Burger me!

[Dannyalcatraz]

Best burger for me came from an Irish Pub in Irving, Tx. They made theirs with Guinness. Unfortunately, the owner had a…loose relationship with the law, and he closed his pub the day after St. Patrick’s. (Without paying his past-due rent, taxes, etc.)

As for making & storing them at home, I have a few of these, and swear by them. It makes nicely defined 1/4lb hexagonal patties.

They also make similar products in other sizes, for things like cookies.

 

[jian]

Yeah its popular with digital nomad types.

Locals getting salty about it as well apparently.

Yes, it’s one of the cheaper yet nicer places to live in Europe and it offers a good digital nomad visa. So lots of expats and also Airbnb ruining the Lisbon area.

 

[CleverNickName]

As for making & storing them at home, I have a few of these, and swear by them. It makes nicely defined 1/4lb hexagonal patties.

They also make similar products in other sizes, for things like cookies.

So what I'm seeing here is the next time I do a hexcrawl adventure, I can make the battle mat out of all-beef patties. Cheese on top for desert terrain, lettuce and tomato for the forests, pickles for the swamps...let the players actually chew their way through the Isle of Dread.

 

[Morrus]

It won't be if you keep blabbing about it.

I've been there a couple of times, and neither time did they tell me I had to keep quiet about it!

 

[the Jester]

I put oregano, salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika in my ground beef before making patties. Eat them on a bun or toasted bread, usually with mayo, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, and onion. Sometimes I add relish or pickle chips.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Pretzel buns did something similar about 10 years ago.

I love a good pretzel, almost regardless of form. (I just bought some hand-sized ones from a local German bakery today.)

A bakery van used to drive across the American base we lived on in Germany, and we’d get a bunch of their long rolls (6”-8”, as I recall)- best thing for a ham & Swiss cheese sandwich.

So pretzel buns are a go-to if I see them on the menu.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

It's sort of a meme in America that Popeye's are among the most terribly run fast food places. They'll be extremely slow, get your order wrong, be out of at least one thing consistently (the last time I was there they told me they were out of chicken), and act like you asking for sauce is the most grievous offense they've ever heard.

That describes one of our locations to a T. We drive to one slightly farther away to avoid that.

However, the last time I was in THAT one, they were NOT having a good day.

 

[jdrakeh]

I really like the Six Million Dollar Burger at Bionic Burger in Wichita, KS.

​

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

IMNSHO, the secret to a good burger is moderation. Going overboard in any direction is a mistake.

A nice .25-.33 pound patty. Not too thick, not smashed thin. Grilled to medium. American cheese (maybe swiss or muenster). A dallop of mayo, a little bit of ketchup or mustard. Some onions (vidalia are best, grilled is nice but not required). One slice of tomato. One or two lettuce leaves. Maybe a little pickle.

From there, if you want to add anything, you've gotta take other things off. Avocado, sriracha, mushrooms, bacon, peppers, or BBQ sauce all work, but you have to compensate by removing other items and/or sauces. It's a burger, not a salad. And you have to let the flavors come through instead of making them compete with each other - especially the flavor of the meat.

I’d say the secrets for complex burgers are balance and compatibility.

Some burgers I’ve had absolutely scream for a goodly amount of leafy greens. Others would be ruined by having any at all.

The only Wagyu burger I had probably would have been worse with anything besides a single condiment and topping (mine had mayo & grilled onions).

But that messy burger I mentioned upthread was delicious…when made properly. All of the flavors were compatible, and if used in the right amounts, was a symphony. But I stopped ordering it- not because it was messy- but because it was darn hard to find a place that could actually make it right. Some places used fancy bacon- which doesn’t work. Some places had highly seasoned guacamole- which doesn’t work. Some places used mixed mushrooms for their sautéing- which doesn’t work. Some places equated mayonnaise and Miracle Whip- which REALLY didn’t work.

 

[SableWyvern]

If I'm making it myself, I'm more of a steak sandwich man, myself.

• Hot mustard
• Vintage cheddar
• Streaky bacon
• Hot Hungarian salami
• Tomato
• Pickled onion
• Scotch fillet (ribeye)
• Egg
• BBQ sauce
• Turkish roll or toast

When I am ordering a burger, I'm always happy to find a place that offers something other than a brioche sugar bun. Being an Australian, my burgers often include chicken fillets.

It wasn't until I was into my mid-twenties that I realised I actually like burgers, because I always associated a burger with the distinct pickle flavour found in a Big Mac -- and I really don't like pickles.