Hungover Sundays Are Solved With This Ultimate Brekkie Burger Recipe

This is the burger of your dreams. The brekkie that you wish you had on a Sunday morning after a night out that you’d rather forget. The perfect accompaniment to a day spent stuck on the couch wrapped in a blanket binging Netflix.

Looking at the recipe you might be asking: ‘Do I really have to make everything on this list to make a great brekkie burger?’ Of course not. Feel free to use store-bought mayo, hash browns and pickled shallots on your first few goes. And when you’re ready to give the whole thing a crack, come right on back and give it a go.

You won’t be disappointed. In a food coma maybe… but not disappointed.

The Ultimate Brekkie Burger

Makes: 4 Burgers

Ingredients:

The Ultimate Brekkie Burger
• 4 potato or brioche buns
• 120ml of chipotle mayo (ingredients and method below)
• 4 hash browns (ingredients and method below)
• 8 cooked rashers of bacon (or more, this recipe isn’t exactly about restraint)
• 8 scrambled eggs (ingredients and method below)
• 4 slices of American cheddar
• 4 pinches of pickled shallots (ingredients and method below)
• Butter
• Thinly sliced chives

Hash Browns
• 3-4 royal blue potatoes
• 60ml of neutral oil for shallow frying (+ more if needed)
• Salt

Chipotle Mayo
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 clove of garlic (minced)
• 1 tsp of Dijon mustard
• Juice of 1⁄2 a lime
• 2 chipotle chillies from a tin/jar of chipotles in Adobo sauce (minced)
• 300ml of a neutral oil (Grapeseed or Vegetable)
• Salt to taste

Pickled Shallots
• 250ml of white wine vinegar
• 250ml of water
• 1 tsp of black peppercorns
• 1 clove of garlic
• 5 sprigs of thyme
• 40g of white sugar
• 20g of salt
• 2-3 shallots (thinly sliced)

Scrambled Eggs
• 8 eggs
• 2.5 Tbsp of unsalted butter
• Salt

Method:

Hash Browns:

• Place your potatoes in a large pot and cover with water.
• Bring the pot to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cook potatoes until a skewer easily passes through the potatoes (about 30 minutes).
• Remove the cooked potatoes from the water, and peel while still warm.
• Roughly chop the peeled potatoes into small chunks.
• Form into square or circular patties about 1.5cm thick and place in the freezer until frozen solid.
• When you’re ready to cook, heat your neutral oil in a medium sized fry pan.
• Once the oil is shimmering, reduce the heat to low and carefully place a couple of hash browns in the pan. See note for an alternative cooking method.

Note: The frozen hash browns will sizzle violently when you add the them to the pan. This is due to the reaction between the cold hash browns and the hot oil which helps to make them extra crispy. Do not walk away. Always keep an eye on anything frying or shallow frying. If you are concerned about shallow frying, you can also cook the hash browns in a 200°C oven for 15-20 minutes.

• Once golden brown on one side, carefully flip the hash browns over and repeat on the other side.
• Remove from the pan and season with salt. Repeat with the remaining hash browns.

Chipotle Mayo:

By Hand:

• In a medium sized bowl whisk together your egg, egg yolk, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, lime juice and chipotle chillies.
• Very slowly stream in your neutral oil. Start with a couple of drops of oil every 10-15 seconds or so, continuously whisking until incorporated. Repeat this until you notice the emulsion starting to lighten up and thicken.
• Once the mayo has started to thicken, you can start to very slowly stream in the rest of your oil whilst continuing to whisk.
• Taste. Season with a couple of pinches of salt and more lime juice if needed.

Thermomix or Blender:

• Blend together your egg, egg yolk, minced garlic, Dijon mustard, lime juice and chipotle chillies on medium speed until smooth.
• Very slowly start to stream in your neutral oil. You want a constant thin stream of oil. If you see oil beginning to pool at the bottom of the blender/thermomix then you’re adding the oil too quickly.
• Once you’ve incorporated all of the oil, taste and season the mayo with a couple of pinches of salt and more lime juice if needed.

Pickled Shallots:

• In a small saucepan, combine your white wine vinegar, water, black peppercorns, garlic, thyme, sugar and salt.
• Bring to a simmer over low heat, whisking to dissolve the salt and sugar. Once simmering, remove from the heat and allow the pickle to cool.
• Once the pickle liquid has cooled, pour it over your thinly sliced shallots. Leave to pickle for at least 15 minutes before using. These store nicely in the fridge and go great with other burgers, cheese platters and tacos.

Scrambled Eggs:

• Whisk together your eggs until the whites and yolks have completely incorporated.
• Place a medium sized fry pan on medium-low heat and add your butter.
• Once melted and starting to bubble around the sides, add your whisked eggs.
• Use a spatula to slowly and continuously agitate the eggs as they start to scramble.
• Once almost cooked (scrambled but still quite sloppy), stir in your chives and season with a couple of pinches of salt.
• Remove from the heat.

Putting It All Together:

• Butter both sides of your buns and toast in a pan (preferably on the pan you cooked your bacon on).
• Spread your chipotle mayo on the top and bottom of your toasted bun.
• Place your crispy hash browns on the bottom, followed by your cooked bacon, a serving of scrambled eggs and a slice of American Cheddar.
• Finish with a few pickled shallots and the top of your bun.

Recipe and photos by Kale Armstrong.