Burgers: what makes the perfect build?

They’re an ideal takeaway and home-delivery item, so it’s no wonder burgers were a go-to product for many businesses even during lockdowns. Now that the public are dining out again, they’re more of a menu mainstay than ever.

We asked three of our consultant chefs what makes the perfect build, and judging from their responses, there is a strong consensus about the right approach to take.

“Burgers have changed dramatically over the past few years,” says Markus Werner, Corporate Executive Chef at Delaware North Australia. “I think they’re getting more and more loaded and polished in both content and presentation.”

Markus’ advice in building your burger is “Don’t be shy to load it up, just don’t put too much of any one thing in there. And choose the best quality ingredients you can – have a great bacon, beautiful crisp onion with your beef pattie; if you’re serving a chicken burger, go for crispy skin chicken – let your fantasies run wild and add different types of sauces, relishes, vegetables, whatever you can think of. Look at making your own pickles, for example a pumpkin kimchi, with some white miso and eggplant paste – really go wild and people will enjoy it and give it a go.”

He adds that while burgers are trending high right now, the focus is on the high end of the market: “The pricepoint has gone up to the extent that a cheap burger doesn’t really exist anymore, so your guests are looking for a memorable experience – as in ‘oh my god, everything’s just perfect!’ We’ve moved away from those massive burger buns and brought the focus back to the fillings, as it should be.”

Markus says the burger pattie itself, as the centrepiece of the meal, should be made from the best ingredients. “Our beef burger patties at the MCG are now freshly made from 100 per cent local beef – there’s nothing else in there, nothing frozen, everything fresh.

“Our customers are saying ‘this is great’ and from the health perspective it’s just good beef, no binders, no food colouring, no additives, just great beef paired with high end buns from local bakeries, topped with freshly made sauces and great fillings. There’s no preservatives in there. It’s all straightforward, good food and you can eat it and be truly satisfied.”

Perfect burger begins with a great quality pattie

George Diamond, Group Executive Chef at Trippas White, echoes Markus’ words, saying for him the perfect burger begins with a great quality pattie. “Whether it’s beef, lamb, pork or whatever, it needs to be high quality. At our venues we work with our butchers to create our own particular mixes, for example using a percentage of brisket and chuck – around 15 per cent fat tends to be the sweet spot for us, but there are some menus where that might vary a bit, if for example we’re using a wagyu mince, or perhaps a grain fed meat with a beautiful marble score. It all depends on the venue, but generally we’ll talk to our butcher and make sure the composition is such that it’s really nice and juicy, not dry – fat is flavour and adds a nice mouthfeel. And naturally, when you cook your pattie you don’t want it to lose a lot of yield.

“Another important point is that we never salt our patties – and that’s because salt creates a curing process, which means when you're cooking your meat it stays pink and is then perceived as undercooked. We always hand press our patties to ensure a delicate mouthfeel, we never machine press them because that changes the texture when you bite into it. We always cook on a chargrill which imparts both flavour and a nice smokiness.”

Over the years George has tried a whole range of burger buns – “I think it really comes down to what the customer is looking for. Whichever you use, you need to remember the bun is the canvas for a great burger pattie, and isn’t there to detract from the pattie’s flavour profile. And make sure you grill the burger buns – brush them with clarified butter first, that steams the inside of the bun so when you put all the components together it becomes softer.”

“To me the best burger is one made using really good quality ingredients – tomato, lettuce, cheese with a high melt point. We use gruyere cheese which has a particular flavour profile, soft onions, housemade tomato relish or a nice barbecue sauce. We’ll also make two 100g patties and put both in the burger – they cook a lot quicker and you’ll get a great mouthfeel biting into them through the bun.

“I think the key is to keep the ingredients really simple – you see all these cafes adding crazy and wonderful ingredients like truffle aioli, onion rings and coleslaw, but keeping it simple is the best approach. One of our best burgers on the menu at the moment is a wagyu pattie with gruyere cheese, caramelised onions, lettuce and tomato, served with beautiful fries and it just goes down really well.”

As the premiumisation of the burger category continues, brioche buns have become increasingly popular for use with burgers. Brioche made according to the authentic French tradition, such as the Brioche Burger Buns imported from France and available under the Brioche Gourmet brand, is soft, fluffy and slightly sweet and made with high quality ingredients like French butter, milk and cream, and stays soft and delicious making it the perfect complement to burgers.

Burgers are turning into “messy dude food”

Chef Adam Moore says burgers have “gone a bit dirty”: “We’re going back to the old Greek style of smashing down the pattie on the grillplate, getting the crispy crust, the caramelisation on the outside. Isaac Eats-a-lot, who is a well-known Instagram food blogger, is becoming famous for stacking up his burger builds – instead of just one pattie it’s two, three or four. He’ll put down a pattie, top with cheese or pickles, then another – up to four layers in the build. You’re constantly adding more ingredients, customising your burger sauce, even drizzling liquid cheese or American style burger cheese all over it. Another emerging trend which is gaining traction is the buttermilk fried chicken burger.

Adam adds: “It's not just about the burger, but also the accompaniments. Deli Republic are now doing a fried potato scallop in their burgers and rubens; fried pickles is another big ingredient at the moment and this is partly being driven by the national chip shortage. You’re seeing fried pickles served in crispy batter, potato gems covered in burger sauces. It’s all about flavour and presentation and getting a bit grungy.”