‘Summery’ AIP Beef Patties (egg and grain-free)

I’ve recently been contemplating how the weather dictates how we cook and what we eat … particularly meals eaten during hot weather.

They’re somewhat ironic, don’t you think?

Even though there’s more daylight hours in summer, we tend to want to spend less time in the kitchen preparing meals.

Is this because we’d rather be outdoors, or be quietly cooling off in front of the air conditioner, or that we simply don’t have the energy and motivation for complicated recipes and complex flavours?

It’s my guess that it’s a combination of all these reasons.

What I do know is that warmer weather definitely has a way of depleting my energy stores, and I’m pretty certain that I’m not alone in this.

That’s why I love these AIP (autoimmune protocol) compliant beef patties. They:

• can be prepped earlier in the day (when I’ve got more energy),
• can be cooked outside in about 10 minutes (so the kitchen isn’t heated up),
• feature a fresh, simple flavour (there’s nothing like mint or lemon to signal ‘summer’!) , and
• are suitable for most dietary needs, including AIP, Paleo, SCD and low-carb eaters.

If you also love simple summer meals, then I urge you to give these tasty beef patties a try. And don’t forget to let us know how your family enjoyed them 🙂

Versatile ‘Summery’ AIP Beef Patties (prep ahead!) 

• 500g beef mince
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 zucchini, grated
• 2 tbsp flax meal * + 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 tsp salt (+ pepper if you’re not AIP)
• Optional – freshly chopped basil, parsley, oregano, mint or zest of 1/2 lemon

Instructions:

1. ** This meal is best started several hours or the day before cooking **.
2. Mix the flax meal and water together in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, mix remaining ingredients gently.
4. Shape into patties (remembering they will shrink a little, so make them slightly larger to compensate for this) and place on a lined baking tray.
5. Cover with gladwrap or foil and refrigerated for at least 1 hour, but preferably several hours or overnight ** (see recipe note).
6. When intending to eat them: Heat your BBQ plate (or heavy-based frypan) to medium-high and add your fat of choice (tallow, olive oil, or butter if not on an AIP diet).
7. Place patties carefully on the heated surface and cook for approx 5 minutes on the first side.
8. Flip very carefully to the second side, and cook for a further 4 – 5 minutes til centre is no longer pink.
9. Serve hot beef patties on an AIP compliant hamburger bun ***, alongside a salad or vegies. Also really yummy served cold 🙂

Recipe Notes:

* Flax meal is not elimination-phase legal for AIP. You may substitute 2 tbsp gelatin and reduce the water to 2 tbsp, but results may differ a little.

** It’s not essential that you have to cook these patties after refrigerating for several hours – it just helps the patties stay together and remain juicy.

*** Other AIP bread and wraps recipes can be found here.