Recipes>Beef Recipes
The Christmas Boy
by Beefy Boys from The Beefy Boys: From Backyard BBQ to World-Class Burgers
10-12 burgers
A banging burger that uses up any leftovers from Christmas dinner. Tall and juicy, with all the festive flavours and different patty options, this burger recipe is one to save for this December.
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Introduction
One of the highlights of Christmas for me is without a doubt the monstrous turkey sandwich you make after the big day. The Boxing Day sandwich is often even more magnificent and satisfying than the Christmas dinner itself. Piles of turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, sprouts, carrots… whatever’s left, it’s going in. This burger was our way of trying to capture that magic and deliver it in burger form.
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Ingredients
| The build | |
|---|---|
| Leftover pig in blanket, for the top | |
| Cranberry sauce | |
| Pulled leftover turkey or turkey thigh confit (see below) | |
| Jack cheese | |
| Moist-maker (see Top Tip) | |
| Beef patty of your choice | |
| Bun of your choice | |
| Stuffing patty | |
| 5 slice of | smoked streaky bacon, finely chopped |
| 1 tbsp | goose fat (lard, rapeseed or vegetable oil are also fine) |
| 2 | white onions, finely diced |
| 2 | garlic cloves, finely diced |
| 1½ tbsp | dried sage |
| 50g (1 cup) | fresh breadcrumbs |
| 60g (½ cup) | shelled pistachios, roughly chopped |
| 130g (1 cup) | vac-pack cooked chestnuts |
| 2 | apples, cored and finely diced |
| 750g (1lb 10½oz) | sausage meat |
| Pinch each of salt and pepper, to taste | |
| Bubble and squeak patty | |
| 1kg (2lb 3oz) | potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes |
| 650g (1lb 7oz) | swede (rutabaga), peeled and cut into cubes |
| 500g (1lb 1oz) | carrots, halved lengthways and sliced into half-moons |
| 100g (3½oz) | kale, sliced |
| 150g (⅔ cup) | butter |
| 100g (scant 2 cups) | panko breadcrumbs |
| 65g (½ cup) | plain (all-purpose) flour |
| About 240ml (1 cup) | milk |
| Turkey Thigh Confit | |
| 2 | turkey thighs |
| Few sprigs of | thyme |
| Few sprigs of | rosemary |
| 2 | bay leaves, torn |
| 1 | cinnamon stick, broken in half |
| Pinch each of | salt and pepper |
| Enough goose fat to cover the thighs (you can also use rapeseed oil |
Method
You can make the majority of this burger with leftovers from Christmas dinner or, if you want to go completely crazy, how about instead of the traditional Christmas roast dinner you knock out this bad boy on Christmas day? The kids will think you are an absolute legend but your nan will probably be in tears.
Top Tip: We’ve borrowed a technique from famous New York chef Monica Geller and included a moist-maker in this burger. Simply soak a slice of cheap and nasty white bread in gravy. If that doesn’t fill you with festive cheer, then you seriously run the risk of being visited on Christmas Eve by the ghost of your ex-business partner and three yuletide spirits.
Stuffing Patty
Either use leftover stuffing mix from Christmas shaped into patties, using 100g (3½oz) per patty, or make it from scratch as follows.
Sauté the bacon in a pan with the goose fat until caramelized. Add the onions and garlic, along with the dried sage. Cook until the onions have softened, then add the breadcrumbs, pistachios, chestnuts and apple. Allow the mixture to cool. Once cold, mix in the sausage meat, season well and form into 100g (3½oz) patties. Cook your stuffing patties on your hot cooking surface (hotplate or frying pan), flipping occasionally, until they reach 75°C/167°F.
Bubble and Squeak Patty
You can make this by mashing up any leftover veggies you have from your Christmas dinner. Potatoes, carrots, peas, swede – it’s all good! Simply mash all your leftover vegetables together, along with a knob of softened butter and 1–2 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs to tighten the mixture. Otherwise, make from scratch as follows.
Boil or steam all your veggies separately, until tender. Drain, then mash the potatoes and swede together with the butter and enough of the panko breadcrumbs to achieve a tight consistency. Stir through the carrots and kale, then form the mixture into patty shapes. Dip the patties in the flour to coat, then in the milk, and finally in the remaining panko breadcrumbs. Place in the refrigerator to chill. Once chilled and fi rm, deep- or shallow-fry your bubble and squeak patties for 3 minutes until golden all over.
Turkey Thigh Confit
If using leftover turkey from Christmas, shred and reheat with a little gravy until the turkey reaches an internal temperature of 75°C/167°F. Otherwise, make it from scratch as follows.
In an oven dish, mix the turkey thighs with the thyme, rosemary, bay and cinnamon and some salt and pepper. Cover and allow the turkey to cure in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours, ideally overnight. Remove from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 120°C/250°F/Gas ½. Completely cover the turkey in goose fat and place it in the warm oven for 3 hours. Check that the turkey thighs have reached an internal temperature of 96°C/205°F before removing from the oven and allowing to cool in the goose fat. Once cool enough to handle, remove from the fat, pull the turkey meat, and add it to a dish with a little of the juices from the pan to keep it warm and loosen the mixture.
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Ingredients
Method
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