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Burger King Burger Shots

Posted by Adam Kuban, December 1, 2008 at 3:45 PM

Over the weekend, while I was trying not to work, we at A Hamburger Today received this email from longtime reader and frequent commenter Phauxtoe:

Hey, I got a bone to pick with you guys.

Today (Friday) I stopped at Burger King to get a road coffee (nothing else). I saw an ad the menu for "BURGER SHOTS," with and without cheese.

I guess they have moved into the slider market.

Here is the problem: I read your site everyday or so—why do I have to hear about this on the streets?

Thanks but no thanks,
Phauxtoe

Trying my best to make things right with Phauxtoe, I responded as soon as possible:

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Phauxtoe,
We do try to remain abreast of what goes on in the burger world, but there's a lot going on in it, and sometimes we miss something—especially at the major chains, as we tend to focus more on mom-and-pop shops.

Personally, I like discovering something that hasn't been on all the blogs. There's something to be said for the non-predigested joy of discovery.

I'm sorry that we've let you down.

One thing's sure, though. I know where I'll be exploring for lunch on Monday.

Chars,
Adam

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Adam,
I hope I did not offend you! I was just poking fun. You guys do an outrageous Job! I love your site.

I sent the email because I know you are partial to sliders. For all the info you have given me, I am glad to offer up such a small token.

Best,
Phauxtoe

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Phauxtoe,
Yeah. I figured you were poking fun. No harm, no foul.

I was really glad you alerted me to that, because, yes, I LOVE sliders, and I remember when BK used to have "BK Minis" back in the late '80s. They sold them in three-packs, from what I remember, and they were, as the new name suggests, little shots of flame-broiled goodness (at least I thought so back then).

Going to go look for them on Monday.

Chars,
Adam

And so we find ourselves at this juncture. I grabbed these from a Burger King in Manhattan, and if we have them here, I'd imagine they're available everywhere (New York City often seems slow in getting the latest nationwide fast food items).

They're sold in six-packs and two-packs ($4.39 and $1.49, respectively. As the menu said, "Available with cheese; additional charge may apply").

I grabbed a couple six-packs and high-tailed it back to the office. I'm not even going to bother describing the flavor. If you've had a Burger King hamburger or cheeseburger, there's no point. They're basically two-bite versions of their big brothers.

They come preconfigured with ketchup and a single pickle slice. Pickle slice size may vary. Some of my sixers had generous slices (50¢-piece-size) while others had laughably small penny-size pickles.

They even have the grill marks that I suspect are somehow artificially induced.

Here's the patented AHT "autopsy shot."

In May of this year, word came out of the UK that the BKs there would offer Angus six-pack mini burgers:

The 6 Pack is actually one large patty sandwiched between six mini buns all attached to each other. Although the buns are joined together, BK has attempted to allay the concerns raised by health advocacy groups who balk at the 6 Pack's 917 calories by claiming that it's designed to "tear and share."

It seems that the US version of this dish shares the tear-apart heritage if not the Angus pedigree, as I found a number of our burgers attached at the hip:

Burger Shots–BK Stacker Mashup

While waiting in line at BK, I perused the menu and saw the BK Quad Stacker. That gave me an idea: Why not a Burger Shots Stacker? (That's the reason I got two sixers—and because I knew all the folks back at the office would be all over these things).

I couldn't decide how to stack, patty-on-patty or patty-bun-patty, so I tried both.

Caution, though, the small footprint of the Burger Shots with respect to their height makes a meat tower inherently unstable:

The Burger Shot Is Not a Slider

One thing I have to give Burger King props for is in not calling this thing a "slider." Phauxtoe is half correct when he says I'm partial to sliders. In fact I AM NUTS FOR SLIDERS and am a bit of a purist in my slider definition. I would say that the BK variety is merely a tiny hamburger rather than a slider because it lacks the megadose of onion that, say, a White Castle slider has and because it is not steam-griddled over a bed of onion. So, thanks, your majesty, for respecting convention.

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Tags: Burger King, chain burgers, fast food, sliders, tiny hamburgers