"In" Burger, More Like the Out Burger

Posted by Matt Jacobs, September 1, 2005 at 1:05 PM

A short article from the WaPo recently came across the AHT news desk. The author, Stephanie Witt Sedgwick, is welcoming the era of the "In" Burger. I'll let her explain what it is.

Meet the latest burger. It has cast away the layers of condiments, the mountain of add-ons that turned the basic burger into a tower of toppings. Burgers have a new mantra: Stop piling it on and start mixing it in.

Instead of putting cheese, bacon and mushrooms—and let's not forget all the sauces—on top, burgers now are getting seasoned from the inside out. The bacon cheddar burger is a melt-in-your-mouth combination of ground beef, grated cheese, diced smoky bacon and golden onions, perfectly proportioned and mixed together. Other pairings might include a Swiss-mushroom burger that bypasses the bacon altogether or a spicy jalapeño-laced turkey burger.

Let's get one thing straight, lady: when you start throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the meat, it's no longer a burger. At most, it's meat loaf. In fact, the fact that you consider a patty made with turkey to be a true burger is further proof you've missed the mark.

Don't get me wrong, I like trying unusual toppings on my burger, but putting them inside crosses the line. Without a patty that is entirely (or nearly all) beef, there's no way to get a sense of the flavor of the meat or have a truly juicy patty, which is why you're eating a burger in the first place.

Now, we want to be clear that there are some circumstances when putting items in the burger is OK, but they are few and far between. The way to tell if you're crossing the line is whether your fillings render the meat's flavor and consistency irrelevant. A good example of an acceptable mix-in is the Jucy Lucy. The Jucy Lucy is a slice of American cheese pocketed and sealed between two hamburger paties and then grilled. The cheese does little to the consistency and flavor as its location is centralized and it becomes viscous fairly quickly.

Bottom line, when you start putting veal florentine into a beef patty, as Ms. Sedgwick suggests, it ain't no burger. We at A Hamburger Today hope that the "In" Burger movement ends now.

Post a Comment Favorite this!  (0)

Tags: ruminations