The mighty lettuce wrap burger!
Growing up in California I used to frequent one of my favourite burger restaurants, In-n-Out Burger. One of the burgers on their secret menu was their lettuce wrap burger. I can’t say that I ordered it often as I did prefer a bun in those days, but the lettuce wrap burger is definitely a tasty option now.
I wouldn’t exactly call it the diet option but with a few changes you could make it as light as you like. Try using turkey mince instead of beef and cutting out the cheese for example.
It is important to use the thick leaves from the inside of a head of iceberg lettuce. The outer leaves aren’t strong enough to hold the contents of the burger.
This summer I am working with Aldi to come up with a selection of recipes that are perfect for alfresco dining. This is my version of In-n-Out’s famous lettuce wrap burger and guess what… It tastes just like the real thing.
Aldi supply minced beef with different meat to fat ratios. You could go for the lean mince but if you want yours to taste like In-n-Out’s you need to look for Aldi’s 80% meat to 20% fat blend.
By the way, Aldi also supply real Cheddar cheese slices which are perfect for this recipe.
So here you have it. Enjoy and be sure to let me know what you think!
Special sauce recipe
Mix 3 tablespoons mayonaise, 1 tablespoon catsup, 1 teaspoon finely chopped dill pickle, 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion, 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard, 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. You will have enough for four sandwiches.
Ingredients – Get the crispest lettuce and largest tomatoes and onions you can find.
Start with two burger balls 70g each.
Flatten these as thin as possible on your hot grill.
Season generously with salt and pepper and top with yellow mustard.
When your burgers are about 80% cooked through, flip them.
Place the special sauce and pickles on top of a thick piece of lettuce.
Top with a large slice of tomato
Place one burger patty on top of the tomato, followed by a slice of onion and another patty.
Top with another thick piece of lettuce and enjoy.
- 140g top quality minced beef (80% meat 20% fat mix)
- 2 - 4 slices of thick iceberg lettuce
- 1 tomato slice from the centre of a large tomato.
- 1 onion slice about the same size as the tomato slice
- 4 - 5 dill pickle slices
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- 2 slices Cheddar cheese (optional)
- 1 tablespoon special sauce (recipe above)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Divide the beef into two equal sized 70g balls.
- Place your pan over high heat and add the meat balls. Press these down in the pan so that they are quite thin.
- Season generously with salt and pepper and then fry over high heat for about two to three minutes until about 80% cooked through..
- Spread one teaspoon of the mustard on the rare side and then flip over.
- Place a piece of cheese (if using) on top of each burger and cook for a further two minutes. Then flip one last time so that the cheese is on the grill for about 30 seconds. Remove and keep warm.
- Working quickly, spread the special sauce over the bottom bun followed by the pickles and tomato.
- Now stack one of the burgers on top of the tomato.
- Top this burger with the onion slice and then the other burger.
- Place one or two slices of thick iceberg lettuce on top and enjoy.
