Stacking burger toppings

Chuckanut

Chuckanut

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What order do you stack your burger toppings? Are there ways to minimize problems like mushy buns and toppings that squirt out the side of the burger when you bite into it? Here’s on article with a few suggestions. Do you have your personal plan for stacking toppings?

Note: ladies don’t be shy about the source of this information. Your guy will appreciate not getting pickle and mustard on his favorite BBQ clothing when he takes a bite of that delicious burger. So will you.

https://www.artofmanliness.com/living/food-drink/the-best-order-to-stack-your-burger-toppings/

“Plenty of people structure their burger willy-nilly, and really, there’s no wrong way to do it. But there are ways that make it more or less likely that you’ll have issues with things like soggy buns, suboptimal flavor melding, and, most vexing of all, escaping toppings; it’s not fun to have those toppings squirting and falling out as you try to get your delicious meat sandwich in your mouth.”
 
My burgers are gone before I have to worry about order of toppings. And they're messy to eat no matter what IME. :cool:
 
Chuckanut said:
What order do you stack your burger toppings? Are there ways to minimize problems like mushy buns and toppings that squirt out the side of the burger when you bite into it?
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I'm a retired ocean modeler, and never claimed to be a great chef! Anyway here's what I do:

Mushy buns still taste pretty good to me (I know, I'm weird). And, I don't care if toppings squirt out because I use lots of napkins, to protect me and my clothes.

I put mayo right on the bun, then the burger patty and cheese, then mustard and ketchup, then pickle, tomato, lettuce, and so on. Usually everything is piled pretty high so I lean over the plate as I eat it and use lots of napkins too.

Messy burgers are a great American tradition! :LOL:
 
Ha ha we don’t eat burgers. Way back when I occasionally did I would cut it in quarters before eating.

Nowadays if I ever did it would be no bun and with knife and fork.
 
I try to put something "waterproof" on the bottom, even if it's just a cheese slice.

To keep the bun from being soggy.

I also put something wet on the top bun like mustard/ketchup so it will stay.

After that it's just really random.
 
aja8888 said:
That's me all the way....lettuce and tomato on the side or I just make a "lettuce wrap" instead of using a bun (off bread for good).
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Ditto for the lettuce wrap.
 
I like a big slice of raw onion and a good piece of lettuce if available. But then I'm another one who eats it without a bun with a knife and fork.

If I get a burger at a restaurant (common option at brewpubs), the one other thing I make sure of is to avoid anything called a cheeseburger. Because it's almost always one of those plastic-wrapped slices of (something) rather than actual cheese.
 
I stack my medium rare burgers with say avocado possibly Feta or pepper jack cheese, maybe some grilled onions. Could add some stone ground mustard.

No bun.

That's good eating.
 
W2R said:
I'm a retired ocean modeler, and never claimed to be a great chef! Anyway here's what I do:

Mushy buns still taste pretty good to me (I know, I'm weird). And, I don't care if toppings squirt out because I use lots of napkins, to protect me and my clothes.

I put mayo right on the bun, then the burger patty and cheese, then mustard and ketchup, then pickle, tomato, lettuce, and so on. Usually everything is piled pretty high so I lean over the plate as I eat it and use lots of napkins too.

Messy burgers are a great American tradition! :LOL:
Click to expand...

I don't really care what goes where or when as long as it all gets on the burger. I then do something I doubt many here do. I eat a big 'ol burger with knife and fork. (I often do the same with other kinds of samiches.) The goodies that squirt out stay on my plate and I can scoop them up with my utensils. I rarely get anything on my Aloha shirt that way.

I know it looks weird and I occasionally notice someone looking askance at the practice. BUT, I just don't have to worry about being messy that way. I hate getting food or condiments on my beard, my fingers, or my shirt or pants. I'm willing to look strange to prevent the heartbreak of sloppy eating. YMMV.
 
If I do eat a hamburger it is usually once a month at an occasional pub outing with the guys so there isn't much of a choice on how it is stacked. To reduce the mess a little I first cut the hamburger in half to make it easier to handle. I don't think how you stack the condiments really matters but maybe a lobster bib would be the answer. :D

Cheers!
 
Guess I'm an outlier here. No mustard, mayo, or ketchup. Maybe grilled onions (hate raw-don't need to taste that all day and have others smell it on me), mushrooms, and lettuce.
I want to taste the meat not ketchup.
 
