Cooking with Colm O'Gorman: How to make my delicious barbecued gochujang burger

The beautiful weather has many of us cooking outdoors, and this week I want to share a new burger recipe that is perfect for the barbecue. 

You can also cook these on the hob in a pan, but there is something special about a burger that has been cooked and charred a little over hot coals.

This burger uses a combination of ground beef and pork. 

I would recommend using meat with a fat content of around 10% for maximum flavour, but the addition of sesame oil, gochujang and other ingredients guarantee that these burgers will be juicy and bursting with deliciousness!

Regular readers will by now be familiar with gochujang, one of my favourite chilli sauces. 

This Korean kitchen staple is readily available in Asian supermarkets, though if you can, I recommend that you make your own gochujang using my recipe. You will find that on ieFood. It only takes minutes to make, and the homemade version has much more complexity and depth of flavour than the shop-bought one. 

You will need a few ingredients, such as Korean red pepper chilli flakes and soybean paste that are only available from Asian supermarkets or specialist stores, but they are very inexpensive and great ingredients to have in your cupboard. 

I promise that once you make your own gochujang, you will make it again and again. I always have a jar in the fridge and use it at least weekly. It is a key ingredient in many Korean dishes, but also fabulous on a cheese toastie or a pizza.

The ingredients listed in the recipe below include rice vinegar. This is readily available in most supermarkets, but white wine vinegar is a good substitute.

I use Easi Singles cheese for these burgers. There is something just so delicious about that cheese when melted and gooey on a burger. 

You can use cheddar if you prefer, but it does not give the same flavour. 

Top your burger off with some pickled cucumber. This is very easy to make. Just dissolve 50g of caster sugar and a pinch of salt in 150ml of rice vinegar or white wine vinegar and add half a cucumber which has been very thinly sliced. 

Let that sit for at least thirty minutes and then it is ready to use. 

You can keep any leftover pickles in a clean jar in the fridge. They will be good for at least a week and are a lovely accompaniment to a sandwich or burger.

Barbeque Gochujang Burger

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

These burgers are gloriously messy to eat, but that is half the joy. Tuck in with gusto and surrender to it. You will love it.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 1 hours 30 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 45 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• Burgers

• 250g minced beef

• 250g minced pork

• 4 cloves garlic

• 2 tsp grated fresh ginger

• 2 heaped tbsp gochujang

• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil

• 1 tsp soy sauce

• 1 tsp rice vinegar

• Black pepper

• To serve

• 4 burger buns

• 1 head little gem lettuce

• 1 red pepper

• 4 spring onions

• 1 tsp gochujang

• ½ tsp soy sauce

• ½ tsp rice vinegar

• ½ tsp toasted sesame oil

• 1 tsp honey

• 8 slices of Easy Singles cheese

• Gochujang and ketchup

• Mayonnaise

• Some pickled cucumber

Method

1. Put the ground beef and pork into a large bowl. Peel and grate the garlic. Add the garlic, grated ginger, gochujang, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar and a good grind of black pepper to the bowl. Use a couple of large spoons or forks to pull apart the meat and to combine all the ingredients. This mixture will be a bit wetter than a usual burger mix, so take care not to overwork it. You just want to ensure the two meats are combined and the other ingredients well worked through.

2. When your mixture is ready, divide it into four equal parts. Form each portion into a burger patty, about 2-3cm thick. Place the burgers on a plate, cover with some cling film, and chill them in the fridge for an hour to firm them up.

3. Once the burgers have been in the fridge for about forty-five minutes, prepare the salad for burgers. Finely shred the lettuce. Wash, deseed and very finely slice the red pepper. Wash, trim and finely slice the spring onions. Combine all these in a bowl, and add the gochujang, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, black pepper, and honey. Toss to combine all the ingredients and set aside.

4. Combine two tablespoons of gochujang with two tablespoons of tomato ketchup and set aside.

5. Heat your barbecue or a large non-stick pan to a high heat. Add just a little rapeseed or olive oil if using a pan and reduce the heat to medium. Remove the burgers from the fridge and add them to the pan or grill. Cook for four minutes over a medium heat, before flipping them over and cooking for another two minutes. Next, place two slices of Easi Singles cheese on top of each burger. Close the lid of your barbecue or cover the pan with a lid and cook for another two minutes.

6. Lightly toast the burger buns, By now your burgers should be cooked through and the cheese should be melted and gooey. Place some of the salad on the base of each burger bun, and top that with a burger and its lovely, melted cheese. Add a tablespoon of the ketchup gochujang mixture and a squirt of mayonnaise. Finish with some pickled cucumber and the top of the bun. Serve immediately with some freshly made chips.