Byron has taken the art of making burgers to the next level. As the restaurant chain reveals its secrets in their first cookbook, Ella Walker has a pattie-making masterclass with head chef, Fred Smith

IT'S never too early for a burger, not even at 10am on a gloomy Wednesday morning, and especially not when the burger in question is a Byron burger.

Gourmet burger chain Byron launched in 2007 in London, and now, just shy of a decade later, there are more than 60 restaurants – and counting – nationwide. The brainwave of burger-obsessed entrepreneur, Tom Byng, in 2011 he brought on board head chef Fred Smith, who was knocking about at The Admiral Codrington pub, in Chelsea, creating innovative burgers of his own.

Smith now spends most of his time in the test kitchen concocting new Byron specials – he's the man behind the much-loved Chilli Queen burger – but I dragged him out to show me behind the scenes, and teach me how to make Byron-style burgers from scratch, all in honour of their debut recipe collection, Byron: The Cookbook.

"There is no secret to cooking; it's just lots of simple things done well," says Smith, explaining how he sees this book as a chance for home cooks to have some fun. "I always see recipes as a guideline."

So he's not worried about letting people in on his inventions?

"I like to share. A lot of chefs are like, 'Ooh, secret recipes.' but it's like, 'Come on guys'."

And so, we begin...

It turns out, the first thing you need to get your hands on is a meat grinder, because the only way to make a proper hamburger pattie is with pure chuck steak. Step away from the packets of mince, at all costs avoid mixing in an egg, breadcrumbs and crunchy chunks of onion: hamburgers should be pure, freshly-ground beef. And, Smith tells me, you shouldn't even season it until it hits the grill, or the meat will dry out.

Between finely shredding lettuce and slicing perfect rings of red onion (no more than five rings to a burger is the rule), Smith explains that the most extravagant burger he's made to date was a gold one.

"I was invited to cook backstage for Spandau Ballet. I got some edible gold food colouring spray and sprayed all the burgers gold, which was great fun. They thought I was joking when I said, 'I'll cook you guys some gold burgers'."

While there are no gold burgers in the cookbook, all the Byron favourites are in there, alongside courgette fries and big sharing platters of Buffalo wings and nachos.

We frazzled some streaky bacon, slathered on some of Byron's signature sauce, and grilled a perfect, medium cooked pattie, and squashed it all between a softly-toasted bun. It was delicious, even if I do say so myself. You just can't beat a burger, especially when it's this unnervingly simple.

Got the burger bug? Try recreating your own Byron meal at home with one of these recipes...

Making the hamburgers

1. Grinding the meat

Always grind the meat on the day you intend to use it. Ask your butcher for chuck steak, ground twice through a 4-6mm plate. To mince beef at home, cut the chuck steak into 1cm cubes and place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to make sure it is very cold beforehand. Good mincing attachments are available for mixers. A small, stand-alone electric mincer is great; an old-school hand mincer will do.

2. Forming the patties

Divide the mince into 180g portions and roll by hand into balls. Place onto squares of greaseproof paper. Take one portion between your palms. Cup the edges of the mince with one hand and push with the other. Turn your hands as you press them together and shape the mince into an even patty about 12cm wide and 1.5cm thick.

3. Chilling

Store the patties separated by squares of greaseproof paper. Wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour before cooking.

Classic burger

(Makes 4)

4 x 180g hamburgers

4 buns halved

100g mayonnaise

4 leaves of lettuce

½ beef tomato, cut into 5mm thick slices

1 small red onion, peeled and cut into 2mm thick rings

4 gherkins quartered lengthways into spears

Cook the hamburgers to your liking. Meanwhile, toast or grill the cut sides of the buns.

Spread the mayonnaise evenly over the top halves of the buns. Place one lettuce leaf on top of the mayonnaise, and then add a slice of tomato. Separate the onion into rings and place five of these on top of the tomato.

Once the hamburgers are cooked, carefully place them onto the bottom halves of the buns.

Holding on to the lettuce, tomato and onion rings, bring the two halves together. Serve with a gherkin spear on the side.

Chilli queen burger

(Makes 4)

1tsp olive oil

4 long green chillies sliced

4 x 180g hamburgers

4 buns, halved

¼ iceberg lettuce, finely shredded

8 slices of American cheese, roughly the same size as the hamburgers

4 gherkins quartered lengthways into spears

For the Chipotle Mayo:

90g chipotle in adobo sauce (many larger supermarkets will have a version of this)

170g mayonnaise

40g tomato ketchup

Preheat the grill to high. Add the olive oil to a small saucepan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the sliced chillies and cook for two minutes – they should be only very lightly cooked and still crunchy.

Cook the hamburgers to your liking, and meanwhile, toast or grill the cut sides of the buns.

To make the sauce, blend all the Chipotle Mayo ingredients in a food processor, or using a stick blender, for at least one minute until smooth.

Place the shredded lettuce on the bottom halves of the buns. Add a spoonful of the Chipotle Mayo to the top halves of the buns and place another spoonful on top of the shredded lettuce.

When the hamburgers are cooked, transfer to a small roasting tray. Top each hamburger with the fried chillies, followed by two slices of cheese, making sure the chillies are covered. Place under the hot grill on the highest shelf. Watch carefully and remove the tray from under the grill as soon as the cheese has melted.

Carefully place the hamburgers onto the bottom halves of the buns and bring the two halves together. Serve with a gherkin spear on the side.

  • Byron: The Cookbook by Tom Byng and Fred Smith (Quadrille, £20)