Air fryer classic burger
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 10 to 30 mins
- Serve
- Serves 2
- Dietary
- Nut-freePregnancy-friendly
Cooking burgers in an air fryer doesn't just speed up the process, it's also a lot cleaner (no fat splashes on the hob!), plus you can fry the bacon, melt the cheese and toast the buns all in one go so it's less faff too.
This recipe is part of an air fryer meal plan for two.
Each serving provides 758 kcal, 56.2g protein, 49.1g carbohydrate (of which 2.9g sugars), 41.4g fat (of which 16.9g saturates), 4.6g fibre and 2.07g salt.
Ingredients
- 1 large floury potato, preferably Maris Piper, around 275g/9¾oz, cut into wedges (see tip)
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 brioche burger buns, halved
- 250g/9oz lean beef mince
- ½ small onion, very finely chopped (you’ll need around 20g/¾oz chopped onion)
- ½ tsp dried mixed herbs
- 2 rashers smoked streaky bacon, preferably dry-cured
- 50g/1¾oz mature cheddar, cut into two 6cm/2½in square slices
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve (optional)
- sliced tomatoes
- lettuce
- mayonnaise
Method
Put the potato wedges in a bowl with the sunflower oil, a good pinch of salt and plenty of black pepper. Toss together well.
If necessary, preheat your air fryer at 200C for 1½ minutes, or until it reaches temperature. Add the brioche buns, cut-side up, and cook at 200C for about 1 minute, or until lightly toasted. Set aside.
Put the potatoes in a single layer on the crisper plate, taking care not to overcrowd. Cook at 200C for 5 minutes, then turn and cook on the other side for 3 minutes.
While the potatoes are cooking, combine the beef, onion, herbs, a good pinch of salt and black pepper in a large bowl. Form into two equal balls, then flatten into patties around 10cm/4in wide.
Toss or turn the potatoes and move to one side of the crisper plate. Add the burgers and cook for 4 minutes at 200C. Turn the burgers and cook at 200C for 2 minutes. Arrange the bacon on top of the potatoes and cook at 200C for 2 minutes, or until the burgers are cooked through.
Top the burgers with the cheese. Cook at 200C for 2 minutes, or until the bacon is cooked and beginning to crisp and the cheese has melted. Serve the burgers in the toasted buns with sliced tomatoes, lettuce and mayonnaise. Top with the bacon and serve with the potato wedges.
Recipe tips
Choose floury rather than waxy potatoes for this recipe. Any potatoes recommended for chips or mashing are good. If your potatoes are smaller than recommended for this recipe, cut into eight wedges instead of 12. The widest part of the skin on each wedge shouldn’t be more than 2cm/¾in if possible, or the cooking times could change.
Wash the potatoes well before using, as the skin will be eaten. Dry well with kitchen paper or a clean tea towel. Put the potato on a board and cut in half lengthways. Cut in half lengthways again. Cut each quarter into three wedges to make 12 potato wedges in total.
The cheese pieces need to be around 6cm/2½in square and 6–7mm/¼–⅜in thick for best results. If using ready-sliced burger cheese, reduce the cooking time.
Check the burgers are fully cooked by using a digital food thermometer (they will need to be 75C). You can also cut into the middle and check that the burgers are piping hot, the juices run clear and there is no pinkness remaining in the mince.
You can use back bacon instead of streaky bacon if you prefer.
For a simpler version of the recipe, simply leave out the cheese and bacon and cook the burgers for about 10 minutes, turning once, or until piping hot throughout.
This recipe was tested using a 4–litre capacity air fryer. If yours has a much larger or smaller capacity, you will need to adjust the cooking times.
