Hello sunshine, summer and barbecue season.
Well, it is not like we Scandinavians only BBQ in the summer. No no, we do it all year round, especially the Swedes and Norwegians who will happily step outside to grill those Wienerkorv sausages in minus 20 (it’s quite a thing in the Scandinavian ski resorts, this).
From Bronte Aurell’s book, ScandiKitchen Midsommar, comes this lovely take on the Swedish classic Biff Lindström – in her book, she decided to make them into burgers. A classic combo of ground beef and beetroot – with an egg on top. The book does not contain a recipe for the rye burger buns, so we have added those at the end here. If you can’t be bothered to bake your own burger buns, go for a nice brioche bun.
Beef Lindström Burgers
Ingredients
For the burgers
- 500 g minced/ground beef
- a good pinch of salt
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 100 g pickled beetroot/beet finely chopped
- 40 g pickled cucumber or gherkins finely chopped
- 2 tbsp capers roughly chopped
- 1 medium cooked white potato approx. 80 g/3 oz., peeled and roughly mashed
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- salt
- ground black pepper
- olive oil or rapeseed oil and butter for frying
- 4 eggs to serve
For the rye burger buns
- 25 g fresh yeast or 13g dry active
- 150 ml lukewarm water 36-37C
- 150 ml lukewarm whole milk
- 50 g light brown sugar
- 1 egg plus ½ egg for the glaze
- 200 g dark rye flour
- 400 g white bread flour
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 80 g soft butter
- black or white sesame seeds to decorate
- ½ egg to glaze
Instructions
For the Burgers
- Put the minced/ground beef and salt in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix for around 1 minute on medium speed. Alternatively, you can mix for a little longer in a large bowl with a wooden spoon.
- Add the onion, beetroot/beet, pickled cucumber or gherkins, capers, cooked potato, egg yolks and mustard. Season with salt and black pepper. Mix again until all the ingredients are evenly incorporated (but not too long or the burger will become tough).
- Shape the mixture into 4 burgers and leave them to rest for 30 minutes in the fridge before frying.
- Preheat the oven to 120°C (250°F) Gas 1/2.
- Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan/skillet. Fry the burgers (in batches if needed, depending on the size of your pan) over a high heat for about 3–4 minutes on each side, depending on how you like your beef to be cooked.
- Once cooked, pop the beef patties in the oven to keep warm and fry the eggs sunny-side up in the same frying pan/skillet. Serve each beef patty on a lightly toasted burger bun with the fried egg on top. Serve with summer slaw and condiments on the side.
- To serve: Seeded rye burger buns or buns of your choice, toasted Summer Slaw, condiments of your choice
For the Rye Burger Buns
- Add the yeast to a mixing bowl and then add the sugar and milk and water. Mix until everything has dissolved.
- Add the rye flour and then start adding the white flour and salt. Add the egg and the butter. Keep kneading on a medium setting – around five minutes – adding as much flour as needed as you go. You may need more or less than stated here. Your dough should be sticky – cover with cling film and leave to rise for around an hour until doubled in size.
- Line your baking sheets.
- Knead the dough through and cut into 7-9 pieces depending on the sizing of your buns. Roll the pieces into even and uniform rolls and place on the baking sheet, a good distance apart (5-6 cm). Leave to rise under a damp teatowel until doubled in size again (could be another hour, but times vary).
- Turn the oven to 180C
- Brush the buns lightly with egg wash and add the black sesame seed (or use light brown ones, if you prefer – I just like the contrast of the dark seeds). Its always a good idea to keep the moisture in the oven when you bake these – so I always add a bowl of water to the bottom shelf of the oven.
- Bake for about 12-14 minutes or until baked through – it depends on your oven. Remove from oven and allow to cool before using. These buns freeze well.