Make the Ultimate Sizzling Father’s Day This Year with 3 Delicious Burger Recipes

Published on | In What's hot now by Liz Edgecombe | Leave a Comment

With Father’s Day just around the corner it’s a good time to start thinking of gift ideas and ways in which you can make it a special day for Dad. In my experience, Dads are notoriously tough to buy for however, there are two things I’ve found they love most: enjoying delicious BBQ’d meats and spending time with their kids, so, why not combine the two and throw your Dad the Ultimate Sizzling Father’s Day this year?

Grilling on the BBQ with my Dad is one of my fondest childhood memories and it was a great way to spend time together. He taught me everything he knew and inspired my passion for cooking. Today, I have done a little further experimentation with the BBQ classics like burgers and steaks and think I might just a few things I can teach Dad this year. I’d like to share with you too some of my seasoning hacks and unique flavours to spice up your classic BBQ.

A staple BBQ favourite in my house has to be the burger. For decades now we’ve always done the classic beef patty with cheese, tomato, lettuce and lashings of dead horse (Dad’s term for tomato sauce) and the best smoked salt in Australia, so I thought this family fave was well overdue for a facelift. I’ve come up with 3 unique variations on the classic burger that I know your Dad will love this Father’s Day.

The New Orleans

This recipe takes all the traditional Cajun flavours of the deep south and compacts them into one big tasty burger. With the sweet piquancy of sweet paprika, the savoury taste of mustard powder and cumin with the fragrant herby flavour of oregano and thyme all tied together with a garlic, salt, pepper and little cayenne spice this beef patty is anything but bland. Served nestled between two buttery brioche buns and a traditional creamy New Orleans slaw, this burger is a flavour explosion and one that will definitely have everyone asking for more…. so best to make two per person at least!

Makes 8 burgers

Ingredients:

For the slaw:

  • 1kg white cabbage
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 stick celery
  • 4 spring onions
  • 200g good quality whole egg mayo
  • 4 tbsp buttermilk
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 100g pecan nuts, chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste

For the patties:

  • 1kg beef mince
  • 2 tbsp New Orleans Cajun Spice Mix
  • 2 tsp sea salt
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 8 brioche buns, for serving

Method

For the slaw:

  1. Trim and shred the cabbage, either by hand or with a food processor.
  2. Peel and grate the carrots, and finely slice the celery and spring onions.
  3. Whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, maple syrup and vinegar and coat the shredded vegetables with this dressing.
  4. Season, and toss through the chopped nuts.

For the patties:

  1. Break the mince down with your hands until you have quite a sticky meat consistency (this will help the patties to hold their shape when on the grill)
  2. Add the soy, Worcestershire sauce, New Orleans Cajun Spice Mix and pepper to the mince and mix until well combined
  3. Form into 8 even palm-sized patties (if you like your patties a little bigger, make fewer)
  4. Season the patties with salt and grill on a searing hot pan until cooked to your liking. About 4-5 minutes on each side for a just-done patty.

Halve your brioche buns and toast lightly on the BBQ where the meat has been grilling to soak up all the left-behind flavour. Simply assemble your patties in your chosen order and enjoy!

The Greek

I absolutely love me some Greek lamb so I thought why not make it a burger? The Greek Gyros Seasoning gives the lamb patty all the amazing flavours of Greek street food and is paired harmoniously with the subtle bite of red onion, fresh crisp lettuce and cooling tzatziki all enveloped in a spongey Turkish bread roll, yummo!

Makes 8 burgers

Ingredients:

For the patties:

For the burgers:

  • 1 iceberg lettuce, leaves separated
  • 1 tub good quality store-bought tzatziki
  • 1 red onion, sliced very thinly
  • 8 Turkish bread rolls

Method

  1. Break the mince down with your hands until you have quite a sticky meat consistency (this will help the patties to hold their shape when on the grill)
  2. Add the Greek Gyros Seasoning and minced garlic to your mince and mix to combine
  3. Form into 8 even palm-sized patties (if you like your patties a little bigger, make fewer)
  4. Season the patties with salt and grill on a searing hot pan until cooked to your liking. About 4-5 minutes on each side for a just-done patty.

