How I Hacked the BritMums Rustlers Burger Hacking Challenge

I have said it before and I will say it again. I am all about eating delicious food without the trauma associated with intensive cooking. Shortcuts are absolutely allowed if it means I can serve a healthy, balanced but scrumptious family meal in minutes. So when BritMums challenged us to the Rustlers Burger Hacking Challenge, it sounded just the sort of thing for me. If I can serve the perfect weekend family meal without spending all day in the kitchen, it has to count as a win.

I picked up a couple of Rustlers Southern Fried Chicken Burger Twin Packs from Tesco as part of my weekly shop. We are a family of three, so four burgers would suffice by my estimate. Oh, yes! Rustlers burgers are not just for kids and there was no way M and I were going to miss out on this experience. Anyway, we don’t conform to the idea of separate meals for different age-groups in our house. Everyone eats the same food as a rule. Spice levels and sides get altered to suit taste-buds, but there is no compromise on the mains. Again, this fits in with my mantra of a simplified kitchen experience and my six year old son J gets to explore different food textures and flavours.

Rustlers Southern Fried Chicken burgers are made of quality chicken marinated with a southern fried breadcrumb and all they need is a minute and half in the microwave before you can tuck in. This is perfect if you are in a hurry and need to rustle up a meal in minutes. If however, you have more time on your hands, you can dress up a Rustlers chicken burger any way you like. Add a few fillings or toppings, a couple of favourite sides and a drink, and you have a delicious, well-balanced meal.

Our Sundays are generally chaotic with taekwon-do and homework to contend with. But Sunday lunches are a time for laid-back family meals. So we decided to convert our Rustlers burgers into a gastronomic family dining experience. My son may be only 6, but he is all about good food and relishes fine dining.

We decided to serve our Rustlers burgers with a crisp, crunchy coleslaw with a cider vinegar dressing and homemade sweet potato fries on the side. We would have lettuce, tomato and sliced cheese as fillings and serve it as a deconstructed burger meal. While I got busy with some of the prep, I got J to tear up gem lettuce and chop a red pepper into slices.

Here is how I hacked the BritMums Rustlers Burger Challenge.

Rustlers Southern Fried Chicken Burger Served Deconstructed

• I started by cutting open the twin pack and easing out one of the burgers onto a microwaveable plate. As I mentioned before, I could have just popped the whole thing into the microwave for a quick fix meal.

• Instead, I chose to separate the chicken patty from the bun. The patty went into the microwave for 1 minute and 20 seconds at 800W (as per the instructions on the packet). In the meantime, I popped the two halves of the seeded bun into the toaster.

• Once the buns were toasted, I placed a portion of sliced cheese on one half of the bun. It went into the microwave for 10 seconds – just enough to melt the cheese.

• Next it was time to plate up. I served the Rustlers burger patty on a cabbage leaf (leftover from the coleslaw) and with a lettuce leaf tucked underneath it. I squiggled a fancy pattern on it with the pack of lightly peppered mayo that came in the twinpack.
• The seeded top half of the bun went on one side while the melted cheesy one went on the other, with a slice of tomato on top.
• I piled sweet potato fries on one side of the plate, the chunky coleslaw on the other with a dollop of ketchup in the middle.

• My deconstructed Rustlers Southern Fried Chicken Burgers were good to go.

Only, J had other ideas. He insisted on eating his burger his way – the traditional way! So once the patty came out of the microwave and the cheese had melted on the toasted buns, he assembled it with slices of tomato and squirts of peppered mayo. He piled his plate high with fries and slaw, with copious dollops of mayo and ketchup on the side. 

It took all of two minutes for the plate to be licked clean!

That’s the thing with these delicious Rustlers burgers. You can eat them any way you like. Deconstructed gourmet style or piled up high in a more traditional way. With toppings and sides or without. They are versatile and easy to prep, making them perfect for a family meal when you are hard pressed for time.

With a colourful and varied array of toppings and sides, you can create a well-balanced, sumptuous family meal. Like the one we did.

Protein – Chicken in the burger patty, cheese slice

Carbohydrates – burger bun, sweet potato fries

Fats – Mayonnaise side, olive oil used for the fries

Chunky coleslaw, lettuce and tomato slices count towards 5-a-day

You can now pick up Rustlers burgers at Tesco stores and have a go cooking up your own delicious burger hacks. What will you serve them with?

This post is an entry for BritMums Rustlers Burger Hacking Challenge, sponsored by Rustlers.