Burger Theory: Everything I’ve Learned About Making Burgers (at home)

On many trips to the US¹, I’ve had the fortune of sampling some amazing burgers — and in particular, cheeseburgers. In that time I’ve learned that there is much more to a burger than simply sticking a patty between two pieces of bread. But at the same time, a burger can be exactly that.

Ask the denizens of the internet² what a burger is and you’ll get one fundamental answer: that a burger is a patty between two pieces of bread and that everything else is optional and a matter of taste. If you feel like it, go to /r/eatsandwiches and ask if a burger is a sandwich for the squillionth time. (If you really feel like trolling, go to /r/grilledcheese and post anything at all.)

But exactly how you construct that burger — the choice of bread and meat and how you prepare them, plus whatever else you decide to put in the mix — can transform a mundane experience into one that’s superlative.

Because people like to give “recipes” or waffly stories about their grandmother’s cat’s favourite pee patch, I want to instead focus on the core elements of what makes a great burger for those of you who like to think of food in terms of theory, like my article on sandwich theory, here.

I’m not a professional chef or food blogger or whatever. I’m just someone who gets obsessed with certain things and likes to dive deep.

I learned a few interesting things in learning about burgers, like

• The importance of fresh-ground meat of the right fat percentage
• American (processed) cheese is best for cheeseburgers!
• Pros and cons of the “smash” burger (I’m deeply in favour)
• Pickles must be unsweetened
• Tomatogate

There might be more that’s interesting to you — read on and see.

Theoretical Foundations of a Great Burger

A burger is similar to a sandwich (or it is a specialised form of sandwich… or it IS a sandwich). I don’t want to get into that argument, because it’s a huge waste of time, but what I want to get at is that burgers and sandwiches share a theoretical foundation.

In other words, a lot of what makes a great burger is the same as what makes a great sandwich. And they can be ruined in similar ways.

Similar to those of a sandwich, the theoretical foundations of a great burger are:

• High-quality ingredients (particularly the meat and bread). But rather than “quality” in an absolute sense, think of it as intentional ingredients.
• Bread/filling texture and density harmony
• An edible size (not oversized)
• Complementary textures and flavours, e.g. acidity complementing fat, crisp complementing soft
• Sauce as a lubricant (not just flavour) between dry elements (e.g. lettuce)
• Heat and pressure (both when making the patty, wrapping the burger, and compressing when eating)

Where a burger gets narrower in definition than a sandwich is that it’s always based around a meat patty between two buns. Plus some other stuff, I suppose.

A burger is fundamentally composed of three main elements: the meat patty, the bread, and the toppings. Yes, I’m including the toppings, because they’re nearly ubiquitous. Sure, one of you guys is going to tell me that you enjoy just a meat patty between two bits of bread but c’mon. You know most people like sauce, right? Maybe cheese?

The toppings usually include cheese, sauce, and condiments, and they all merit me obsessing over them deeply. Each component of a burger plays a crucial role in the overall flavour, texture, and experience of the party in your mouth into which they’re all invited.

One interesting point about burgers is pressure. I like pressure in sandwiches, but people don’t talk about pressure in burgers. Sure, you press it together when you eat it. But try wrapping a burger in paper — yep, just like in fast food joints — and you might just enhance the experience further.

Bread: Choosing the Right One for a Burger

The bread is critical! I won’t go as far as saying you should bake your own fresh bread rolls or a burger, but you definitely should get fresh bread rolls.

The burger’s bun serves as both the structural foundation and flavour enhancer. Just like in a great sandwich, a burger bun shouldn’t dominate the show in terms of flavour or texture — it should be harmonious with the meat and fillings. Get out of here, ciabatta rolls or too-sweet brioche. I mean you’re great, we love you, but this isn’t your time to shine.

Thus, a bread roll type that best complements a burger should be:

• Soft yet sturdy enough to hold contents (and with a crisp from toasting)
• Subtly flavoured, complementing the patty without overpowering
• Lightly buttered toasted for texture contrast and a moisture barrier

In terms of type of bread — the classic sesame seed bun is a great choice, but people also like potato rolls or brioche (as long as it isn’t too sweet).

Preparing the bun for the burger is crucial. You can enhance the burger experience dramatically by a) lightly buttering the bun and b) grilling it. Get a lightly crispy crunch both creates a moisture barrier between the patty and the bread and gives it an offsetting texture contrast.

Burger Patty Meat Selection and Preparation

Choosing the right meat, preparing it, and grilling it is extremely important for a good burger.

