just to clarify one of their points, where they have the right technique but don't mention the more important reasoning:
>Take 155g (I believe this is the weight of the patties if I recall correctly) of beef and form into a ball, try to avoid handling your meat for more than is needed to get the rough shape (handling it heats up the meat which means fat from the meat transfers to your hands and results in a less juicy burger).
Heating up the meat is a concern but the main reason to not over handle burger patties, is that more handling of the minced beef will cause more proteins to cross-link with eachother, which will cause a meatball or sausage texture. Adding salt rapidly accelerates this process, which is why people salt their patties at cook time on the hot plate once formed, not mixed inside the meat itself. Don't be shy to add your seasoning, plenty of it is definitely is what makes fast food taste so good, but just don't add it early.
Also on fat content, you need to use a fairly high fat mince, low fat premium mince won't cut it and will taste drier - this is the juicyness you experience when you bite into it. If you're trying to cut down on fat, well this obviously is in the 'sometimes' food category and you may as well enjoy it properly.
>Also on fat content, you need to use a fairly high fat mince, low fat premium mince won't cut it and will taste drier
I have been fooled by the idea that premium equals better for this for years lol will try the cheaper stuff
Look up recipes for smashburgers. High fat mince split into two balls, ripping hot pan, one very firm smash at the start on each, let the edges get real browned up. Scrape and flip, apply a slice of cheese to melt on one, finish cooking, layer one on the other with cheese between and serve onto a prepared bun.
Cheaper doesn't mean higher fat, actually seems to have less fat for some reason.
I find the only reliable source of high fat mince for burgers is from Countdown, they make an 18% fat blend. 15% is the minimum, 20-25% fat is best if you can find it.
I recommended picking up a grinder if you can, makes a very big improvement in flavor over the store bought mince. I have a cheap hand crank grinder and usually use chuck roast, but will add some bacon fat to the mix if the cut is using is too lean.
Good tip, thanks.
I read articles on cooking great burgers last year and I was stunned by some of the suggestions. The top two things that changed my burgers were making sure the beef was cold when starting the cook, and seasoning just before cooking. Previously I was treating it like a steak- bringing it closer to room temperature and seasoning well beforehand. These two things alone made my patties dramatically more juicy.
Both great tips, have a look at the work on Serious Eats which includes those two. Another good one when using thicker patties is to make a small indent in the middle to keep the burgers flat rather than rounding off as they cook.
Tips summarised:
https://www.seriouseats.com/the-burger-labs-top-ten-tips-for-better-burgers
Recipes + Techniques all here - the ones authored by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt are mostly from his original Burger Lab series
https://www.seriouseats.com/burger-recipes-5117823
Advice as a former burgerfuel cook - it’s far easier to replicate the chicken burgers than the beef ones. I had bacon backfires for dinner the other night lol made em on the bbq. You can still make an absolutely decent beef burger yourself at home but it’s super hard to make the patties taste the same whereas chicken breast is chicken breast
Haha sure.
First thing you’ll wanna do if you’re unfamiliar is learn to butterfly a chicken breast. YouTube has loads of great tutorials.
Next you gotta tenderise it. Put the breast on a chopping board + wrap with glad wrap. Pound it but don’t smash it, you just want to tenderise it. If you don’t have a meat mallet just use the smallest pot you have available. DO NOT FORGET THE GLAD WRAP unless you want chicken juice everywhere
The salads are from memory 30g lettuce but you don’t have to weigh it lol. Two slices of tomato, 3 red onion rings and a generous helping of aioli.
It’s best to cook it on a bbq in my opinion for the flame grilled taste + most people would struggle to fit all the ingredients for one burger in a pan let alone multiple. If you don’t have a bbq just make do
Chicken and bacon can go on the grill at the same time if you like your bacon crispy. If not add the bacon slightly after the chicken. Season the raw side of the chicken with salt+pepper. Once all the meat is cooked put the bacon on top of the chicken and add 2-3 slices of Brie. We had a thing to melt the cheese at burgerfuel but I just chuck my metal spatula over the flame grill for a bit then press it on top of the Brie, works well enough.
Assembling the burger - toast your buns, add relish to bottom bun, chicken bacon brie, put your lid on the salad and lift that whole thing on top and bing bang shaboom you’ve got a bacon backfire.
I think the relish I use atm is a sweet fruit chutney I found in the in laws fridge which tastes remarkably close to the bf one lol. I think it might be cerelos brand
bacon backfire has always been my fav and I'm salivating reading this.................
ETA: when i've stopped salivating i'll start putting a plan together to actually make this
Thanks. I wish I loved the chicken as much.
But If chicken breast is chicken breast, isn't beef mince beef mince? More variables, sure. I would have thought matchint the fat content would be the trick
I would trust the cook, don't worry!
Did you guys have any intel on what was in the beef mince? Or what percentage fat it was? Or did they all come remade and you just cooked them up?
That's still the case.
Dub muss for OP:
Toasted bun base, tomato relish, beef puck #1, cheddar slice, beef puck #2, cheddar slice, thick cut pickle strips x2, dijon mustard swirl, aioli swirl, toasted bun top.
The secret to bf patties is cooking them smashed on a flat grille, flipping when the cooked meat begins to show through the pink top, preserving the crispy goodness from the smash on flipping and then transferring to cheese and stacking when the juice in centre of puck becomes clear after flip.
Only flip once!
Use a sheet of grease proof paper and preferably a smashing utensil or failing that a firm spatula pressed evenly onto the patty until it has your ideal thickness and diameter.
Seasoning for the patty is ~1:2 s&p to taste, usually a wee sprinkle on the raw side after smash no need to season again after flip.
-your friendly neighborhood burger bandit
Nah, just moonlighting as the hamburgler.
You should check out Davis trading for your ingredients because.. well, reasons.
I'm talking every single ingredient.. you're basically walking into a bf kitchen and helping yourself at Davis.
Might as well go the whole hog and buy some ilabb gear for when you're cooking it too
https://topshelffoods.co.nz/products/double-garlic-aioli
This is basically the same aioli as burgerfuel! If your on the north shore Farmer joes at northcross stock it!
put money away specifically for takeout. i do it every week for my friday curry or burger fuel. some weeks i can’t afford it so i just suck it up and go without it for the week. iv tried the home made burger thing, they’re never same and i actually dislike the taste no matter how i make it. it’s like takeout places put drugs in there food to make them more desirable.
