Wow your friends with the recipe for London’s original, trendsetting Christmas burger, devised by the geniuses at Hawksmoor.
The Hawksmoor team first invented their Christmas burger over a few beers, inspired by their admiration for the humble Pret Christmas sandwich. It brings together moist turkey thigh meat with bacon and a sausage patty, moistened with cranberry sauce and Ogleshield cheese, served with turkey gravy and roast potatoes on the side. Much-imitated but rarely bettered, it’s still available on their Spitalfieds’ bar menu for £13. But in their beautiful new book, ‘Hawksmoor: Restaurants and Recipes‘, they reveal exactly how to make your own – a ‘casual’ yet showstopping dish to serve if you’re having pals over during the holidays. Enjoy!
Ingredients (serves 4)
4 x 150g turkey thighs
400g good-quality sausagemeat
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
4 slices of smoked bacon
4 brioche burger buns
40ml mayonnaise and 40ml mustard, mixed together
turkey gravy, for French dipping
8 sprout top leaves, cooked
100g/4 slices of Ogleshield
For the cranberry ketchup
½ a medium onion, chopped
250g fresh or frozen cranberries
zest and juice of ½ an orange
75g light brown muscovado sugar
75ml Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar
¼ tsp Chinese five-spice powder
½ tbsp Maldon sea salt
For the turkey seasoning
25g table salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic
powder
1 tsp onion powder
a pinch of ground white pepper
1 tsp paprika
For the turkey flour
150g plain flour
20g rice flour
10g cornflour
10g baking powder
20g turkey seasoning (see above)
Instructions
For the cranberry ketchup:
- Put all the ingredients for the cranberry ketchup into a pan and bring to a gentle simmer, then cook until reduced by one-third.
- Pass through a fine sieve and allow to cool.
For the turkey seasoning and turkey flour:
- To make the turkey seasoning, mix all the ingredients together and
put to one side. - To make the turkey flour, mix all the ingredients together and put to
one side
For the burgers:
- Remove the tendons from the turkey thighs and bat out with a meat
hammer (or rolling pin) until around 1cm thickness. Lightly dust with the
turkey seasoning and refrigerate until needed. - Form the pork sausagemeat into four 100g patties and place under
the grill to cook. - Heat the oil in a large saucepan on the hob.
- Dip the turkey thighs into iced water, then coat them well with the
turkey flour. Repeat this process again, then deep-fry the thighs at
172°c until the turkey is golden brown. Rather than crowd the pan, you
may need to do this in two batches. - Briefly drain on kitchen paper and, if necessary, keep the first
batch of cooked thighs warm in the oven while you cook the rest. - Meanwhile, add 4 slices of bacon to the grill alongside the sausage
patties and toast the brioche buns. spread the bottoms of the buns
with the mixture of mustard and mayonnaise and dip the cut sides
of the tops into the turkey gravy. - Make up the burger by stacking it in this order: bun, sprout tops,
turkey thigh, cranberry ketchup, sausage patty, cheese, then
bacon. - Serve with a wide-mouthed jug of turkey gravy to French dip as you
eat, and a few roast potatoes.