Tomorrow is National Cheeseburger Day so when Barbecues Galore asked me to create something using a BBQ, I knew just what I was going to do. Since moving to Australia, every barbecue grill we’ve bought has come from Barbecues Galore.  (They DO last a long time so I’ll admit that we’ve shopped for one only 3 times.)

Ours is much older (and way more dirty) than this brand new Turbo Classic but it’s their closest current model. Thank goodness everything on ours is stainless steel because it’s lasted for ages. I use the BBQ every few days and I’m in the club that heats it up really well after cooking and brushes the burnt crumbs off. (btw – they didn’t ask me to feature this grill, this IS the model that’s outside in the rain.)

For National Cheeseburger Day, I wanted to celebrate not only the cheeseburger but my favourite vegetable, the onion. I know, many of you like broccoli or corn or carrots but I couldn’t live without onions. I made a double onion cheeseburger. Sometimes I add bacon but because the beef patty was sizeable, I felt I had enough protein calories.

Did you see the double onions? On the top are caramelised onions and on the bottom under the burger are onion rings. Yes, I know – crunchy wonderful homemade onion rings hold up that beef patty.

Now you can see the grill. My apologies to Barbecues Galore for not having a brand-new looking grill. Folks, this is a hardworking bbq.

Note the indentation in the beef patty? That’s the secret to a good burger. Make an indentation on the bottom side of the patty (it will be on the top when you start cooking) and it will cook perfectly.

I like my burgers cooked to medium with a decent amount of fat. I haven’t started grinding my meat yet but I did buy a grinder so I’ll keep you informed.

While the burgers were cooking, I was air frying some French fries. I had made the caramelised onions and onion rings earlier. The onion ring recipe calls for dipping the rings in panko crumbs before frying so they stay crunchy for a long time.

I also toasted the damper buns. For those not accustomed to Australian food, damper is an iconic traditional soda bread that was cooked by swagmen, stockmen and drovers.

Once the burgers were flipped, I added the cheese and when the burgers were done, I put the bottom bun on the plate, layered the onion rings on top and then placed the beef patty.  On top of the cheese I added the caramelised onions, tomato, lettuce, pickles, mustard and ketchup and the top bun. It was a two-handed burger that I shared with my best four-legged friend, Charlie. (only the beef, no onions for Chucko)

Celebrate National Burger Day with a great burger cooked on a barbecue. Serve it with a side of fries, a bowl of salad or an ear of fresh, sweet corn, it doesn’t matter but it all starts with a good burger.