Again, halve your Turkish bread rolls and toast lightly on the BBQ where the meat has been grilling to soak up all the left-behind flavour. Simply assemble your patties in your chosen order and enjoy!

The Mexican

Think taco meets burger, what’s not to love about that? My love for Mexican food is pretty great so when coming up with some unique burger recipes it just had to make an appearance. This recipe takes juicy, charred chicken breast marinated in our Mexican Tex Mex Seasoning with creamy guacamole, a subtle spicy hum of jalepenos and a slice of melting cheddar cheese, all encased in a crispy yet soft brioche bun. Winner, winner chicken dinner!

Makes 4 burgers

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 3 tbsp Mexican Tex Mex Seasoning
  • 4 tsp salt
  • 6 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 ½ lime
  • ¼ white cabbage ¼ red cabbage (or a mix bag of raw slaw mix)
  • 4 slices cheddar cheese
  • 2 avocados
  • roughly 12 pickled jalapeno slices (this is for 3 slices per burger, add more if you wish)
  • 4 brioche buns

Method

  1. Place the chicken breasts in between two layers of cling film and bash with a mallet or rolling pin until about 1cm thick – this will also help to tenderise the chicken
  2. In a large bowl mix the Mexican Tex Mex Seasoning with 4 tbsp of the olive oil and toss the chicken breasts in the bowl until completely coated in the marinade
  3. Sprinkle the breasts with 2 tsp of the salt and place them on the searing hot grill side of your BBQ – You can grill them on a hot plate but the grill section gives nice charred marks and great caramelised flavour
  4. Grill the chicken until cooked through – about 3-4 minutes on each side – douse the breasts in one half of the lime juice then add the cheese slices on top in the last 1 minute of cooking then set aside to rest
  5. Meanwhile, shred the two cabbages and place in a bowl with 1 tsp salt, one half of the lime juice and remaining 2 tbsp olive oil and toss
  6. Mash the avocados with the back of a fork or potato masher and add the remaining half lime juice and tsp of salt

Once again, halve your brioche buns and toast lightly on the BBQ where the meat has been grilling to soak up all the left-behind flavour. Simply assemble your patties in your chosen order and enjoy!

Now that we’ve well and truly got burgers covered, you can’t have a BBQ without some good steaks. Our steaks growing up were always seasoned with your classic salt and pepper and don’t get me wrong, they certainly do the job but I’ve discovered a few flavour-packed spices that will give your meats that extra oomph.

Chipotle Chilli Powder -A great one for adding a little spice and slightly smoky flavour to meats is the. Simply sprinkle over your steaks or pork chops before cooking or make a marinade by mixing with some salt and olive oil.

Jamaican Jerk Spice Mix –This spice blend takes your grilled chicken to the next level! A little bit spicy and a little bit sweet, this blend is the ultimate BBQ seasoning. Click Here to take a look at our recipe for Jamaican Jerk Chicken with a Caribbean-Inspired Slaw.

Smoky BBQ Rub -Our Smoky BBQ Rub is a must-have for any cook passionate about grilling. The combination of Chipotle Chillies, Ancho Chillies, Smoky Paprika, Pepper, Cumin, Oregano, Garlic and Sea Salt is the perfect balance of heat, smoke and umami flavour making your meat sing on the grill!

Hickory Smoke Powder -Powdered Hickory Smoke blend is the delicious and easy way of adding a delicious smoky flavour eliminating the need for the smoking process. Add to your marinades or simply sprinkle on during the grilling process, it’ll taste like your meat has just come from the smoker!

Get all these amazing spice blends plus more in our Smoky BBQ Spice Kit; complete with 10 spice blends and our bespoke spice grinder set, the perfect gift this Father’s Day! This kit was $57.95 but in celebration of Dads this Father’s Day we have taken it down to just $46.50. We will also be offering a FREE two pack Spice People Grinder Set for all orders over $75! Also be sure to check out our BBQ Master 10 pack. Click on the bundle names to check out the great spices they have included and to shop the packs so you can get grilling this Father’s Day with Dad.

If you make anything from our site be sure to upload it onto social media and tag us, we love seeing what you create!

Ciao,

Liz

F | @thespicepeople I | @thespicepeopleaus