Do You Prefer Burgers with...

[runscott]

American cheese is the standard and rarely is another cheese appropriate due to the flavor and melting capabilities.

Bacon is a decent topping. The picture posted looks like the Tony's BLT in Birch Run, Michigan, with 1 pound of bacon per sandwich.

Neither burger pictured speaks to me, since I've come to "less is more" in my burger life.

Mayo is the preferred condiment. And some type of onion (raw, grilled, sautéed, caramelized) is virtually a must.

Mustard, if the profile fits. Ketchup for backyard burgers or dressed up for when Michael Symon's original Lolita burger fits the bill.

And the Oklahoma fried onion burger is a game changer. Simple to the point where the sum is better than the parts. I rarely deviate from this style in the kitchen at home (and I created the burger of the day for about 1.5 years at a tapas restaurant, so I have "chops").

Good point about American Cheese. It's so 'nothing' that the tiny bit of flavor added by one thin slice, doesn't do harm to less-than-great burger meat.

As far as dressed-up burgers, my favorite is the mushroom provolone burger, but I think most of my enjoyment is just nostalgia, as we used to go out for them once a month when I lived in Denver and things were really great. I miss the friend I ate there with (Jackson's Hole) and being young and healthy with money and no ex-wife and child support yet...and Broncos and Nuggets season tickets when they both regularly made the playoffs.

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

Thank you for informing me about Tony's. This sounds like my dream come true.

My man, a long weekend in Frankenmuth with a stop at Birch Run is doable with kids. And you can check out a car race in Clio once they are old enough.

Tony's is known for large portions and breakfast foods. But the hallmark is the BLT with one pound of bacon, where the meaty goodness overflows onto the plate.

 

[runscott]

My man, a long weekend in Frankenmuth with a stop at Birch Run is doable with kids. And you can check out a car race in Clio once they are old enough.

Tony's is known for large portions and breakfast foods. But the hallmark is the BLT with one pound of bacon, where the meaty goodness overflows onto the plate.

Have you ever had the 'Peasant' meal in Germany? It varies, but almost anywhere you order it, you get what looks like an uncut half-slab of bacon that you just cut up and eat. It looks like, if sliced, it would fry up like bacon. The authentic German restaurants in the U.S. never include that part of the meal.

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

Have you ever had the 'Peasant' meal in Germany? It varies, but almost anywhere you order it, you get what looks like an uncut half-slab of bacon that you just cut up and eat. It looks like, if sliced, it would fry up like bacon. The authentic German restaurants in the U.S. never include that part of the meal.

I have not, but do enjoy most German foods (spatzel, various sausages, kraut, mustard, schnitzel.

 

[AroEnglish]

My man, a long weekend in Frankenmuth with a stop at Birch Run is doable with kids. And you can check out a car race in Clio once they are old enough.

Tony's is known for large portions and breakfast foods. But the hallmark is the BLT with one pound of bacon, where the meaty goodness overflows onto the plate.

I’m on it! Tony's sounds like everything I hope for in a restaurant.

 

[sablebrush52]

On the rare occasion that I essay to include cheese on a burger it's going to be either cheddar, or swiss, and once I tried emmentaler, which was pretty good. American cheese isn't cheese. It's a cheese "product"

Still, American "cheese" with chopped scallions, on Orowheat wheat berry bread, with a slathering of creamy horseradish sauce, quick grilled on a cast iron pan, is pretty good!

On the odd occasion where full rebellion against rigor takes place I hie myself to Jasper's in Medford, where they serve up some intricately tarted up burgers in any of a number of meat choices, elk, buffalo, bison, etc, as well as beef, and enjoy a mini burger orgy... (Yes, I'm aware of the double entendre).

The only other part of the burger conundrum is the bun. Did anyone address the bread at all? Because of the most part it's pretty flavorless, often dry, sometimes crumbly, an insult to bread.

 

[AJL67]

Well back on Keto so no "real" burgers anymore, when i did do burgers it was always bacon, mushroom, swiss burgers if at all possible. If i was doing "fast food" it would be a Carl JRs Six Dollar burger which for my money was the best of the fast food type burgers, sadly they aren't all over the country.

In the old days a Wendy's burger with only extra pickles.

If i do a burger now it's usually just a burger with swiss or cheddar and protein style (iceburg lettuce leaves instead of a bun) but that's pretty rare, if I'm at a pub i just get it without the bun so it's more of a chopped steak deal.

 

[runscott]

The only other part of the burger conundrum is the bun. Did anyone address the bread at all? Because of the most part it's pretty flavorless, often dry, sometimes crumbly, an insult to bread.

It's always a big consideration for me. Today I have small brioche buns for some lesser-grade 80/20 beef. These particular buns will be so great that it still might be just beef and buns burgers. But my go-to is normally higher-end potato buns.

 

[sablebrush52]

The bread gets ignored by the knuckle dragging mouth breathers, and the bread is a major contributor.

In L.A. there is a deli named Langer's, been around for close to 80 years, and has been proclaimed far and wide, by food critics and aficionados, as having the best, no others need bothering to apply, pastrami sandwich in the United States of America.

I've eaten at delis in various cities, including some of NYC's favored places. Their sandwiches are fabulous. But only Langer's make me just smile on the first bite. Can't help myself. The meat is first rate, but that's not what makes the sandwich magic for me. It's the bread. That rye bread is a miracle, great chewy crust, pillowy soft interior, but still firm, no sagging, and a rich flavor that other rye bread I've had can't touch. It's made by a Glatt Kosher bakery in the Fairfax District and it may be the best rye bread made in the United States of America, period.

The texture and flavor that that amazing bread brings to Langer's world famous pastrami sandwiches cannot be overstated.

So if you're not considering the quality of the bread you're using with your burgers or other sandwiches you are selling yourself out and you are settling for mediocrity.

 

[huntertrw]

Do You Prefer Burgers with...​

"I like mine with lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57 and french-fried potatoes, big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer..." - Jimmy Buffett

 

[johnnyflake]

I'll take the Bacon with a small order of fries, no pickles please!

 

[kcghost]

I take mine with Swiss cheese and sauteed mushroom on top of the burger with ketchup, mustard, and a good slab of onion on top of a good bun. Yeah, I know they're not good for me, but I like them this way.

 

[orlandofurioso]

No love for the bacon cheeseburger with egg?

View attachment 304697

Yes

 

[olkofri]

I love bacon but that's totally gross.

Still, if you wanna market it you can call it the Brobs-dingnagian.

 

[RL Bucktails]

I'm going to make some bacon jam for my steakhouse burger recreation.