Enjoy your burger the Kiwi way! The Kiwi burger features beetroot and a fried egg, which is typical of the standard hamburger that New Zealanders love. And take it up a notch with this recipe by smashing it up with your burger press to make it an over the top delicious Kiwi Smash Burger!
I discovered an amazing burger joint called "Burger Fuel" on a trip to New Zealand. There, I indulged in their "Bio Fuel" burger, aka "The Homegrown Kiwi Classic."
So what is a Kiwi Classic burger you ask? Let me introduce you to a great burger that New Zealanders love, which features beetroot and a fried egg!
The Bio Fuel burger, grass fed and smashed, was absolutely incredible, and I had to recreate it when I returned home!
Here is my take on the Kiwi Burger, which is very different to the traditional burger that Americans are used to, which I know you will absolutely LOVE!!
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Why Smash Burgers Are The BEST!
I am a HUGE fan of smash burgers! So, we could enjoy this kiwi style burger as a regular burger with a few of our favorite toppings such as lettuce, onion, and tomato with newbie additions of fried egg and beets.
However, smash burgers with their crispy edges and caramelization (due to the Maillard reaction) make for the best burgers!
The cooking process involves smashing burger balls into thin patties on a very hot surface (like a hot griddle or cast iron skillet) which results in a juicy burger with lots of flavor and a pretty quick cooking time!
If you are ready for some of the best homemade smash burgers served "Kiwi style," then read on for my recommended equipment, ingredients, and instructions!
🍽 Equipment
I recommend that you have the following equipment on hand to make this recipe:
- Large cast iron skillet or cast iron griddle/grill (I love using this to make more than one burger at a time, and it can be used on an electric stovetop!)
- Burger/bacon press - This ideal tool is what I use this to smash my burgers; you can use a flat spatula to smash, but the heavy press works great you will love it!
- Wax paper or parchment paper - insert a piece of parchment paper or wax paper between the meat and your press so the meat doesn't stick to your burger press - trust me you will want to do this!
- Small nonstick pan - helpful for frying your eggs
- Instant read thermometer - highly recommended to help you gauge the doneness of your burger
🥘 Ingredients
So here's what you will need to make your Kiwi smash burgers:
- Ground beef - I will always recommend grass fed! Use 85/15 or 80/20 for best results. Any leaner and your burgers won't be as juicy as you deserve.
- Burger buns - lightly toasted with some grass fed butter can't be beat! If you want to be extra fancy you can use brioche buns
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Eggs - fried over hard is an essential ingredient for your kiwi burger
- Lettuce leaves
- Tomato - thinly sliced from a large beefsteak tomato is lovely!
- Red onion - again, thinly sliced
- Garlic mayo - I usually make this by adding some raw minced garlic to mayo - you can of course just use regular mayo without additional garlic
- Beetroot relish - ok, this is typically not the easiest to find in the US. You can make my Easy New Zealand Style Homemade Beet Relish Recipe, or just substitute slices of beetroot. But just know a kiwi burger is not a kiwi burger without beetroot 😁
You should be able to find all of these ingredients in your local grocery store, with the exception of the beet relish. Of course you can simply sub slices of cooked beets for the relish to make things less complicated.
Let's now make this delicious burger!!
🔪 Instructions
You are now just a few minutes away from enjoying your burger! Begin by prepping your ingredients:
Prep The Ingredients For Your Burger
Toast lightly buttered hamburger buns on medium heat in your cast iron pan (if you so desire).
Prep your veggies: thinly slice red onion and tomatoes, wash and dry your lettuce.
Have your beetroot relish ready to add to your burger, or slice some cooked beetroot as a sub for the relish.
Add some minced garlic (or garlic powder) to your mayo for a most delicious mayo to add to your burger. You can use regular mayo if you prefer.
Now Get Ready To Smash! And Fry Your Eggs!
Add 1 ts salt and 1 ts pepper to the ground beef, and gently mix it in by hand. Split into 3 equal balls of ground beef weighing ⅓ lb (from the 1 lb of beef). Have some extra salt and pepper ready for sprinkling over the beef as it cooks.
Fry your eggs (over hard) in a nonstick frying pan and keep warm while you cook your burgers.
Get your cast iron really hot! Set it on a medium-high heat to high heat. Once very hot, add one of the balls of beef to your hot pan and immediately smash it down as thin as you can using your burger press (or metal spatula).
Place a piece of wax paper or parchment paper between the burger patty and the burger press so the beef doesn't stick to your burger press. (If you have room to cook more than one burger at a time that's great! Otherwise you'll need to do this in batches, keeping the cooked burgers warm while preparing the other ones.)
Cook this side for around 2 minutes. While cooking, sprinkle a good pinch of salt and pepper over the side that is not cooking. You want the smashed burger to be somewhat crispy, caramelized and golden brown before turning over.
