The patty brings salt, fat, and savoury depth. Everything else on the burger is there to contrast it: something cold and crunchy (lettuce, raw onion, pickle) and something sharp (onion, mustard, pickle, vinegar). Skip the cold crunch and the burger is one note. Skip the sharpness and it turns heavy by the third bite. Get both, on a bun that fits, and even a mediocre patty works.
The variables
- The bun. Soft and simple, not large or dense, and the same size as the patty (see Chef John’s hamburger buns). Toast it, cut side down in a dry non-stick pan over medium heat, while the burger pan heats. Of the three ways to toast a bun (dry under radiant heat, dry on a griddle, or griddled in butter or oil), I prefer the dry griddle: it gives a dark, smooth surface with some crunch and caramelized flavour. For a fast-food burger, press the bun a little flat.
- Cold crunch. Lots of finely shredded iceberg, loose rather than packed. Pickles, sliced thin or lengthwise.
- Sharp. Raw onion, sliced paper thin: white, yellow, or purple. Onion is the most important topping on the burger. Two forms beat one: raw for sharpness, plus onion sautéed in the beef fat for sweetness. Rehydrated dried minced onion is a third form: mellower than raw, with a distinct flavour you notice right away (the fast-food double’s onion).
- Sour. Double-sour pickles, hard to buy and easy to make (see Sauces and condiments).
- Juicy. Ripe tomato, sliced thin. Skip it when tomatoes aren’t good.
- Cheese and bacon. Optional. A thin slice of processed cheese melts into a thin patty; bacon only if it’s crisp, never chewy.
- Black pepper. A crack or three over the tomatoes. Pepper, pepper, pepper!
Order
Bottom up, with the sauce against the bread so it soaks into the bun, not the lettuce:
- Bottom bun, sauce
- Patty, cheese
- Pickles, onion
- Tomato, lettuce
- Sauce or mayo on the top bun, then the top bun
The exact order changes by build (see Drive-in deluxe burger, Fast-food double burger, Grilled onion burger). Sauces are the glue, and they keep the buns from going soggy.
Steam it in paper
Wrap the finished burger in burger paper or parchment, or cover it in a pan with a lid, and let it sit for a minute or a few. It steams gently, the bun softens, and the flavours settle. It tastes better than the same burger straight off the griddle. Then eat it right away; burgers hold badly after that.
How it fails
- Soggy bottom bun: the bun wasn’t toasted, or the wettest layers sat on it.
- One note: no cold crunch.
- Heavy by the third bite: nothing sharp. Add onion, mustard, or a sharper pickle.
- Falls apart, or can’t be bitten: too tall, or the patty and bun don’t match. A burger has to be navigable.
Recipes
White Spot burger, McDouble, Turkey burgers. The bun: Chef John’s hamburger buns.