Choosing the Right Meat

The core elements of the meat in a great burger patty are

• Grinding meat as fresh as possible — Preferring this to pre-ground meat
• Keeping a good fat ratio of 15-25% (20% is a happy medium chosen by many)
• Not adding salt to the meat until cooking it (as this draws out moisture from the meat), but seasoning it correctly
• Light to no seasoning before grilling

As for what kind of beef — you can really use any beef in a burger. You can opt for chuck, sirloin, or even brisket for enhanced beefiness. But the fancier meats add to the cost. Burgers are everyday food — there’s an argument for using the cheaper meats.

I’ve personally made burgers using just regular chuck, but ground fresh and using the notes above, and had outstanding burgers. This is my go-to.

How to Form and Cook Burger Patties

The key to forming good burger patties is to:

• Handle minimally to prevent toughness
• Not apply salt in the mixture (apply only to the exterior, and only when cooking)
• Form into ~120-180g (4-6 oz) patties, or half this (60-90g, or 2-3 oz) for smash burgers

Cooking a burger isn’t just about getting it food-safe. The most important part is the Maillard reaction — the reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars on the surface that gives a burger (or breads, toasted marshmallows, fried dumplings etc.) a sweet, crunchy crust. It’s different from caramelization, which is a transformation of sugars. But both often happen at the same time.

The word “Maillard” is French (named after a French chemist), by the way, and is pronounced “ma-YARD”. Just in case you thought you pronounce the “l”s.

The Maillard reaction on a burger is part of the reason why smash burgers are so popular. Twice the patties means four times the surface area. Plus, smashing them down maximises contact between the meat and the pan, increasing the crust even more!

The Maillard reaction, crucial for flavour development, occurs between 140-170 degrees Celsius (285 to 350 F). But when you put patties on a pan, you cool the pan instantly, so you need to start at hotter than 140 — think closer to 200. The long and short of it is you need a very hot surface. This means you need a hot stove and a steel or iron griddle or pan.

Core Principles for Cooking Burgers

These are adapted from Serious Eats.

Firstly, you need a steel / cast iron skillet or grill and a scraper or steel egg lift. You should preheat your skillet for around five minutes on medium heat — doesn’t have to be high. But it has to be preheated.

If you’re smashing, use a smasher with non-stick paper (e.g. grease/wax paper used for baking), or do what I do – use the bottom of a pot or any flat surface. It doesn’t matter — the greaseproof paper shields it anyway.

You do use oil on the skillet, but a minimal amount, distributed evenly with a paper towel.

The scraper is also critical because you want to make sure you’re picking up the crust. The crust is critical in a burger.

Second, season the meat portions with salt and pepper just after smashing. You can also do it just before, but I like to smash then season.

Don’t season earlier, though. Salt draws out moisture.

Some people like complicated seasonings and spices in burgers — but traditionalists don’t. Anyway, it’s good to start with the basics and expand later.

Thirdly, if you’re smashing, smash early — finish smashing within the first 30 seconds. Beyond that and you’ll be squeezing out juices (melted fats), ruining the texture of the burger. (This is why some people are against smashing in the first place).

As for cook time — cook it until a thick brown crust develops.

Add cheese after you’ve flipped it the first time, and let it melt over. (See notes below on the right kind of cheese to use.)

Other Seasoning in Burgers

While I think a burger is best when it showcases the flavour of the beef, I do see the advantage of other seasonings in the ground meat:

• Worcestershire sauce: For a dash of umami. Fish sauce also works.
• Mayonnaise on the surface of the patty for added moisture
• Steak spice: I don’t like the stuff (my dad uses it in kebab recipes and that’s enough of that for me), but some people like it.

This isn’t really my bag. But it might be yours.

Condiments for Burgers

Yes, you can limit a burger to be just a patty and bread. But to add a sauce, cheese, and one or two other condiments is extremely common.

The Best Cheeses for Burgers

Far and away, the most widely recommended cheese is “American” cheese. This is also known as “processed cheese” or “burger cheese”.

No, this is not a gourmet cheese. Nor should it be. American cheese melts easily and has a good flavour profile for cheeseburgers.

The thing is, there’s contention about what exactly “American cheese” is. Some think it’s a cheddar, some a processed cheddar, and some think it’s the non-Cheese product that’s in Kraft Singles (a “reconstituted swamp of plastic and milk” per The Guardian).

The cheese you use is really up to you. You can use cheddar or Swiss, for example, or Jack. Just make sure:

1. It’s sliced evenly and thinly enough to melt over the burger, and
2. It’s not a flavour of cheese that will overpower the other ingredients.

Adhere to those two rules and you’ll be cookin’.

Burger Sauces

A sauce on a burger isn’t mandatory for flavour — but I like the way it adds moisture and a bit of contrast with other flavours. For me, it is mandatory.

