a further minute.
8. Place under the grill for 3 minutes.
9. The burgers should be cooked and the egg should be nice and runny.

Step 5: Putting It Together

To build the burger follow these steps:

1. Grill the bacon.
2. Place a cooked whole patty on top of a split bun.
3. Stack a patty with an egg on top of the previous one.
4. Place a piece of grilled bacon on top.
5. Sprinkle with the crumbly Caerphilly cheese.
6. Toast under the grill to melt the cheese.
7. Top with a generous helping of the relish / sauce.
8. Garnish with the lettuce and tomato.
9. Cover with the top half of the bun.
10. Enjoy!