Interesting topic. The only thing I don't like is when restaurants put the lettuce right on the hot burger patty and the lettuce becomes a slimly mess that you have to pull out. Would rather have the lettuce, tomato and onion on the side for self assembly.

Was watching Diners, Drive ins and Dives last night and they had this monstrosity.
https://www.facebook.com/FoodNetwork/videos/big-block-burger/10155088185471727/
 
CincyDave said:
Interesting topic. The only thing I don't like is when restaurants put the lettuce right on the hot burger patty and the lettuce becomes a slimly mess that you have to pull out. Would rather have the lettuce, tomato and onion on the side for self assembly.

Was watching Diners, Drive ins and Dives last night and they had this monstrosity.
https://www.facebook.com/FoodNetwork/videos/big-block-burger/10155088185471727/
Click to expand...

Nicer restaurants seem to do that. Our local Outback puts requested sauces (mustard, ketchup, mayo, etc.) on the sizzling patty but they leave off the top bun and place the lettuce, tomato, avocado or whatever on that bun. That's a nice presentation and allows you to layer your burger "your way." Sorry, I think that somebody's trademark.:blush:
 
folivier said:
Guess I'm an outlier here. No mustard, mayo, or ketchup. Maybe grilled onions (hate raw-don't need to taste that all day and have others smell it on me), mushrooms, and lettuce.
I want to taste the meat not ketchup.
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Exactly. Why mess up a great burger with vegetables?
 
One key part is the bun has to be large enough diameter so there isn't a lot hanging out the sides. That hanging out just encourages a mess. The cheap burger buns are too small for any real good patty and toppings. You need to buy the bigger and better quality buns to make a great burger that you can hold and eat with less mess.

I like to put a big slice of tomato under the patty and then the rest of the toppings on top. When I want to get fancy in addition to some cheese and mustard, I'll add some bacon, avocado, maybe fried egg, and grilled onions.
 
Chuckanut said:
Note: ladies don’t be shy about the source of this information. Your guy will appreciate not getting pickle and mustard on his favorite BBQ clothing when he takes a bite of that delicious burger. So will you.
Click to expand...

Seriously? In my world, as many men as women are in the kitchen. Same with finances, home chores, repairs, etc.
 
No problems for me no matter how I stack/load stuff on my burgers. Now hot dog loading is a different story. Always messy.
 
mpeirce said:
Exactly. Why mess up a great burger with vegetables?
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While I have no problems with veggies, I tend to agree with you. Except for a nice slice of a ripe tomato. Not too thick or thin. Except, tomatoes are a fruit, so I guess I still agree with you. Gosh this is confusing.
 
We don’t eat burgers regularly, and when we do we prefer lamb or turkey, no bun, a bit of dijon mustard and toppings on the side. Now, when I was a yute there was no limit to the number and variety of toppings to put on a burger, including chips, saltines, pickles, cream cheese. Every week was a contest with my siblings to see how we could out-load each other.

It’s really interesting to see how other countries prepare burgers. https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/burgers-in-different-countries-different-kinds-of-burgers

AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND - BURGERS WITH "THE LOT"
Stateside, a burger with "the works" will usually net you some tomatoes, lettuce, red onion, and pickles. In Australia and New Zealand, however, there are even more accoutrements involved -- and they call it "the lot" because they're fancy Commonwealth nations. "The lot" involves the aforementioned toppings, in addition to (usually) pineapple, sliced beets, a fried egg, and bacon, and if you add 'em all, you've got one ace sanger, mate. (We have no idea what we just said.)
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We have burgers once a week. I'm partial to Beef or even Lamb, but my wife likes them cooked more well done and I don't have the patience to cook to order, so we've switched to turkey.

As far as toppings, you want a vapor barrier on the bottom bun. Mayo works well, ketchup not so much. Believe it or not, peanut butter is really good...adds a "umami" dimension. I don't really care for ketchup but if you are going to do it, add to the burger (not the bun), then onion, tomato, then lettuce (shredded if possible).
 
I had a turkey burger last night.
I put avocado on one side and a slice of baby Swiss cheese on the other. I would have put a slice of tomato if I had any home grown but the ones that I bought at the produce stand tasted more like hot house tomatoes. [emoji1785]
It was really good even without the tomato. I don’t like lettuce on my burger. It gets warm and grosses me out.
 
I eat burgers maybe once a month.

Gotta have mayo, Portland mustard, and Portland catsup, Bread and butter pickle chips, thick slice of Tillamook white cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato.

Lots of napkins.
 
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