Minetta Tavern-inspired anchovy burger

For a long time I've been wanting to use anchovies in my burgers at home - I fricking love the kick of salty, savoury umami they bring - and since I first had anchovy butter on a steak many moons ago, I have always thought they'd go brilliantly with a well-aged burger patty.

It's taken a while for the planets to align to enable me to test out my recipe. I had been reading about the Minetta Tavern black label burger which gave me the missing piece of the puzzle. I was trying to work out what else to include in the burger that would work with the rich earthiness of an aged burger patty, and the strong dominating flavours of anchovies - and then it hit me, just like the simplicity of the Minetta Tavern burger which incorporates just four elements - top quality beef, caramelized onions, a custom brioche bun, and clarified butter - you don't NEED anything else.

So here's my simple, yet genuinely delicious, Minetta Tavern-inspired anchovy burger.

What you need:

> Some great burger patties - I use Turner & George Blue Label burgers which have a coarse grind and added aged fat. 180g / 6.5oz each (and steak rub)
> Brioche buns - I used Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Brioche Burger Buns.
> Anchovy fillets in oil
> Unsalted butter
> Coarse sea salt, or Turner & George steak rub

What you need to do:

First up, make your anchovy butter. Chop up your anchovies into small pieces and whip them up with some unsalted butter. You're going to be spreading this inside the top and bottom buns, so use one anchovy fillet per portion of bun butter. 

Next, get all your ingredients together, you burger will take around 6 minutes (3 on each side) so you won't have much time. 

Using a cast iron pan, or cast iron griddle, ramp up the heat until the pan starts to smoke. Sprinkle some sea salt or steak rub onto the burger and press it into the pan. Leave it for 3 minutes to ensure you get a great caramelised crust on your burger.

After 3 minutes, season the unseared side of the burger and flip it over, letting it sear for another 3 minutes. While the burger is cooking, press the two halves of your brioche bun onto the cast iron pan until lightly browned. This is not going to take long. 

Remove your buns from the pan and immediately spread the anchovy butter into the top and bottom bun.

Take your burger out of the pan and let it rest for 10 minutes on a warm plate. Once rested, assemble your burger and then take it down.

Here's a burger prep card I created to help you out:

Here it is on Vine: