beef burgers seasoned with a Vegemite dust, topped with maple caramelised onions and a sugar free tomato sauce all on a brioche bun

I love Vegemite. I love it so much I’ve been known to grab a spoon, open the cupboard and… well you get the idea. As a kid I remember my mum adding Vegemite to beef rissoles which at the time I thought was strange but I always remember them having an extra strong beef flavour. So recently I began thinking about how I could incorporate Vegemite into our cooking. A Vegemite burger was what I came up with.

Burgers are a favourite of mine and I really enjoy trying the ever expanding range of rubs and seasonings on the market. Being salty, malty and sharing some similar flavours to that of beef stock the idea of drying out some Vegemite, grinding it up and making some rub came to mind. This turned out to be a simple process of thinly spreading out a couple of tablespoons on some baking paper and baking in the oven on low for about 7 minutes.

So were they any good?

They sure were! The extra beef flavour worked really well with the sweetness of the maple onions. We’re big fans of the sugar free ketchup and the sweet and soft taste of brioche puts it at the top of my list when it comes to burger buns.

ingredients

• 5 tbsp Vegemite (this will be enough to season 4 large patties)
• 500g beef mince (this time I used a blend of chuck and short rib meat at a ratio of 3:1)
• cheese slices
• lettuce
• tomato slices
• 2 brown onions, cut into rings
• 1 tbsp animal fat or butter
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste
• tomato sauce (we used Jay’s Baking Me Crazy Ketchup, you can find our Thermomix conversion here)
• 3 brioche buns

directions

for the Vegemite dust and patties

1. Preheat the oven to 160c/320f.
2. Line a baking tray with baking paper and spread the Vegemite out thinly and evenly across the paper.
3. Bake in the oven for 7 to 10 minutes. When ready, you should be able to hold a corner of the paper and by bending slightly the Vegemite should fracture. The timing will come down to how thinly you spread the Vegemite. The first time I tried it the Vegemite burned so stand close to the oven.
4. Transfer to a mortar and pestle and grind the Vegemite to dust.
5. Make 4 patties handling the mince as little as possible. Check out our Extreme Beef Burger recipe to view our patty making technique.
6. Unlike most rubs and seasonings the Vegemite dust will be very fine in texture so I recommend using a shaker to apply the dust so you don’t end up with clumps of the dust on the patty.
7. Fire up your grill or barbecue to a medium-high heat.
8. Cook the patties, turning every 2 minutes. Add a slice of cheese 30 seconds before taking off the grill.

for the caramelised onions

1. Melt fat, or butter, in a large pan on medium heat.
2. Add onions along with some salt to season.
3. Cook the onions until they are soft and starting to golden slightly, stirring occasionally.
4. Turn the heat to medium-low, add the maple syrup and cook for approximately 10 minutes. Stir every couple of minutes.
5. Add the balsamic vinegar and continue to cook until caramelised, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.

burger building time

Lightly toast the buns, add the lettuce and tomatoes followed by the patties and top with the onions. spread the tomato sauce on the bun lid and enjoy your Vegemite burger!

For other burger ideas click here.