German Style Hamburgers

Einzi Johnson shared this recipe with me and we found it to be extraordinary. We could use very lean meat and the burger held together well due to the small amount of bread and egg, and had plenty of flavor. Einzi went on to say that in Germany these burgers are called Buletten or Frikadellen. They are not always served on a bun but just as a main dish.

 

Ingredients:

2 large slices of bread
1 egg
1onions chopped fine or 2 tablespoons dried onion flakes
1 pound minced meat,
( we recommend 1/2 ground pork, and 1/2 ground beef.)
1 Tbsp German style mustard
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Soak the bread (use bread that has a bite to it or use day old french) in water.

2. Mince the onions. Squeeze the moisture out of the bread and put in a bowl.

3. Add the egg ,minced onions,and mustard. Season with Salt,Pepper and Paprika. Mix well

4. Make into 4 burgers. You of course can make them into more or less.
We made them oval because we used oval buns. (Brötchen)

5. BBQ the burgers on both sides to a temperature of 165 degrees. Notice how the burgers
are not greasy and they hold together well.

6. Einzi Johnson recommended a Brötchen over a hamburger bun. We first sliced them
and then crisp them up in a 350 degrees oven for about 5 minutes. If you can't find
these oval rolls a French Baguette cut into 5 inch chunks or how ever long works well.
What you want is a crispy crust but tender on the inside. A real contrast from a
soft hamburger roll.

7. Place on the roll and we served them with BBQued fries, Butter lettuce leaves, purple onion slices, tomato and pickles. For condiments we served German mustard, catsup and mayonnaise.

Notes;

These Burgers are also called Buletten in Berlin.

Here are some fun notes on Bulleten from Corliss Cogan:
The term, "Buletten" is used exclusively in Berlin and is "Berlinerisch" for Frickadellen. Berliners are known for their own unique jargon and it is not uncommon for them to have their own words for things, i.e. a small hardroll in Germany is "Broetchen, but in Berlin it is a "Schrippe". Typical "Herz mit Schnauze" for the Berliners...I am probably one of the few people who, when they learned German, learned Berlinerisch first!!! Da kiekste wat!!!

Another Variation;
Alissa wrote me and told me her family recipe they soak the bread in milk , and they saute the onions before mixing them in with the meat. Basil is also added to the spice mixture.

Making them into Meatballs:
Ursela Dunn makes medium size meatballs with this meat mixture and fries them in about
1 / 2 cup oil, then drains them on paper towel.