Personally im in favor of the whopper recipe, but home made. Grilled beef, lettuce, onion and tomato, ketchup and mayonnaise. And keep them small, so you can eat more.
Agreed on the front to not overcomplicate it and make it easy to manage, but I have loved building burgers under the guideline: “If you’re not at least a little bit intimidated by your burger, you have done it wrong.”
I agree exactly with what he said. A big problem for me is getting a simple meal from a cafe and they try to make it too fancy by adding extras that are not needed. One of the worst was when I ordered eggs on toast for breakfast and when they served them to me they had heavily drizzled cold olive oil over the eggs and toast and it tasted horrible. Sometimes simple is better.
100% agree on the processed cheese. I wouldn't use it for anything else, but there's just something about it on a burger. This from someone who for years was putting vintage cheddar on my burgers.
When Jack in the Box 1st introduced its Ultimate Cheeseburger (username relevant here) they advertised it as the cheeseburger for the purists. Meat, cheese, bun. I was ecstatic!!! Took my first bite and got a mouthful of condiments. Pissed? Oh, yeah. I still order them, but I make damned sure to clearly say, "No sauces." I definitely agree with Bourdain here.
He was such an inspiration to me in culinary practice. He brought exposure to flavor, culture, and adventure without the pretentiousness that typically attaches itself to the journey.
There are still burgers that dwarf the inhumation abilities of an unhinged jaw, unless you're going full V levels of ridiculousness, and even then maybe not.
Never order a Kobe burger. It's a waste of money and a dumb fad. There's a place near my old home that sells one for $60. Kobe beef is famously delicious because of it's marbling. If you throw it in a food processor and turn it in to ground beef you are destroying what makes Kobe beef great.
Bacon, what I've started doing is pre-frying some, letting it cool, then chopping it up in a blender and mixing it in with the raw hamburger. Structural problem solved, though it does add grease.
Sorry to Anthony, but "American cheese" is a crime. It's the food equivalent of thoughts and prayers, as people think they have put cheese on it, when, in fact, they have not. Actual cheese melts just fine
A burger is a canvas. You can Pollock it up, you can Davinci it, or you can Piccaso it. All ways are acceptable, its the person eating it that decides whether they like it or not
A burger should be easy. If I have to fumble with a goofy tall monstrosity or deal with some slippery mess falling out the back, it failed at being a burger.
salt, pepper, lil onion and maybe some garlic, sear that fker, toss your cheese on it til melted, toss it on a toasted bun (want lil pickle flavor? let bun soak up small bit of pickle juice right before you toast it)
A great burger is perfect by itself. It doesnt need condiments or additions as those pull away from the burger and more towards those specific additions.
I think entertaining people does have some value, which is why people pay for it. If people have paid for you to entertain them, then I think meeting their expectations does, definitely, make the meal better.
Meh, I think there are things that people want to eat every week, and there are dumb monstrosities for tourists. Putting a lb of bacon and French fries in a burger and dumping a shake on it then setting it on fire doesn't make it better, just more interesting. Miss me with that Bobby flay nonsense.
My philosophy is that bacon can save a sub-par burger, but takes away from an otherwise amazing one. Totally with you on fresh onion and mustard though.
I love bacon on a burger, but there is the predicament that it often means the burger doesn't hold together as well, nor is it evenly distributed over the top, so you end up with bites without bacon, messing with his argument for consistent bites. I'm willing to accept those negatives though.
If you're eating a good burger made with good beef cooked properly you want to taste the good beef which means it must be thick enough to be a bit crispy outside and pink in the middle. If you have mediocre beef you can smash it and maximize the crispy bits, but lose the medium-rare center. Either way- if the burger is too tall to fit in your face then the experience gets more difficult, inconvenient, less pleasant- which could be a good thing if it is worth the inconvenience
this...back in the day when mcdonalds still had cheeseburgers for 1€ it was great fun to go with like 3 people, one had to pee, one would find seats, one would go order..."24 cheeseburgers please"...and the girl on the cashier would roll her eyes because that would take too long so there was an alarm going because they apparently were working too slow...but you got to carry a huge pile of burgers on the stupid plastic tablet all the way to the table where your hungry pals were waiting...amazing!
If you're going for bigger burgers, yes absolutely. Makes it a two handed burger (a ZweiBurger if you will), but at least you don't need a snake's stretchy jaw to eat it.
As someone whose mouth is bigger than god intended a person's mouth to be, if I can't fit the burger in my mouth, then your burger is an abomination, and you should be cast out of the burger making community until you have repented for your burger sins.