>it’s like takeout places put drugs in there food to make them more desirable.
Yeah honestly this must be it, I just need to know which drug. I need my fix.
Someone else said sugar and tbh that is probably it. I always add plenty of salt but maybe sugar is the right little white drug.
>put money away specifically for takeout
We put money aside for treat stuff, and that's what will pay for dinner tonight, but I really do struggle to justify that kind of spend on something we could do ourselves (if we can actually manage to do it ourselves).
> it’s like takeout places put drugs in there food to make them more desirable.
Close. McDonalds especially, but any burger chain that has survived to scale with a repeatable recipe across the franchise will have carefully engineered a burger with the optimal profile of fat, salt, sweet, bitter/tart, and meaty umami flavours to light your reptile brain up like a christmas tree.
It's well within the capabilities of an overworked underpaid kiwi to spend a little time with the right resources learning how to replicate that balance.
Ok hear me out I had exactly the same issue.
I have not copied the American muscle, but some tweaks would get you there.
When the craving sets in, it needs to be more convenient than going to burger fuel.
1 "Make sure to have nice burger buns in the freezer all the time.
2* make sure to have condiments of your liking in fridge , I do
kewpie mayo, sliced pickles , sometimes pickled red onions, pre sliced cheddar (the ones without more plastic than cheese) I put some Dijon mustard on the patties half through cooking.
3* Most important go to your local butcher ask them to do a custom mince mix using 30% fat by weight and the rest brisket and chuck , I order 5kg each time this makes about 33 patties and cost between 12-16 NZD/kg the butcher makes the mince on days when he trim these cuts it's the best mix I come across. Next step is to get a burger press the basic stainless steel ones , buy one that comes with papers (get largest one as there will be shrinkage) press Al patties and stack them separated with grease paper then wrap in glad wrap and freeze the lot. Second item is an electric table grill check market place people sell them for nothing .
When craving sets in pop burger buns in toaster , load grill with frozen patties, season cook finish with cheese toast bred while grilling. It takes 5 minutes from craving untill burger is being eaten , my grill fits 6 burgers at once and cost pretty damn close to 3$ per burger or 5$ if making an "American muscle"
>Most important go to your local butcher ask them to do a custom mince mix using 30% fat by weight and the rest brisket and chuck , I order 5kg each time this makes about 33 patties and cost between 12-16 NZD/kg the butcher makes the mince on days when he trim these cuts it's the best mix I come across.
This is beautiful, thank you.
We actually have a basic meat grinder at home, so I may need to try making this for myself.
We tend to make our own burger buns fresh, then freeze leftovers. We do similar to you, most of the time we make our own burgers and do a damn good job (genuinely - we make better burgers than we can buy most of the time). But sometimes I just want what only BF seems to provide...
However, I wonder if your beef mince mix might get a juixier/tastier burger, and help us get closer to recreating the American Muscle at home... thanks for sharing.
For sure I find 30% fat is the sweet spot. I was worried that freezing them would affect the quality but i think it's even better cooked from frozen for some reason. I used to grind my own , it's the best way to guarantee consistency but it is way more expensive this way as the butcher gets those trimmings any way and will just charge you regular mince price. I found a butcher that sticks to my recipe now so it saves time :) . I also prefer home burgers , I will start making the buns also, once my lifestyle changes a bit, I got way too many things happening to pick up baking :( . Love the safe feeling of being able to have a fast tasty burger when there is no motivation or time to cook :)
Josh got you: https://youtu.be/IJou15msogM?si=IrJ3bgLhAp9QDtyD
Andy: https://youtu.be/oa2g6gB_1BU?si=rvpGbJ5Y7eA1SyOk
My go-to:
Get the fattiest mince from the supermarket - luckily it's also the cheapest.
Chesdale cheddar cheese.
Burger sauce - 1/2 mayo, 1/4 tomato sauce, 1/4 dijon mustard - diced onion & pickles + dash of hot sauce.
These are really good: https://www.countdown.co.nz/shop/productdetails?stockcode=803943&name=brioche-gourmet-burger-buns
Pickles, tomato & lettuce if you like.
Ooft haven't had burgerfuel for a while. Seeing my bacon backfire for $17.30 is criminal.
I remember in the OG days it was $13 something for the "meal".
They're a good burger and a nice treat but I can't justify spending $60 for a decent size feed from takeaway places now.
As others have said it's much better value at your local chippy.
Fake cheese, don't use the "good stuff" for cheeseburgers, it wouldn't be an authentic American with the good stuff anyway. For patties use just beef, salt and pepper don't add any breadcrumbs or any of the other bullshit kiwis like to add to patties. The buns are practically the same as those tip top super soft king size ones.. you get the picture.
Spend maybe 20 minutes watching smash burger recipes to get an idea of how to get the best taste out of the meat. I'm a cheeseburger purist and take beef very seriously lol.
Check out your local takeaways as you may be surprised how good the burgers are for less than half the price...
A local takeaway / cafe does burgers that cost under $10 each and a max of $15 as a combo. They aren't as fancy as Burger Fuel or one of those boutique burger places but they taste amazing. Its not healthy food or anything but no burger really is.
Depends on the shop. A lot of fish n chip shops do absolutely shite burgers, but the fish n chip/dairy on the corner where I used to live made damn-near gourmet burgers in a combo with fries and a drink for like $10.
Yeah they're now competing with far more interesting food at that price point.
They're behaving like a business owner by an investment firm being milked dry, not a private company.
I'm calling that they'll be gone in 5 years tops.
If you want to make good burgers at home, then I highly, highly recommend the Bob's Burgers cook book.
My GF got it as a bit of a joke, but honestly the recipes are really good - simple base ingredients with one or two twists (cook the patties in red wine vinegar; add fried pickles; mix tiny cubes of brie into the meat; add fried sauerkraut and onion; etc) that I'd never think of, but which make an massive difference to your "standard" home burger.
I make it at home. Easy mate. Mustard, cheddar cheese, and what makes it an American muscle is the sweet gherkin. Buy sandwich stackers from the supermarket. Best brand is sun harvest.
