(A picture of the Big Kahuna burger from the movie "Pulp Fiction")
OK. So, as Jenn astutely tweeted last night, apparently nobody ate this weekend. Well, I know we ate, but with company in town, we didn’t have time to jot things down. I’ve got a couple of things in the pipeline, though, so not to worry.
In the meantime, ever since discovering that Bobby’s Burger Palace is opening a DC location sort of near my office, I’ve been quietly obsessing about burgers. Not outwardly obsessing, but inwardly stewing. The notion of a burger challenge between BBP, 5 Guys, ShakeShack, and Ray’s Hell Burger has gotten me all aflutter.
But logistical questions abound: How can I do the challenge to ensure the burgers are all equally hot/juicy/etc. (it is unforgiveable that the other study used day-old burgers)? Is there a central location to which all the burgers can be purchased at the same time and brought? How long does each place take to make their burgers so that I can take into account the traffic to get to this central location of burger goodness? Do I even need to taste test all these burgers at once? What should I get on the burgers? Are fries to be involved in this challenge (honestly, as Alan said: you can’t have a good burger challenge without factoring in the fries)? If a place does a specialty (ShakeShack presumably does good shakes), should I factor that in as well? And, again, what should I get on the burgers?? And, finally, how quickly will the heart attack set in upon eating all these burgers at once?
Thankfully, I still have a little bit of time to figure the logistics of this burger challenge. BBP doesn’t open its DC spot until tomorrow (Aug. 16), and it’ll probably be a bit more time until they’ve worked out the kinks and until the novelty (read: long lines) wears off. In the meantime, I thought I’d toss another question out to the group. The other day, Bobby Flay tweeted that his BBP burger of the month was a crunchified Carolina BBQ burger, and it sounded pretty great: A burger topped with smoked cheddar, coleslaw, and a mustard BBQ sauce, topped with Lay’s potato chips.
Though that sounds pretty awesome, but if you had to make one burger that would win the annual Sutter Home Build a Better Burger Competition, I put it out to you all: If you had to build a burger worthy of being a champion BEEF burger, what would it be? Post your toppings, condiments, bread/bun choice in the comments. Then, the next time we all get together, maybe we can put some of these recipes to the test!
I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!
Personally, I'm a basic burger kind of guy. I like to taste the meat of the burger, and I actually want to be able to finish the burger at one sitting.
ReplyDeleteThus, if I were going to build a burger for the competition, it would have to have a basic premise...great meat, fresh lettuce & tomato, a spectacular bun, a big helping of yummy cheese, and a homemade mayo. I'd add ketchup as well, but wouldn't make that myself.
The bun would preferably be made of potato bread, but I would also consider a nice kaiser roll or an english muffin.
The cheese would be tough for me, as I love a burger with blue cheese, but often find it overpowering. Cheddar is also great, but a little boring. In the end I'd probably like to use a blend of cheeses that included cheddar, jack, Parmesan (for some saltiness), mozzarella, and maybe some Gouda.
As for the meat...I'd like to try ground sirloin and ribeye, with a touch of pork-belly mixed in (or maybe bacon). Not sure why...just sounds good to me. Note, I would not put bacon on the burger itself...always seems to come off all in one bite.
Fries would need to accompany the burger, along with a lots of ketchup (and possibly some ranch dressing). Drinks are unimportant to me.
Lastly, the burger needs to be cooked to just barely medium so that its really juicy, to the point of having the juice run down my hands as I eat. Yum!
Drooling.....
ReplyDeleteI'm a traditionalist when it comes to burgers. I don't think burgers should be screwed around with too much. So my perfect burger...
ReplyDelete100% Angus beef patty cooked just north of medium rare
Topped with carmelized onions
Monterey/Cheddard cheese (available in slices at Wegmans)
Mayo, ketchup and mustard (French's yellow...nothing fancy)
Lettuce (iceberg), tomato (Jersey, preferrably)
Potato bun, lightly toasted
For a burger-off...I think we pick a town (and eventually, multiple locations) and execute taste tests against the best burgers centrally located to that town.
ReplyDeleteHere in Marlboro, NJ we could definitely pull off a taste test with Bobby's Burger Palace, 5 Guys, 25 Burgers and the dark horse...Jersey Freeze. These could be picked up all at exactly the same time and brought to a close enough, central location to be eaten at the same time. It's a good place to start.
And eventually, with the expansion of great burger places, we'll be able to get enviable tests in DC, Ft. Lauderdale, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Stop it!! Your posts are making me hungry for burgerfi!!
ReplyDeleteJeff - you're going to have to tell us why Burgerfi is all that...you're the only one that's been there so far.
ReplyDeleteYeah. No fair commenting without giving us all the DEETS!
ReplyDeleteAs for me, my ideal burger is a medium rare 1/2 pound burger made of ground dry aged rib-eye (have to have the right fat content to make it good!). For toppings, I would do a duo of cheeses (brie and either pepperjack or gouda, depending on my mood), crumbles of smoked bacon, sauteed vidalia onions, chopped grilled jalapeno peppers (could also use grilled poblanos here), BBQ sauce, a dash of A-1, Tabasco sauce, and (wait for it) a sunny side up egg. Side of fries would more than likely be an order of Cajun fries from 5 Guys, but I'll throw this out there for debate: what about tater tots? Sure they remind you of high school, but they're pretty awesome. Little bite-sized rolls of fried chopped potatoes. The next time you're out and those are on the menu, try them again. I bet you won't be disappointed.
BTW--All this talk of burgers has gotten Sarah, Amelia, and I the burger munchies, like Jeff has. To satisfy the craving, we are having Ray's Hell Burger tonight! Full report tomorrow!