Look how cute these are! Slightly deceiving at first glance I know, but these mini Bite Sized Burgers are only 1.5 inches tall (and the tiny glass of beer is 30ml)! These are my Bite size Burgers with homemade mini buns, the perfect Mini Burger Appetizer!
-Yes, I did squeal with girlish delight when I put these together and saw how they turned out all lined up together
-Yes, I can fit a whole one in my mouth (I tested that theory several times)
-Yes, I did drink the teeny tiny, slightly warm beers once Chris had finished photographing them
I was having a bit of a cooking/baking day on Saturday. My folks were coming around for tea the following day, so I’d been making some meatballs ahead of time. The kids were making chocolate fairy cakes, so I decided to stick around to oversee matters, whilst cooking up a batch of orange sweet rolls.
It was at this point I remembered Chris and I had been talking about making some bite sized burgers after i’d seen some really cute ones on Pinterest. So I thought I could use some of the leftover dough from the sweet rolls to make mini burger buns (a little like brioche but less eggy) and some of the meatball mix to make the little burger patties. A plan was formed!
I topped the burgers with a little bit of bacon, cheddar, some baby spinach leaves and a drizzle of ketchup. They went perfectly with these little ‘pints’ of beer (using glasses that I’ve had in the cupboard for a couple of years – the cute factor won me over again!).
So, here’s my recipe. I’ve written this to make 40 burgers as I was thinking of them as canapes for a party or get together. It’s very easy to eat 5 or 6 per person (if you’re not having anything else). If you don’t want to make that many, you could always halve the amounts, but I would suggest using any extra dough to make sweet rolls and any extra burger mix to make meatballs. Always good to have some extras with no extra effort!!
The Bite Sized Burgers Recipe:
Bite Sized Burgers
Ingredients
Mini Burger Buns:
- 175 g (1 1/2 cups minus 1 tsp) plain (all-purpose) flour plus extra for kneading
- 20 g (1 1/2 tbsp) granulated/caster sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 6 g (1 1/2 tsp) instant dried yeast
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) water
- 30 ml (2 tbsp) whole milk
- 20 g (1 tbsp + 1 tsp) unsalted butter
- 1 small egg beaten
Mini Burger Bun Topping:
- 1 small egg beaten
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Burgers:
- 2 good quality sausages taken out of their skins
- 250 g (1/2 lb) lean minced/ground beef
- 25 g (1/4 cup) breadcrumbs
- 25 g (1/4 cup) grated parmesan
- ½ small onion finely chopped
- ½ tbsp chopped parsley
- ½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- 1 small egg
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
Toppings
- baby salad leaves
- ketchup or relish
- cheddar or other cheese
- grilled streaky bacon sliced into little pieces (6 or 7 rashers should be enough for 40 mini burgers)
Instructions
- For the buns: In a large bowl add the flour and sugar, then on one side of the bowl add the salt, and add the yeast to the other side (yeast doesn’t like direct contact with salt). Set aside.175 g (1 1/2 cups minus 1 tsp) plain (all-purpose) flour, 20 g (1 1/2 tbsp) granulated/caster sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 6 g (1 1/2 tsp) instant dried yeast
- In a jug, add the water, milk and butter, and heat in the microwave until the butter has melted and the liquid is hot, but not so hot it would burn you.60 ml (1/4 cup) water, 30 ml (2 tbsp) whole milk, 20 g (1 tbsp + 1 tsp) unsalted butter
- Add the milk and butter mixture to the flour mixture, then give it a stir with a wooden spoon and add in the beaten egg.1 small egg
- Give it all a good mix with your hands and then tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 4 or 5 minutes. It will be sticky, but try not add too much more flour as it will make the buns tougher.
- Gather the dough into a ball and place in a bowl that’s been lightly greased with olive or vegetable oil. Cover with clingfilm and leave for about 20 minutes.
- Empty the dough out onto a floured surface, knock the air back out of it, then cut the dough into little portions of approx. 7g each. Roll these portions into balls and place onto a couple of non-stick baking trays. You should get approx. 40 to 50 buns out of this.
- Place the trays in a plastic bag and leave to prove in a warm, draught free room for about an hour.
- Preheat your oven to 190C/375F (fan). After an hour, the buns should have risen. Gently brush the tops with the beaten egg and scatter the sesame seeds oven the buns. Put in the oven and cook for 6-7 minutes until golden brown. Take out and leave to cool.1 small egg, 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- Next make your burger patties. Mix all of the burger ingredients in a bowl with your hands. Squash it all together but don’t over mix as this will make the burgers tough.2 good quality sausages, 250 g (1/2 lb) lean minced/ground beef, 25 g (1/4 cup) breadcrumbs, 25 g (1/4 cup) grated parmesan, 1/2 small onion, 1/2 tbsp chopped parsley, 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 tsp ground cumin, 1 small egg, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 pinch salt and pepper
- Shape into 40 little balls. Then squash them down into a little disc shape and place them on a couple of baking trays.
- Put in the oven for about 10 mins to cook. Keep an eye on them after 5 mins and turn the oven down a little if they start going too dark.
- If you want your cheese melted, you could take the burgers out of the oven once cooked, sprinkle on the cheese, and put them back in for another minute.cheddar or other cheese
- Once they're ready you can slice the buns in half and fill with your burgers, bacon, cheese, leaves and ketchup!baby salad leaves, ketchup or relish, grilled streaky bacon, cheddar or other cheese
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I am getting married in November and was thinking these would be perfect for a canape! If I made these burger buns a month in advance and froze them would they taste as good defrosted on the day?