Turn it and cook the other side, again sprinkling a good pinch of salt and pepper over the side that was just cooked. You'll want to cook this around 2 more minutes for medium-rare to medium, and up to 3 for a medium-well burger.
Burger Temperatures
I do recommend you use an instant read thermometer and this burger temperature chart to help you fine tune how long you should cook your burgers to your liking.
PLEASE NOTE: The length of time will also depend on the thickness of your burger patties. The USDA recommends cooking burgers to an internal temperature of 160F. You can determine the temperature by using an instant read thermometer.
Repeat with remaining burgers.
Assemble Your Burgers!
Spread the buns with garlic mayo (top and bottom buns), add beetroot (relish) to the bottom bun, stack with your beef patty, fried egg, lettuce, onion, tomato, and the top bun.
And now get ready to enjoy your delicious homemade New Zealand style burger!
Suggestions For Serving
The perfect accompaniment to your perfect smash burger is some french fries. Even better, if you can get your hands on kumara (New Zealand sweet potato), make some kumara fries to enjoy with it!
Quite honestly that's all you need for an incredible culinary experience, New Zealand style!
FAQ
I recommend adding some cheddar cheese if you'd like to make this a cheeseburger.
It's quite a good idea to turn on your exhaust fan as you might get smoked out of your house!
The USDA recommends cooking burgers to an internal temperature of 160F. You can determine the temperature by using an instant read thermometer.
Some Other New Zealand Recipes That You Will Enjoy!
You will love these other New Zealand recipes:
- Easy New Zealand Style Homemade Beet Relish Recipe
- Hokey Pokey Ice Cream
- Easy Indian Butter Chicken Pie
Join Me On A Fun Food Journey!
Finally, I invite you to come along on this food journey with me! Please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food horizons! It's an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here.
Cheers!
Grace
Easy Homemade New Zealand Kiwi Smash Burger Recipe
Equipment
- 1 large frying pan cast iron preferred for cooking your burgers
- burger smasher can use a metal spatula instead
- 1 separate frying pan nonstick preferred, for frying your eggs
- instant read thermometer highly recommended
Ingredients
- 3 each burger buns lightly toasted with butter if you like!
- 1 lb ground beef 85/15 or 82/10 grass fed ground beef is highly recommended
- 1 ts salt plus additional for sprinkling over the burgers as they cook
- 1 ts black pepper plus additional for sprinkling over the burgers as they cook
- 3 each eggs fried (pasture raised is best) - 1 for each burger
- 3 each lettuce leaves 1 for each burger
- 3 each slices of tomato 1 for each burger
- 3 each slices of red onion 1 for each burger
- ⅓ cup garlic mayo easily made by adding some minced garlic to mayo, or garlic powder to your taste (just use regular may if you prefer) - split the garlic mayo amongst the 3 burgers and add more if you want!
- ⅓ cup beetroot relish split amongst the 3 burgers (add more if you like!) - can substitute slices of beetroot for the relish
Instructions
Prep The Ingredients For Your Burger
- Toast lightly buttered hamburger buns on medium heat in your cast iron pan (if you so desire).
- Prep your veggies: thinly slice red onion and tomatoes, wash and dry your lettuce.
- Have your beetroot relish ready to add to your burger, or slice some cooked beetroot as a sub for the relish.
- Add some minced garlic (or garlic powder) to your mayo for a most delicious mayo to add to your burger. You can use regular mayo if you prefer.
Now Get Ready To Smash! And Fry Your Eggs!
- Add 1 ts salt and 1 ts pepper to the ground beef, and gently mix it in by hand. Split into 3 equal balls of beef weighing ⅓ lb (from the 1 lb of beef). Have some extra salt and pepper ready for sprinkling over the beef as it cooks.
- Fry your eggs (over hard) in a nonstick frying pan and keep warm while you cook your burgers.
- Get your cast iron really hot! Set it on a medium-high to high heat. Once very hot, add one of the balls of beef to your pan and immediately smash it down as thin as you can using your burger press (or metal spatula). Place a piece of wax paper or parchment paper between the beef and the burger press so the beef doesn't stick. (If you have room to cook more than one burger at a time that's great! Otherwise you'll need to do this in batches, keeping the cooked burgers warm while preparing the other ones.)
- Cook this side for around 2 minutes. While cooking, sprinkle a good pinch of salt and pepper over the side that is not cooking. You want the burger to be somewhat crispy, caramelized and brown before turning over.
- Turn it and cook the other side, again sprinkling a good pinch of salt and pepper over the side that was just cooked. You'll want to cook this around 2 more minutes for medium-rare to medium, and up to 3 for a medium-well burger. The length of time will also depend on the thickness of your burgers. Repeat with remaining burgers.
Assemble Your Burgers!
- Spread the buns with garlic mayo (top and bottom buns), add beetroot (relish) to the bottom bun, stack with your beef patty, fried egg, lettuce, onion, tomato, and the top bun.
- Open wide, and tuck in!
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