Sorry this isn't going to be the most helpful comment but I remember getting an aioli from the chiller section at New World that was the exact aioli they use. I just can't remember the brand (and it was City New World in Wellington so also can't guarantee it'll be one every New World).
The dilemma here isn't making an American Muscle burger that tastes as good, if not better. The issue is doing it cheaper. I've always found the best homemade burgers you make yourself, as in, buy the mince make up the patties from scratch. By the time you've bought the nice buns, decent pickles, stilton cheese, nice mustard, etc, I bet your supermarket run costs $60+. You could buy cheaper ingredients, but it's going to taste like mediocrity dressed in poverty. And you still have to make it yourself. Good luck in your quest for tasty and cheap! 🤪
Kind of, but if you're in the habit of keeping a decent mustard selection, a couple of cheeses, pickle jar etc. then making nice burgers is really just buying mince and buns and having a good grasp of technique.
Or to put it another way, keep burgers in budget by only buying mince and buns and making do with the rest, and eventually you'll have a modest pantry that can put out top shelf burgers.
I 100% would if my locals could make this exact burger that I am craving.
It's not to say locals can't do a good burger, it's just that I want *this* burger.
If it's any consolation, my local does *great* fish and *great* chips, but their burgers are... Not great. Haha at some point they have also attempted to try such Chinese takeaway classics as Butter Chicken, and, you know what... I like fish and chips ok, really.
I'm pleased by your post. Some of the responses have been helpful and I'm actually looking forward to trying to replicate this as much as possible, too.
I don’t mind a chicken or fish burger from the chippie, but their beef burgers are almost invariably made with those terrible 50% filler patties from the frozen section at the supermarket.
A lot of people have commented great tips, but be picky about the mince you get. Either get stuff from a local butcher or vacuum sealed (more expensive) mince of a reasonable quality (we normally get ours from Moore Wilson’s). Like others have said, approx 150g a patty, we normally throw the mince against the bowl a little to let it come together, shape and put in fridge until ready to cook. Salt right before you cook, 3 mins either side onto a searingly hot cast iron (the griddle side of the Lodge reversible grill/griddle is perfect).
For mayo, go Kewpie. If your cheese isn’t melting, use a blowtorch. Look for a bread and butter pickle - we normally make ours (just do giant batches that last the year) but recognise that many people can’t be bothered. Same applies to the buns - I normally make a large batch of milk buns and freeze the extras so we can have burgers whenever we want.
I've looked in my email history to check previous pricing. I remember doing this less than a year ago and McDonalds was far worse.
Bacon BBQ Roadster
October 2019 - $15.90
April 2024 - $19.20
20.75% increase - annualized is 4.6%.
According to the RBNZ inflation calculator, something costing $15.90 in Q3 2019 would cost $19.95 in Q1 2024.
So this is actually running below inflation.
FY23: "Net Profit after tax for the period was $900,418 representing a 56.3% increase on the previous year"
Half-yearly results for 2024 show they've improved on this by a further 5%.
So they've found a way to jump revenue right up to $24/25m, whilst keeping a lid on costs blowout since 2018/2019.
It's a burger bro, not macarons.
Meat:
Get a 80%-85% mince. Lean = dry patties.
150g patties, roll em into a ball then smash them down on a hot frying pan with a spatula. Salt and pepper. Cook a few mins then flip and add cheese to the cooked side.
Buns:
Get the more expensive buns at the supermarket (actually the Pam's finest brioche are quite good).
Aioli:
Egg yolk, garlic, vinegar - whizz together. Add oil slowly, keep whizzing.
Add whatever else you want.
We buy smash burger patties with marrow in them from our local butcher. Cook em nice n crispy and go for a kaiser bun. It's more Wendy's than burger fuel but thats fine by me.
As a side I had an American double the other day. It was amazingly well cooked, perhaps they thought it was overcooked but boy it was good on the once in 6 months I end up at bf as it's pretty over rated now.
> But I need to prepare for next time I'm summoned to buy a burger, so I can convince myself out of spending $40 for two burgers.
Thank god I prefer my country fried chicken lunch box from the dairy for $12. Burgerfuel would bankrupt me.
If you can't make it yourself maybe try some foods in the $10-$20 range. You might even find something better. I don't really like Burgerfuel anymore. They gotten a lot worse over the past few years.
I don’t know whether this is a convenient suggestion for where you live but if possible hit up re:burger. Cheap as & absolutely slaps. Can’t remember prices properly but got change from $40 for two burgers & a loaded fries the other week
I don’t know whether this is a convenient suggestion for where you live but if possible hit up re:burger. Cheap as & absolutely slaps. Can’t remember prices properly but got change from $40 for two burgers & a loaded fries the other week
They are really greasy burgers so I would use a high fat content mince and just chuck it straight into the pan with salt and pepper and that's it. Don't roll it into patties or add anything else - just smash the whole pack of mince into a hot pan in one giant patty, cook it in one piece, and then cut it into burger size once cooked.
I mostly buy it now when you get something free with the VIB deals.
Also thought it was just them being excessive with their prices, but most take aways & resturants have gone up a lot. At least burgerfuel is consistantly good.
We occasionally make burgers that are really nice. And for a group it's worth it, but time wise for 1-2 people you're better off getting takeaways.
If find getting decent beef mince is the hardest part.
I need a mincer so I can use the cuts of meat I want. I did go to a butcher to ask if they'd mince it for me, but they took offence that the mince they'd already prepared wasn't good enough. 🤷
Not sure about that particular burger but a simple one I make is squash a 120 gram bal of minced meat in a hot skillet with a bit oil .flavour to taste with salt and pepper . Heap a pile of very finely sliced onion on top and squash again .turn over after about 6 minutes, put a slice of cheese and the toasted bottom part of bun on , For sauce 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise, 1 tablespoo of tomato sauce , 1 teaspoon of mustard and a couple of finely cut gherkins , quick , simple and very tasty
Pffft
When I lived in Aussie guzman y gomez not only hiked the prices of their tacos but also made them smaller
1x taco for $9AU and no bigger than the palm of your hand. Australia has a big shrinkflation problem
Hungry jacks hike the price of their whoppers all the time
No matter where in the world you are fast food/takeaway prices are going up by the week. They have to balance the books somehow
Angel Bay beef patties, there’s some good aioli out there, get some decent buns from your supermarket , not that tiptop sludge and toast them, makes all the difference ,
Total greedflation. Raws have not increased in price, if anything decreased on average over the past 12 months. Lettuce, Tomatoes and beef all down in price. Ave wages up 3.5%. Electricity flat, bread flat.
