May is Hamburger Month. That sounds good to us! We love a burger here – it’s like the little black dress of food – you can accessorise it in so many different ways.
From humble beginnings of a simple ground beef patty, perhaps with just a touch of ketchup and in a toasted bun, the burger has come a long way. It’s constantly evolving and it seems, as a nation, we can’t get enough of them.
Wimpy may have come and gone, but you don’t have to go far to find an alternative.
It’s not just McDonald’s and Burger King anymore either. On any self-respecting high street you’ll find choices ranging from Byron to Five Guys and from Gourmet Burger Kitchen to the Handmade Burger Company.
In the US there’s gourmet burger joints such as Five Napkin Burger sitting alongside other US more budget-friendly brands such as In-N-Out Burger (only found on the West Coast of America and totally, totally worth the 10-hour plus flight in our opinion).
There are some purists (In-N-Out only do two versions of their hugely popular burgers – plain or with cheese, in differing quantities but that’s basically it) who believe a simple burger is best. And then there are others who like to throw the contents of the fridge at it.
And there are so many ways to accessorise a burger – just some of the flavours of the month for burgers at the moment include Moroccan the Boat (a turmeric bun, spiced beef, Applewood smoked cheese, harissa mayo, courgette fritti, rocket and pickled onions), Bourbon King (Bulleit bourbon BBQ glazed beef patty, Monterey Jack, beer onions, crispy onions, lettuce, mustard mayonnaise) and Peanut Butter and Bacon (it comes with chilli jam, lettuce, tomato & red onion).
So how would we make a burger better? Well, for you purists, we’d recommend simply adding some of our delicious onion rings to the side, sitting back and enjoying. Maybe with a cold beer or glass of something else fizzy.
For those who like to jazz up the culinary “little black dress”? Well, how about taking another American classic and adding it? After deep frying it first of course….how about deep-fried macaroni cheese sitting resplendently atop your burger?
Let’s hope June is Hamburger month too…..
About Sean Flint
Development & Innovation Chef of SK Foods.
Your food. Our Passion.