As a kid, we ate at a Navajo restaurant/motel. It was on the side of the highway next to a big ravine. The motel was a bunch of trailers' houses turned into rooms. The restaurant severed homemade Navajo bread. The burgers were so big they each had 2 patties side by side. The bread was the best thing I have ever tasted. Almost 30 years later, it still comes up in our conversation. The restaurant has since closed.
That's interesting! There's a place in Fort Worth called Navajo Burgers. I've never been, but always heard they were good. Looking it up, I learned that a Navajo burger is actually a different type of food that differs from traditional burgers, and even found a pic of a Navajo double burger with the side-by-side patties!
xo66nt
Personally im in favor of the whopper recipe, but home made. Grilled beef, lettuce, onion and tomato, ketchup and mayonnaise. And keep them small, so you can eat more.
zeacorzeppelin10
Accurate!
Monmortmeplait
Agreed on the front to not overcomplicate it and make it easy to manage, but I have loved building burgers under the guideline: “If you’re not at least a little bit intimidated by your burger, you have done it wrong.”
Paullovespizza
I agree exactly with what he said. A big problem for me is getting a simple meal from a cafe and they try to make it too fancy by adding extras that are not needed. One of the worst was when I ordered eggs on toast for breakfast and when they served them to me they had heavily drizzled cold olive oil over the eggs and toast and it tasted horrible. Sometimes simple is better.
Hoop66
100% agree on the processed cheese. I wouldn't use it for anything else, but there's just something about it on a burger. This from someone who for years was putting vintage cheddar on my burgers.
AnonsAndMinions
RIP, gone too soon. Used to love watching his tour show
TerribleAwful
oldguyexlurker
When Jack in the Box 1st introduced its Ultimate Cheeseburger (username relevant here) they advertised it as the cheeseburger for the purists. Meat, cheese, bun. I was ecstatic!!! Took my first bite and got a mouthful of condiments. Pissed? Oh, yeah. I still order them, but I make damned sure to clearly say, "No sauces." I definitely agree with Bourdain here.
imjustheretoholdyourhandwhenyoudie
Bacon jam is how I answer that last one
powerrangerpl
RIP King! Watch, in his honour, one of his best "Parts Unkown" episodes: https://youtu.be/BDswwrZVNuc?si=2lagdtfldSn-eovt
TheLegendaryBonk
He was such an inspiration to me in culinary practice. He brought exposure to flavor, culture, and adventure without the pretentiousness that typically attaches itself to the journey.
beachbum273
He would go to the food to get to the culture so he could understand both as a whole greater than the parts.
ruint
You're underestimating my ability to unhinge my jaw like a snake
kevbot5000
There are still burgers that dwarf the inhumation abilities of an unhinged jaw, unless you're going full V levels of ridiculousness, and even then maybe not.
VinnyVeritas
Bourdain at his most authentic
falconchris
Wanted to hate that but there was nothing there to criticise.
I would like to see what burger that thought process leads to though.
ARealDjentleman
Never order a Kobe burger. It's a waste of money and a dumb fad. There's a place near my old home that sells one for $60. Kobe beef is famously delicious because of it's marbling. If you throw it in a food processor and turn it in to ground beef you are destroying what makes Kobe beef great.
jcollierdavis
I really miss Tony. I wonder what he'd be up to today.
dalaimickey
I miss Tony.
tinydog
Very well-spoken. Smart guy. Rest in peace.
BestUsernameICouldThinkOf
Bacon, what I've started doing is pre-frying some, letting it cool, then chopping it up in a blender and mixing it in with the raw hamburger. Structural problem solved, though it does add grease.
EverNotRelevant
You can balance out the flavor with a good zing of acid: pickles or a tomato.
UnrealEstates
Potato buns??? Are you poor sods not aware of proper bread?
Causeitsmadeofmeat
Sorry to Anthony, but "American cheese" is a crime. It's the food equivalent of thoughts and prayers, as people think they have put cheese on it, when, in fact, they have not. Actual cheese melts just fine
lonosham
[George Motz wants to know your locations]
MaintenanceGuyHere
A burger is a canvas. You can Pollock it up, you can Davinci it, or you can Piccaso it. All ways are acceptable, its the person eating it that decides whether they like it or not
SebastianCrab
I agreed with everything he just said.
Whatdoyousaytoanicecupoftea
Nice to hear that im an overly complicated burger.....
SisyphusRollin
Its like boobs though, everyone loves boobs. Outside of vegans/vegetarians you might be a complicated burger, but everyone loves a burger.
Whatdoyousaytoanicecupoftea
I meant that God expected me to hold it together
kevbot5000
Maybe you're a taco, everyone loves tacos even though they mostly fall apart.
