National Burger Day: 8 best burgers to celebrate with, from meat to veggie patties

Best: Overall

Championing small-scale farming, The Dorset Meat Company only use grass-fed native breeds such as red rubies and Aberdeen angus’ for their handmade beef burgers. The cows are left to feed on a natural diet and the meat is dry-aged for a minimum of 28 days by their team of master butchers.

Beautifully rich, these patties are seasoned to perfection, with just a touch of salt, pepper and garlic powder. There’s also a gluten-free version available.

Best: Ethically produced patties

Coming in a pack of two, you’ll need a mighty big bap to be in with a chance of containing these generous patties. Proof that ethical systems produce superior results, the Brown Cow Organics team raise the male calves (sadly often a by-product of the dairy industry) from their Guernsey herd to make these patties, while the females are milked to produce their delicious yoghurt.

They smelt delicious while cooking and contained a pleasing amount of seasoning, including onion which caramelises like a dream. Although, be aware of the looser texture which may need a little reshaping to help it stay in one piece on the grill.

Best: Lamb burger

Made from 100 per cent organic, high-welfare lamb mince and absolutely nothing else, these patties are a great alternative to the classic beef burger (although Riverford does sell those too). Forgoing the classic brioche bun, we gave these a good sear on the barbecue and stuffed them into warm pittas with a dollop of tzatziki. As they contain nothing but lamb, you’ll find these are perfectly safe for those following a gluten-free diet, however, they will need a little seasoning as you cook them.

Best: For barbecues

Widely considered one of the best butchers in Wales, Edwards of Conway add a little dried onion and garlic to help season its patties which are made from Welsh beef – what else? With a delicious soft mouthfeel, these juicy burgers came out brilliantly when cooked on the barbecue, with no shrinkage, a gorgeous crust and plenty of beefy flavour. Great value.

Best: Gourmet burger

M&S doesn’t put its “best ever” label on just anything. In fact, to ensure this burger really deserved the title, the M&S development team travelled the world, trying a whopping 300 burgers in the process. Taking into consideration the meat, grind and seasoning, the result was this premium patty, made with British beef steak and a touch of very decadent bone marrow.

Best: For variety

We’re tempted to turn our next barbecue into a burger tasting bonanza with this 12-pack of heritage breed burgers from online butcher Farmison. Containing the classic beef burger, as well as lamb and pork versions, they all require slightly different cooking times but come with detailed recipe cards so you get the most out of them. Lightly seasoned, with the addition of herbs, we enjoyed playing around with different toppings. A fun option for the more adventurous.

Best: Veggie burger

Until recently, fans could only get their hands on the UK’s first “bleeding” plant-based burger (don’t worry, it’s beetroot juice) in a selection of restaurants. However, they’re now available in a frozen format for home cooking too. Despite being made up of a mixture of oyster mushrooms and pea protein, they taste of neither and are so remarkably meaty, we had to double-check we’d not mixed it up for the real deal.

We cooked ours from frozen in the pan and found a fair amount of “grease” was released which we think is down to the coconut oil. All in all a very clever, tasty patty for those avoiding meat or cutting down.

Best: Budget veggie option

Long gone are the days when a veggie burger meant a dry, tasteless disc. With a similarly convincing meaty texture to the above, Iceland has managed to deliver on price too. Cooked from frozen and made using soya protein, this pack of two is a very handy option to have on standby for mid-week meals.