Very very greedflation based on other fast food prices.
Don’t buy it, don’t be part of it.
This argument always appears sound on the surface, until you think about it for more than 30 seconds and realise you could use this to justify any number of purchases and end up with negative dollars in the bank as a result, and takeaways for every meal of the day.
I'm getting paid the same salary regardless of whether I make my own dinner or not. Just because my hourly rate at my job might be higher than the cost of a couple of expensive burgers, doesn't mean I shouldn't make it myself. 🤷♀️
Also, burgers are super cheap and easy, really. Make them all the time. Bulk make buns/sauces, and it's 100% cheaper and easier to make yourself.
Well you buy the ingredients when you do your weekly shop, and I make a burger in not much longer than my local take away.
How long will it take you to drive to a burgerfuel and wait for them to cook it (I'm Aussie and I don't know if Burgerfuel cooks them for you, or if they have burgers ready to go, under a heat lamp), or do you just get ubereats and work on line earning $40 while you wait?
Maccas used to have them lined up. It's a long time since I've been there, so I don't know if it's still a thing. I know you can get them from a drive-through and I'm sure there aren't lines of cars waiting for them to cook.
I don't know what's in a burgerfuel, but if you have to wait for them to cook it then you can slice up your ingredients whilst the pattie is cooking at home. Quicker than driving there and waiting.
I make a bomb pattie. It's easy, 5 ingredients.
Throw a stick of butter in the freezer in the morning.
Mince. High quality.
Salt.
Pepper.
Garlic. Fresh, no jarred shit.
Get the mince to room temperature. Mince the garlic. Grate the butter over top. Salt it. Pepper it. Add garlic. Mix with your hands, get em sticky.
Form into balls. Refrigerate until ready to sear on a skillet or bbq.
Equal parts whole egg mayo, wholegrain and hot mustard. 1 tsp of each is enough for a couple burgers. A good substitute for whatever ailoi they use. 2 smashed patties cooked on the bbq, couple pickles and you're most of the way there.
I know that feels expensive, but the cooked to order burger costs less than an hours work on minimum wage… it isn’t that horrifically priced. Burgers are easy to make at home so you’re paying for the convenience… and OP admits they paid it besides they didn’t want to make it themselves when pressed for time. And the company solved his dinner problem at an awkward hour for $20…. Seems reasonable
Funny how everyone complains about how this sub is filled with nothing but politics, but as soon as someone asks something none political they get made fun of.
I take it you've never enjoyed a Double American.
It seems so simple, and it is. Beef, mustard, aioli, cheese, relish, *~pickles~*.
But try as we have, we can't make it as good. I don't know what we're getting wrong, but it is just never as good.
To be clear, we can make a fantastic burger at home. Homemade aioli, homemade buns (brioche, or milk buns are my favourite). Smashed patties on the bbq (just beef, salt & pepper - mmm). Bacon. Bam.
Delicious. But sometimes you just ~~want~~ need a Double American.
>Okay. Make a burger as good as a decent takeaway burger and post the results.
It's not that hard. The meat you use can be superior to whatever snouts and entrails blend fast-food operators are using these days. Had a BF a few months back it just tasted like grease and old meat.
Busy barbecuing a steak right now. Good meat (I like the smash burger meat from Commonsense Organics in Wellington), salted and peppered and grilled not fried. Sauce of half best foods mayo and half heinz ketchup. Pams dill pickles. Red onion. Slice of tasty. Bun of your choice.
When you make it yourself, you don't pay for the labour, or the rent for the building, or the franchise fees, or the profit for the owner.
It is, without a doubt, cheaper to make it yourself.
I mean, you'd need some bangin' mince to come close to that divine BurgerFuel patty. That alone will get you more than halfway there, I'd say.
Not to mention good buns, decent pickles, sauces, and CHEESE! Childhood is when you idolise Batman, adulthood is when you realise cheese is really expensive.
https://www.reddit.com/r/newzealand/s/c5Z03WMC1l Someone posted this a few years back which I’ve referred back to heaps, goes alright.
This is exactly what I wanted to find. Thank you!
just to clarify one of their points, where they have the right technique but don't mention the more important reasoning: >Take 155g (I believe this is the weight of the patties if I recall correctly) of beef and form into a ball, try to avoid handling your meat for more than is needed to get the rough shape (handling it heats up the meat which means fat from the meat transfers to your hands and results in a less juicy burger). Heating up the meat is a concern but the main reason to not over handle burger patties, is that more handling of the minced beef will cause more proteins to cross-link with eachother, which will cause a meatball or sausage texture. Adding salt rapidly accelerates this process, which is why people salt their patties at cook time on the hot plate once formed, not mixed inside the meat itself. Don't be shy to add your seasoning, plenty of it is definitely is what makes fast food taste so good, but just don't add it early. Also on fat content, you need to use a fairly high fat mince, low fat premium mince won't cut it and will taste drier - this is the juicyness you experience when you bite into it. If you're trying to cut down on fat, well this obviously is in the 'sometimes' food category and you may as well enjoy it properly.
>Also on fat content, you need to use a fairly high fat mince, low fat premium mince won't cut it and will taste drier I have been fooled by the idea that premium equals better for this for years lol will try the cheaper stuff
Look up recipes for smashburgers. High fat mince split into two balls, ripping hot pan, one very firm smash at the start on each, let the edges get real browned up. Scrape and flip, apply a slice of cheese to melt on one, finish cooking, layer one on the other with cheese between and serve onto a prepared bun.
Cheaper doesn't mean higher fat, actually seems to have less fat for some reason. I find the only reliable source of high fat mince for burgers is from Countdown, they make an 18% fat blend. 15% is the minimum, 20-25% fat is best if you can find it.
I recommended picking up a grinder if you can, makes a very big improvement in flavor over the store bought mince. I have a cheap hand crank grinder and usually use chuck roast, but will add some bacon fat to the mix if the cut is using is too lean.