RedAppleSoda
A burger should be easy. If I have to fumble with a goofy tall monstrosity or deal with some slippery mess falling out the back, it failed at being a burger.
Gravevoid
I was never a big fan of Sloppy Joe or his more proper upstanding brother, Untidy Joseph.
hotaru251
salt, pepper, lil onion and maybe some garlic, sear that fker, toss your cheese on it til melted, toss it on a toasted bun (want lil pickle flavor? let bun soak up small bit of pickle juice right before you toast it)
A great burger is perfect by itself. It doesnt need condiments or additions as those pull away from the burger and more towards those specific additions.
Corrodias
I think entertaining people does have some value, which is why people pay for it. If people have paid for you to entertain them, then I think meeting their expectations does, definitely, make the meal better.
astrangehop
Meh, I think there are things that people want to eat every week, and there are dumb monstrosities for tourists. Putting a lb of bacon and French fries in a burger and dumping a shake on it then setting it on fire doesn't make it better, just more interesting. Miss me with that Bobby flay nonsense.
Corrodias
It depends upon what you're looking for, certainly. My point is merely that "more interesting" counts for "better" in some contexts.
EverNotRelevant
Yeah, it's really subjective what "better" is.
Shaddak
This may not be a good idea but, it makes me wonder: what if you start with lean ground beef, then add in bacon fat?
ChloePrice
Mustard, finely chopped onions and bacon absolutely do make a burger better
weewaawoowoo
My philosophy is that bacon can save a sub-par burger, but takes away from an otherwise amazing one. Totally with you on fresh onion and mustard though.
marsilies
I love bacon on a burger, but there is the predicament that it often means the burger doesn't hold together as well, nor is it evenly distributed over the top, so you end up with bites without bacon, messing with his argument for consistent bites. I'm willing to accept those negatives though.
ChloePrice
I will accept bacon's structural issues as a valid criticism, honestly. Mustard and onions though, harmless in all ways and delicious as hell.
Rabidbacon
Burgers should be wider, not taller. But that's just me.
Bobbobbobobbananafanafobob
The issue is the bun getting soggy and squished by the time you're halfway through.
Lance4lot
😋
khora
I like sliders.
Slashenaar
If you're eating a good burger made with good beef cooked properly you want to taste the good beef which means it must be thick enough to be a bit crispy outside and pink in the middle.
If you have mediocre beef you can smash it and maximize the crispy bits, but lose the medium-rare center.
Either way- if the burger is too tall to fit in your face then the experience gets more difficult, inconvenient, less pleasant- which could be a good thing if it is worth the inconvenience
LiloPleo
Our local smash burger place does them wide, they are so good! And you can actually eat them without dislocating your jaw!
xo66nt
burgers should be more, not bigger; but thats just me
RecurringNightmare
this...back in the day when mcdonalds still had cheeseburgers for 1€ it was great fun to go with like 3 people, one had to pee, one would find seats, one would go order..."24 cheeseburgers please"...and the girl on the cashier would roll her eyes because that would take too long so there was an alarm going because they apparently were working too slow...but you got to carry a huge pile of burgers on the stupid plastic tablet all the way to the table where your hungry pals were waiting...amazing!
GiftedMagnet
not just you.
Tarumbar
Like a calzone pizza you mean?
AlexSomething
If you're going for bigger burgers, yes absolutely. Makes it a two handed burger (a ZweiBurger if you will), but at least you don't need a snake's stretchy jaw to eat it.
Rabidbacon
Exactly. Meat is better when you have to hold it with two hands!
GxWxK
A "Zweihänder" you say...?
kevbot5000
As someone whose mouth is bigger than god intended a person's mouth to be, if I can't fit the burger in my mouth, then your burger is an abomination, and you should be cast out of the burger making community until you have repented for your burger sins.
Isthe4thtimethecharm
As a kid, we ate at a Navajo restaurant/motel. It was on the side of the highway next to a big ravine. The motel was a bunch of trailers' houses turned into rooms. The restaurant severed homemade Navajo bread. The burgers were so big they each had 2 patties side by side. The bread was the best thing I have ever tasted. Almost 30 years later, it still comes up in our conversation. The restaurant has since closed.
MediaBlitz
That's interesting! There's a place in Fort Worth called Navajo Burgers. I've never been, but always heard they were good. Looking it up, I learned that a Navajo burger is actually a different type of food that differs from traditional burgers, and even found a pic of a Navajo double burger with the side-by-side patties!
Isthe4thtimethecharm
If they are even close to the place I was talking about, it would be worth trying. The bread was amazing.