Mary Berry's Unexpected Secret Ingredient For The Best 10-Minute Burger

If there’s one thing Mary Berry understands, it’s the power of a secret ingredient to elevate an otherwise “ordinary” dish. 

First came her advice to put mustard in mash. Then, she suggested we add semolina to our shortbread.

And now, she’s got a special something to bring to our burgers, too ― the Cordon Bleu-trained chef reckons a dollop of sun-dried tomato paste can make your homemade patties perfect. 

Ooh ― why? 

Alongside the egg yolk and Dijon mustard she includes in the beef burger mix, the paste also helps to bind the mince together. 

And its sunny, warming flavour compliments the beef mince included in the recipe ― it caramelises as it cooks, adding a sweet tang.

The ten-minute meal combines a tasty burger with a zesty carrot slaw, and the burgers can be made ― but not cooked ― a day ahead, Mary Berry advises.

And “the burgers freeze well uncooked; place pieces of greaseproof paper between them so they can easily be separated once frozen,” she adds. 

Anything else? 

Yep! Mary Berry also adds chopped parsley and marjoram to her burger recipe. 

“Nothing nicer than a burger when it is full of flavour,” she says on her site ― no wonder the meat is so well-seasoned. 

She mentions in another recipe that she rarely uses marjoram, but loves how it combines with the taste of tomato. 

“If the fresh herb is hard to come by, you can use a mixture of fresh thyme and basil,” she advises for that recipe.

Any final words of advice? 

Mary Berry warns that when prepping that slaw that comes with this burger, you should wear gloves to prevent your hands from turning red. 

“And grate on to a plate rather than a chopping board, which is a less absorbent surface and easier to wash,” she advises. 

You should also keep the burger mixture in the fridge as you make new batches so that it doesn’t become warm. 

Other than that, simply enjoy your deceptively easy meal ― having made it myself, I can guarantee you’ll never go back.