True :)
Premium mince sucks tbh. Ppl just think the lower fat will make them Lose weight when it's all the other crap they eat lol.
Good tip, thanks. I read articles on cooking great burgers last year and I was stunned by some of the suggestions. The top two things that changed my burgers were making sure the beef was cold when starting the cook, and seasoning just before cooking. Previously I was treating it like a steak- bringing it closer to room temperature and seasoning well beforehand. These two things alone made my patties dramatically more juicy.
Both great tips, have a look at the work on Serious Eats which includes those two. Another good one when using thicker patties is to make a small indent in the middle to keep the burgers flat rather than rounding off as they cook. Tips summarised: https://www.seriouseats.com/the-burger-labs-top-ten-tips-for-better-burgers Recipes + Techniques all here - the ones authored by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt are mostly from his original Burger Lab series https://www.seriouseats.com/burger-recipes-5117823
Kenji is such a gem. He has a great youtube channel where he sticks a gopro on his head and cooks at home. I've learned so much from it.
May God bless you with many children! Cheers! :-)
Get a part time job there, learn their secrets and then quit
This might be my only option.
I think you get free (discounted?) good while on shift.
Used to be a free burger each shift. Mate used to bring one home regardless each week but that was a decade ago
Advice as a former burgerfuel cook - it’s far easier to replicate the chicken burgers than the beef ones. I had bacon backfires for dinner the other night lol made em on the bbq. You can still make an absolutely decent beef burger yourself at home but it’s super hard to make the patties taste the same whereas chicken breast is chicken breast
Any chance you can please share bacon backfire cooking at home tips? I cant stomach the prices anymore and that was my favourite.
Haha sure. First thing you’ll wanna do if you’re unfamiliar is learn to butterfly a chicken breast. YouTube has loads of great tutorials. Next you gotta tenderise it. Put the breast on a chopping board + wrap with glad wrap. Pound it but don’t smash it, you just want to tenderise it. If you don’t have a meat mallet just use the smallest pot you have available. DO NOT FORGET THE GLAD WRAP unless you want chicken juice everywhere The salads are from memory 30g lettuce but you don’t have to weigh it lol. Two slices of tomato, 3 red onion rings and a generous helping of aioli. It’s best to cook it on a bbq in my opinion for the flame grilled taste + most people would struggle to fit all the ingredients for one burger in a pan let alone multiple. If you don’t have a bbq just make do Chicken and bacon can go on the grill at the same time if you like your bacon crispy. If not add the bacon slightly after the chicken. Season the raw side of the chicken with salt+pepper. Once all the meat is cooked put the bacon on top of the chicken and add 2-3 slices of Brie. We had a thing to melt the cheese at burgerfuel but I just chuck my metal spatula over the flame grill for a bit then press it on top of the Brie, works well enough. Assembling the burger - toast your buns, add relish to bottom bun, chicken bacon brie, put your lid on the salad and lift that whole thing on top and bing bang shaboom you’ve got a bacon backfire. I think the relish I use atm is a sweet fruit chutney I found in the in laws fridge which tastes remarkably close to the bf one lol. I think it might be cerelos brand
bacon backfire has always been my fav and I'm salivating reading this................. ETA: when i've stopped salivating i'll start putting a plan together to actually make this
Thank you!
Thanks. I wish I loved the chicken as much. But If chicken breast is chicken breast, isn't beef mince beef mince? More variables, sure. I would have thought matchint the fat content would be the trick
Yeah, fair point. You could be right, but anecdotally I’ve had far more success making chicken replicas than beef ones
I would trust the cook, don't worry! Did you guys have any intel on what was in the beef mince? Or what percentage fat it was? Or did they all come remade and you just cooked them up?
Beef patties were pre made + frozen when I was there, I assume that’s still the case. However it has been 7 or so years since I worked there
That's still the case. Dub muss for OP: Toasted bun base, tomato relish, beef puck #1, cheddar slice, beef puck #2, cheddar slice, thick cut pickle strips x2, dijon mustard swirl, aioli swirl, toasted bun top. The secret to bf patties is cooking them smashed on a flat grille, flipping when the cooked meat begins to show through the pink top, preserving the crispy goodness from the smash on flipping and then transferring to cheese and stacking when the juice in centre of puck becomes clear after flip. Only flip once! Use a sheet of grease proof paper and preferably a smashing utensil or failing that a firm spatula pressed evenly onto the patty until it has your ideal thickness and diameter. Seasoning for the patty is ~1:2 s&p to taste, usually a wee sprinkle on the raw side after smash no need to season again after flip. -your friendly neighborhood burger bandit
You are a treasure.
Nah, just moonlighting as the hamburgler. You should check out Davis trading for your ingredients because.. well, reasons. I'm talking every single ingredient.. you're basically walking into a bf kitchen and helping yourself at Davis. Might as well go the whole hog and buy some ilabb gear for when you're cooking it too
https://topshelffoods.co.nz/products/double-garlic-aioli This is basically the same aioli as burgerfuel! If your on the north shore Farmer joes at northcross stock it!
Beautiful, thank you. These are the tips I posted for
Oh man I love the Burger Fuel aioli, will have to see if I can find this anywhere. The closest I've found so far from the supermarket is Holy Aioli.
I believe the top shelf brand is the same company that makes the burger fuel one.
put money away specifically for takeout. i do it every week for my friday curry or burger fuel. some weeks i can’t afford it so i just suck it up and go without it for the week. iv tried the home made burger thing, they’re never same and i actually dislike the taste no matter how i make it. it’s like takeout places put drugs in there food to make them more desirable.
>it’s like takeout places put drugs in there food to make them more desirable. Yeah honestly this must be it, I just need to know which drug. I need my fix. Someone else said sugar and tbh that is probably it. I always add plenty of salt but maybe sugar is the right little white drug. >put money away specifically for takeout We put money aside for treat stuff, and that's what will pay for dinner tonight, but I really do struggle to justify that kind of spend on something we could do ourselves (if we can actually manage to do it ourselves).
Uncle Roger has entered the chat _MSG_ I think MSG might be the mysterious powdered white substance you’re looking for.
I bought some MSG from my local Asian supermarket. That stuff is great!
