3 Minute Microwave Burger!

When you need a quick food fix, this easy 3 minute microwave burger can hit the spot!  This is one of the Oakhurst Lamb & Mint Quarterpounder Burgers that Aldi sell in their frozen section.  The cooking instructions on the box tell you to either grill them for 22 minutes, or fry in a pan for 12-14 minutes.  They don’t mention microwaves at all!

Can You Cook Frozen Burgers in a Microwave?

The manufacturers won’t give you microwave cooking instructions because when you cook burgers in a microwave you don’t get the deep brown colour, nor the crispy outside – they want you to see/eat it exactly as they intended…. But if you just want the taste of a burger and are prepared to compromise on the look, then you can cook them in the microwave – and it only takes 3 minutes!

Method: 

1. Place one frozen burger into a microwave dish that has a lid with a vent, or cover with cling film and make a small hole in it.
2. Microwave on high power (800 watts) for 1½ minutes.  I then tend to let the burger rest for a minute to enable the juices to soak back in.  Turn the burger over – optionally draining off the excess fat.
3. Microwave the burger, covered, for 1 minute.  Again, I usually let the burger rest for a minute or so.  Turn the burger over, optionally drain the excess fat away.
4. Microwave the burger, covered, for 30 seconds.  I’ll usually let the burger rest at this point, while I prepare a bread roll.
5. When you’re ready to eat the burger, drain off the excess fat and serve!

I like to use big bread rolls – this one has been served with a slice of Emmental cheese and a dollop of tomato ketchup!  Sometimes I’ll toast the bread roll, but today I didn’t.  There’s also no salad in the house 🙂 but that’s fairly normal.  I like the way the Emmental slices are large enough to “wrap round” the burger on both sides!

The burger will change colour while it’s cooking, it does go brown to a point, but it won’t go a dark brown unless you over-cook it, which would leave it feeling leathery.  You will be able to tell that it’s cooking as you turn the burger over as it’ll start to “look like a burger” and get smaller.

Taste wise – if you weren’t told it had been cooked in a microwave you’d never guess!

You could also cook some chips in the microwave, to serve alongside your burger: Microwave Chips – although they will take longer to cook.

Menu Cost – 60p:

These Oakhurst burgers cost about 40p, the bread roll about 10p and the Emmental cheese slices were 8p each (I did get them in a half price Lidl weekend offer though).   Compared to the cost of other choices and options, this is a cheap meal!