By Laura Rancie.
There are good burgers and there are great burgers! Here is a list of five non-negotiables when crafting yours together or dining out.
The Bread:
It may seem obvious but the bread really does make a massive difference to the overall satiety of a really good burger. When travelling back to Hawaii once, super excited to return to one of my favourite burger places on the North Shore of Oahu – I was bitterly disappointed to find the memory was far superior to the actual taste. Biting into my burger, I was met with a still-cold bun from having been thawed out. Burger fail.
Burger Thickness:
Sometimes less is more. The balance here needs to be right – stingy on ingredients and you feel ripped off. But one time, in the coastal surf town of Torquay a new burger joint had opened boasting massive burgers that pre-Instagram, were the talk of the town (literally). However, far too large to bite through let alone into, it had to be dismantled to eat - which then just felt like a de-constructed salad with meat.
Condiments:
Haters will hate on me for this one, but to pickle or not? YES! Hands down absolutely. My all-time favourite Wagyu beef burger at a certain burger chain that grills their burgers always had a big fat pickle. I was very, extremely sad this week when I discovered the big pickle had been subbed out for small pickle slices reminiscent of a cheeseburger. But are you with me? Do you love or hate pickles?
The Patty:
Be it a veggie patty, beef, chicken or a fish burger…this bit is crucial. It needs to be juicy, never dry. It needs to fill the entire bun and not be smaller than the bun size. The patty should be hot and easy to bite through. Balance and proportion make the patty.
Flavour and Balance:
Returning to the balance equation – I don’t like beetroot, the texture or the flavour.
I need sweet pineapple to balance out the tang of the pickle in my burger.
I dislike it when there is so much sauce that it drowns out the other ingredients.
Flavour and balance will be a personal topic for each individual and one that we’d love you to share on our Facebook page. What tips the scales for you?