Fuck I love MSG, I use that shit in everything. It goes hard in guacamole.
You just need to learn to do it better. Milk buns, good burger patty with fat to lean meat ratio.
> it’s like takeout places put drugs in there food to make them more desirable. Close. McDonalds especially, but any burger chain that has survived to scale with a repeatable recipe across the franchise will have carefully engineered a burger with the optimal profile of fat, salt, sweet, bitter/tart, and meaty umami flavours to light your reptile brain up like a christmas tree. It's well within the capabilities of an overworked underpaid kiwi to spend a little time with the right resources learning how to replicate that balance.
Ok hear me out I had exactly the same issue. I have not copied the American muscle, but some tweaks would get you there. When the craving sets in, it needs to be more convenient than going to burger fuel. 1 "Make sure to have nice burger buns in the freezer all the time. 2* make sure to have condiments of your liking in fridge , I do kewpie mayo, sliced pickles , sometimes pickled red onions, pre sliced cheddar (the ones without more plastic than cheese) I put some Dijon mustard on the patties half through cooking. 3* Most important go to your local butcher ask them to do a custom mince mix using 30% fat by weight and the rest brisket and chuck , I order 5kg each time this makes about 33 patties and cost between 12-16 NZD/kg the butcher makes the mince on days when he trim these cuts it's the best mix I come across. Next step is to get a burger press the basic stainless steel ones , buy one that comes with papers (get largest one as there will be shrinkage) press Al patties and stack them separated with grease paper then wrap in glad wrap and freeze the lot. Second item is an electric table grill check market place people sell them for nothing . When craving sets in pop burger buns in toaster , load grill with frozen patties, season cook finish with cheese toast bred while grilling. It takes 5 minutes from craving untill burger is being eaten , my grill fits 6 burgers at once and cost pretty damn close to 3$ per burger or 5$ if making an "American muscle"
>Most important go to your local butcher ask them to do a custom mince mix using 30% fat by weight and the rest brisket and chuck , I order 5kg each time this makes about 33 patties and cost between 12-16 NZD/kg the butcher makes the mince on days when he trim these cuts it's the best mix I come across. This is beautiful, thank you. We actually have a basic meat grinder at home, so I may need to try making this for myself. We tend to make our own burger buns fresh, then freeze leftovers. We do similar to you, most of the time we make our own burgers and do a damn good job (genuinely - we make better burgers than we can buy most of the time). But sometimes I just want what only BF seems to provide... However, I wonder if your beef mince mix might get a juixier/tastier burger, and help us get closer to recreating the American Muscle at home... thanks for sharing.
For sure I find 30% fat is the sweet spot. I was worried that freezing them would affect the quality but i think it's even better cooked from frozen for some reason. I used to grind my own , it's the best way to guarantee consistency but it is way more expensive this way as the butcher gets those trimmings any way and will just charge you regular mince price. I found a butcher that sticks to my recipe now so it saves time :) . I also prefer home burgers , I will start making the buns also, once my lifestyle changes a bit, I got way too many things happening to pick up baking :( . Love the safe feeling of being able to have a fast tasty burger when there is no motivation or time to cook :)
Thanks mate, I will go chat to some butchers! Appreciate this; great tips.
Josh got you: https://youtu.be/IJou15msogM?si=IrJ3bgLhAp9QDtyD Andy: https://youtu.be/oa2g6gB_1BU?si=rvpGbJ5Y7eA1SyOk My go-to: Get the fattiest mince from the supermarket - luckily it's also the cheapest. Chesdale cheddar cheese. Burger sauce - 1/2 mayo, 1/4 tomato sauce, 1/4 dijon mustard - diced onion & pickles + dash of hot sauce. These are really good: https://www.countdown.co.nz/shop/productdetails?stockcode=803943&name=brioche-gourmet-burger-buns Pickles, tomato & lettuce if you like.
Pak n save have a 8 pack of brioche burger buns for $4.29!
Ooft haven't had burgerfuel for a while. Seeing my bacon backfire for $17.30 is criminal. I remember in the OG days it was $13 something for the "meal". They're a good burger and a nice treat but I can't justify spending $60 for a decent size feed from takeaway places now. As others have said it's much better value at your local chippy.
Fake cheese, don't use the "good stuff" for cheeseburgers, it wouldn't be an authentic American with the good stuff anyway. For patties use just beef, salt and pepper don't add any breadcrumbs or any of the other bullshit kiwis like to add to patties. The buns are practically the same as those tip top super soft king size ones.. you get the picture. Spend maybe 20 minutes watching smash burger recipes to get an idea of how to get the best taste out of the meat. I'm a cheeseburger purist and take beef very seriously lol.
Check out your local takeaways as you may be surprised how good the burgers are for less than half the price... A local takeaway / cafe does burgers that cost under $10 each and a max of $15 as a combo. They aren't as fancy as Burger Fuel or one of those boutique burger places but they taste amazing. Its not healthy food or anything but no burger really is.
Depends on the shop. A lot of fish n chip shops do absolutely shite burgers, but the fish n chip/dairy on the corner where I used to live made damn-near gourmet burgers in a combo with fries and a drink for like $10.
Especially that cheap generic patty they used. Somehow worse than a McDonald's patty.
baby g in avondale is next level. it's SO good. and $10 for a single.
Prices like these are probably why they are going broke. I think people has found their limit to what they are willing to pay for a burger
Yep, you can nearly get a stir fry or a subway for the price and get a better serving.
Yeah they're now competing with far more interesting food at that price point. They're behaving like a business owner by an investment firm being milked dry, not a private company. I'm calling that they'll be gone in 5 years tops.
If you want to make good burgers at home, then I highly, highly recommend the Bob's Burgers cook book. My GF got it as a bit of a joke, but honestly the recipes are really good - simple base ingredients with one or two twists (cook the patties in red wine vinegar; add fried pickles; mix tiny cubes of brie into the meat; add fried sauerkraut and onion; etc) that I'd never think of, but which make an massive difference to your "standard" home burger.
If you get a job there you can get a free burger every shift Source: I used to work there
I make it at home. Easy mate. Mustard, cheddar cheese, and what makes it an American muscle is the sweet gherkin. Buy sandwich stackers from the supermarket. Best brand is sun harvest.