The most basic sauces are mustard, mayonnaise, or a combination of the both. In my experience, milder mustard work best (again, often known as American mustard) — not hot English mustard — as the latter overpowers the experience a bit (though it is tasty).

Ideally, a sauce for a burger should be balanced with sweet, acidic, and umami notes, and have moderate viscosity so it adheres to the patty.

You can also “spike” mustard sauce with things like

• Finely chopped pickles (1/20th of the mayonnaise volume)
• White sugar (about a 20th of the mayonnaise volume)
• A sprinkling of things like white wine vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, or paprika

The Shake Shack sauce is “mostly mayo, with some ketchup, mustard, a few spices, and pickles blended in”. This sounds a lot like the recipe for this hacked “Special Burger Sauce” recipe.

But I like something like a 2:1:1 mix of mayo, mustard, and ketchup, and I apply it generously.

Other condiments

Condiments add texture, freshness, and flavour contrast. Recommended options:

1. Lettuce: Iceberg or romaine for crunch. Always pat dry.
2. Onion: Thinly sliced red onion or grilled white onion. Quick pickle it if you want to spice things up!
3. Pickles: Thinly sliced burger pickles for acidity and crunch
4. Tomatoes: High-quality, thinly-sliced, seasoned tomatoes (Note, these are controversial — see notes below)

Special note on pickles: Australian pickles (and pickled cucumbers from many other places in the world) tend to be sweetened. I didn’t know this until an American pointed it out to me. These have ruined many a great burger. Buy “Burger” pickles and you’ll get the right flavour.

Apply condiments sparingly to maintain burger stability and prevent flavor overshadowing.

Tomatogate: People are divided on tomatoes! Some love them for the hot/cold contrast, and some hate the texture they introduce and their propensity for inducing bun slippage, claiming they add nothing over the other elements of the burger (the onion and lettuce give hot cold contrast and crunch, the sauce adds sweetness, etc.). I do agree that it’s important tomato be sliced and placed in a way that it doesn’t move around.

If you’re going to use tomatoes in burgers, follow these guidelines:

• Use good tomatoes. Sadly, most modern tomatoes have lost flavour.
• Slice them thinly.
• Remove the liquidy seedy parts if there’s too much
• Salt them to improve the texture and remove moisture

With those guidelines, even if you’re not a tomato fan, the experience should be improved.

“Wait, what about these other toppings?” you cry, listing an unprompted series of mildly surprising nouns.

In many places, I’ve seen burgers with toppings including things like pineapple, beetroot, egg (or all three of the above for the “Aussie” burger), kimchi, soy bean paste, shallots… I mean, the list goes on. None of these is “wrong”. But before perfecting the core of the burger, I’d stay away.

If you force me to editorialise, I find the Aussie burger (with egg, pineapple, and beetroot, among other things) to often be an abomination, an unrehearsed orchestra with all instruments simultaneously blaring. But what I’d instead suggest to most people getting into burgers is to get the core right — the meat and the bread — before going crazy.

Burger Assembly

This section title sounds like a food chain! I’d go somewhere named Burger Assembly…

Assembly or a burger should be straightforward, but in case it’s not, here are some tips.

1. Bread on the outside, meat on the inside (j/k).
2. Think about the “bite”. What do you want your teeth to receive first on either end? I like to put toppings on both the bottom and the top.
3. Layer toppings and sauces if you need to.

For example, you might put lettuce over the base layer of bread, then the burger patty (which has cheese melted onto it), then pickles, the sauce, more lettuce, and the top bun.

Avoid having sauce directly on the bun, and avoid having the patty directly on the bun, too. Aside from that (or even if you do those things, honestly), you’re good to go. It’s hard to go wrong at this point!

The Wrap and Wrap Up

Let’s wrap this up by talking about wrapping a burger.

I love the wrap in a deli sandwich. It compresses it all together, distributes sauces, and makes the final product easier to eat.

I’ve found many burgers don’t “sit” right. You have to compress them with your hands before you can eat it. But the problem with compressing with your hands is that sometimes things slip out… look, we’re not perfect, and assembling a burger made of differently sized ingredients is hard. The tomato might move, as might the sauce… you get the idea.

So, consider wrapping a burger in food-safe paper before presenting it.

References

1. Yes, they make good burgers everywhere. But America is special in that you can roll in to any diner and ask for a burger and be impressed with what’s served up. That said, I’ve had good burgers in France and Australia, and I’m sure they’re available everywhere — just not as ubiquitously. ↩︎
2. See this post on r/AskAnAmerican, for example. “A burger is a sandwich but not all sandwiches are burgers”. ↩︎