Aussie burgers. Yum. For people like Georgia and me, these burgers bring back memories of trips to the fish and chip shop at the beach or food stops at country cafes (usually a part of a service station) on really long drives. I saw John Terode eating one with real joy on a TV show documenting a trip back to Australia.
When I was a kid, we used to drive from Adelaide to Melbourne at least twice a year to see my Mum’s family. It is about 750kms each way. So, stops for small kids to use the loo and to eat were frequent during the 9-10 hours the trip took. Dad liked to stop at places where there were lots of trucks because he reasoned that the guys who lived on the road knew the places where the food was good. I remember that we always stopped at a place in Bordertown and another place in Ararat.
These burgers are not posh, gourmet or fashionable. They are real old style Aussie food. But we all remember them and love them.
They are best cooked on a BBQ but a griddle is a good substitute.
Aussie burgers
Ingredients
Beef burger patties
Burger buns
1 onion, sliced
Sliced beetroot
Sliced pineapple
Eggs
Sliced tomatoes
Sliced cheese
Chopped lettuce
Tomato sauce
Instructions
Cook the burger patties and the onions on the BBQ or the griddle to your liking.
Fry the eggs. Toast the burger buns on the BBQ as well.
If you want, put the pineapple rings on the BBQ until there is a little charring on each side. I like the pineapple this way as it moderates the sweetness but you can use it raw if you prefer.
To assemble, the order of the ingredients is quite important. Put tomato sauce on the bottom part of the bun, then the burger, then the cheese, then the onions. Then the egg and the tomato. Then the beetroot, the pineapple and the lettuce. Finally, a bit more tomato sauce on top before you top it all with the other half of the bun.
Obviously, these are difficult and messy to eat. But if you are outside at at BBQ, it really does not matter.