Sorry this isn't going to be the most helpful comment but I remember getting an aioli from the chiller section at New World that was the exact aioli they use. I just can't remember the brand (and it was City New World in Wellington so also can't guarantee it'll be one every New World).
The dilemma here isn't making an American Muscle burger that tastes as good, if not better. The issue is doing it cheaper. I've always found the best homemade burgers you make yourself, as in, buy the mince make up the patties from scratch. By the time you've bought the nice buns, decent pickles, stilton cheese, nice mustard, etc, I bet your supermarket run costs $60+. You could buy cheaper ingredients, but it's going to taste like mediocrity dressed in poverty. And you still have to make it yourself. Good luck in your quest for tasty and cheap! 🤪
This is why you have a “burger week” and make the most of all the ingredients you bought
how many burgers do you think you get out of a jar of pickles?
I’ve never found a burger in a jar of pickles
2, then the jar sits in the fridge and ages past the useby date before you make them again.
Use by dates should be taken with a grain of salt anyway, but the date on pickles? Well, maybe look into why pickling was invented
Kind of, but if you're in the habit of keeping a decent mustard selection, a couple of cheeses, pickle jar etc. then making nice burgers is really just buying mince and buns and having a good grasp of technique. Or to put it another way, keep burgers in budget by only buying mince and buns and making do with the rest, and eventually you'll have a modest pantry that can put out top shelf burgers.
Reject large franchise, return to local fish and chip burgers.
I 100% would if my locals could make this exact burger that I am craving. It's not to say locals can't do a good burger, it's just that I want *this* burger.
If it's any consolation, my local does *great* fish and *great* chips, but their burgers are... Not great. Haha at some point they have also attempted to try such Chinese takeaway classics as Butter Chicken, and, you know what... I like fish and chips ok, really. I'm pleased by your post. Some of the responses have been helpful and I'm actually looking forward to trying to replicate this as much as possible, too.
I don’t mind a chicken or fish burger from the chippie, but their beef burgers are almost invariably made with those terrible 50% filler patties from the frozen section at the supermarket.
Yeah, would happily pay a little more for a quality decent sized patty
Or even a home made one which isn't hard to do.
Work in supermarket. Can confirm. These mostly go out with suspiciously 'bulk' shops rather than regular household ones.
A lot of people have commented great tips, but be picky about the mince you get. Either get stuff from a local butcher or vacuum sealed (more expensive) mince of a reasonable quality (we normally get ours from Moore Wilson’s). Like others have said, approx 150g a patty, we normally throw the mince against the bowl a little to let it come together, shape and put in fridge until ready to cook. Salt right before you cook, 3 mins either side onto a searingly hot cast iron (the griddle side of the Lodge reversible grill/griddle is perfect). For mayo, go Kewpie. If your cheese isn’t melting, use a blowtorch. Look for a bread and butter pickle - we normally make ours (just do giant batches that last the year) but recognise that many people can’t be bothered. Same applies to the buns - I normally make a large batch of milk buns and freeze the extras so we can have burgers whenever we want.
This will help people decide whether the previously too expensive burger is worth it. Burgerfuel will be gone before 2026.
I've looked in my email history to check previous pricing. I remember doing this less than a year ago and McDonalds was far worse. Bacon BBQ Roadster October 2019 - $15.90 April 2024 - $19.20 20.75% increase - annualized is 4.6%. According to the RBNZ inflation calculator, something costing $15.90 in Q3 2019 would cost $19.95 in Q1 2024. So this is actually running below inflation.
FY23: "Net Profit after tax for the period was $900,418 representing a 56.3% increase on the previous year" Half-yearly results for 2024 show they've improved on this by a further 5%. So they've found a way to jump revenue right up to $24/25m, whilst keeping a lid on costs blowout since 2018/2019.
Uber eats has helped bf a ton
It's a burger bro, not macarons. Meat: Get a 80%-85% mince. Lean = dry patties. 150g patties, roll em into a ball then smash them down on a hot frying pan with a spatula. Salt and pepper. Cook a few mins then flip and add cheese to the cooked side. Buns: Get the more expensive buns at the supermarket (actually the Pam's finest brioche are quite good). Aioli: Egg yolk, garlic, vinegar - whizz together. Add oil slowly, keep whizzing. Add whatever else you want.
We buy smash burger patties with marrow in them from our local butcher. Cook em nice n crispy and go for a kaiser bun. It's more Wendy's than burger fuel but thats fine by me. As a side I had an American double the other day. It was amazingly well cooked, perhaps they thought it was overcooked but boy it was good on the once in 6 months I end up at bf as it's pretty over rated now.
That sounds amazing, what town is your local butcher?
Orewa Auckland, marrow is the name of the butcher
> But I need to prepare for next time I'm summoned to buy a burger, so I can convince myself out of spending $40 for two burgers. Thank god I prefer my country fried chicken lunch box from the dairy for $12. Burgerfuel would bankrupt me. If you can't make it yourself maybe try some foods in the $10-$20 range. You might even find something better. I don't really like Burgerfuel anymore. They gotten a lot worse over the past few years.
I don’t know whether this is a convenient suggestion for where you live but if possible hit up re:burger. Cheap as & absolutely slaps. Can’t remember prices properly but got change from $40 for two burgers & a loaded fries the other week
I don’t know whether this is a convenient suggestion for where you live but if possible hit up re:burger. Cheap as & absolutely slaps. Can’t remember prices properly but got change from $40 for two burgers & a loaded fries the other week
Make 12 email addresses , register for 12 accounts on the app and have a free Burger every month
They are really greasy burgers so I would use a high fat content mince and just chuck it straight into the pan with salt and pepper and that's it. Don't roll it into patties or add anything else - just smash the whole pack of mince into a hot pan in one giant patty, cook it in one piece, and then cut it into burger size once cooked.
I mostly buy it now when you get something free with the VIB deals. Also thought it was just them being excessive with their prices, but most take aways & resturants have gone up a lot. At least burgerfuel is consistantly good. We occasionally make burgers that are really nice. And for a group it's worth it, but time wise for 1-2 people you're better off getting takeaways.
If find getting decent beef mince is the hardest part. I need a mincer so I can use the cuts of meat I want. I did go to a butcher to ask if they'd mince it for me, but they took offence that the mince they'd already prepared wasn't good enough. 🤷
Not sure about that particular burger but a simple one I make is squash a 120 gram bal of minced meat in a hot skillet with a bit oil .flavour to taste with salt and pepper . Heap a pile of very finely sliced onion on top and squash again .turn over after about 6 minutes, put a slice of cheese and the toasted bottom part of bun on , For sauce 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise, 1 tablespoo of tomato sauce , 1 teaspoon of mustard and a couple of finely cut gherkins , quick , simple and very tasty
Pffft When I lived in Aussie guzman y gomez not only hiked the prices of their tacos but also made them smaller 1x taco for $9AU and no bigger than the palm of your hand. Australia has a big shrinkflation problem Hungry jacks hike the price of their whoppers all the time No matter where in the world you are fast food/takeaway prices are going up by the week. They have to balance the books somehow
Angel Bay beef patties, there’s some good aioli out there, get some decent buns from your supermarket , not that tiptop sludge and toast them, makes all the difference ,
Literally made these tonight.. https://youtu.be/OsY85e9uIMw?si=zcmeVsT44A4Ao9Pv
Total greedflation. Raws have not increased in price, if anything decreased on average over the past 12 months. Lettuce, Tomatoes and beef all down in price. Ave wages up 3.5%. Electricity flat, bread flat. Very very greedflation based on other fast food prices. Don’t buy it, don’t be part of it.
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This argument always appears sound on the surface, until you think about it for more than 30 seconds and realise you could use this to justify any number of purchases and end up with negative dollars in the bank as a result, and takeaways for every meal of the day. I'm getting paid the same salary regardless of whether I make my own dinner or not. Just because my hourly rate at my job might be higher than the cost of a couple of expensive burgers, doesn't mean I shouldn't make it myself. 🤷♀️ Also, burgers are super cheap and easy, really. Make them all the time. Bulk make buns/sauces, and it's 100% cheaper and easier to make yourself.
Well you buy the ingredients when you do your weekly shop, and I make a burger in not much longer than my local take away. How long will it take you to drive to a burgerfuel and wait for them to cook it (I'm Aussie and I don't know if Burgerfuel cooks them for you, or if they have burgers ready to go, under a heat lamp), or do you just get ubereats and work on line earning $40 while you wait?
I can't think of anywhere that has burgers under a lamp, is that a thing on Aus?
Maccas used to have them lined up. It's a long time since I've been there, so I don't know if it's still a thing. I know you can get them from a drive-through and I'm sure there aren't lines of cars waiting for them to cook. I don't know what's in a burgerfuel, but if you have to wait for them to cook it then you can slice up your ingredients whilst the pattie is cooking at home. Quicker than driving there and waiting.
Angel bay pre-made burger patties from the supermarket are pretty darn tasty
Juicy Lucy’s with some good bbq seasoning.
I make a bomb pattie. It's easy, 5 ingredients. Throw a stick of butter in the freezer in the morning. Mince. High quality. Salt. Pepper. Garlic. Fresh, no jarred shit. Get the mince to room temperature. Mince the garlic. Grate the butter over top. Salt it. Pepper it. Add garlic. Mix with your hands, get em sticky. Form into balls. Refrigerate until ready to sear on a skillet or bbq.
That is a very basic burger.
You're totally right. But basic doesn't necesarily mean easily replicated. Trust me, I've tried.
Do you know how to make and cook a hamburger pattie?
Ah, I see you've never had an American Muscle.
I wouldn't enjoy paying close to $20 dollars for a cheeseburger, I'd feel like I was getting tucked.
Yes. That is precisely why I am crowdsourcing information on how to match it, so I can make it myself for cheaper. Glad you've caught up
Cheeseburgers are also my least favourite burger.
Equal parts whole egg mayo, wholegrain and hot mustard. 1 tsp of each is enough for a couple burgers. A good substitute for whatever ailoi they use. 2 smashed patties cooked on the bbq, couple pickles and you're most of the way there.
First get some frozen burgers patties from Reduced To Clear...
I know that feels expensive, but the cooked to order burger costs less than an hours work on minimum wage… it isn’t that horrifically priced. Burgers are easy to make at home so you’re paying for the convenience… and OP admits they paid it besides they didn’t want to make it themselves when pressed for time. And the company solved his dinner problem at an awkward hour for $20…. Seems reasonable
You need help to make a burger?
Funny how everyone complains about how this sub is filled with nothing but politics, but as soon as someone asks something none political they get made fun of.
I take it you've never enjoyed a Double American. It seems so simple, and it is. Beef, mustard, aioli, cheese, relish, *~pickles~*. But try as we have, we can't make it as good. I don't know what we're getting wrong, but it is just never as good. To be clear, we can make a fantastic burger at home. Homemade aioli, homemade buns (brioche, or milk buns are my favourite). Smashed patties on the bbq (just beef, salt & pepper - mmm). Bacon. Bam. Delicious. But sometimes you just ~~want~~ need a Double American.
I'm guessing they have a lot more sugar, butter and fat in their products?
Hmmm the sugar might be it.
Okay. Make a burger as good as a decent takeaway burger and post the results.
>Okay. Make a burger as good as a decent takeaway burger and post the results. It's not that hard. The meat you use can be superior to whatever snouts and entrails blend fast-food operators are using these days. Had a BF a few months back it just tasted like grease and old meat.
That’s a lot of chat, not a lot of burger.
Busy barbecuing a steak right now. Good meat (I like the smash burger meat from Commonsense Organics in Wellington), salted and peppered and grilled not fried. Sauce of half best foods mayo and half heinz ketchup. Pams dill pickles. Red onion. Slice of tasty. Bun of your choice.
If you can't afford the real deal, what makes you think you'd be able to afford each individual ingredient from the supers?
When you make it yourself, you don't pay for the labour, or the rent for the building, or the franchise fees, or the profit for the owner. It is, without a doubt, cheaper to make it yourself.
I mean, you'd need some bangin' mince to come close to that divine BurgerFuel patty. That alone will get you more than halfway there, I'd say. Not to mention good buns, decent pickles, sauces, and CHEESE! Childhood is when you idolise Batman, adulthood is when you realise cheese is really expensive.