You can do whatever you want. Make a beef burger! Make a chicken burger! Smash it to a crisp! Make a burger out of tofu or black beans or turnips! (Do not make a frozen veggie patty.)
But here's the truth: The most exciting part of a burger isn't the burger itself—it's the stuff you pile on top. And I know a burger is different than, say, a rice bowl, but the same principle applies: It's pretty boring until you start getting wacky with the toppings.
Here are 17 toppings we think are—yes—tops:
There are barbecue potato chips on this burger! Take notes.
We're thinking of the Srirachannaise here—but go ahead and slap some fries on there, too.
Slide half a grilled peach or apricot (and maybe some prosciutto, too) onto a burger and never look back.
What's your preferred burger topper? Give us some ideas in the comments!
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Written by: Caroline Lange
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2 Comments
Freshly ground beef from whole cuts makes a big difference. Again, only a handful of restaurants do this.
If you have both of those, you have a great burger that doesn't need much more. In fact, if either of these are really, really good, you can enjoy them plain, just like a grilled steak or a slice of fresh bread.
When the ingredients are of the finest quality and really fresh, you don't need much more and often excessive over-the-top flavors will really throw off the balance. So will bland, ersatz items (like American cheese, iceberg lettuce or a pale tomato in the dead of winter). Granted, the iceberg lettuce provides some textural crunch, but it adds zero flavor.
If you really want to improve your already great freshly-ground burger on a superb bun, use good ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, pickles, cheese, etc. first.
Oh, and grill over a fire: lump charcoal or wood logs, the fire/smoke adds and extra element that cannot be accomplished on the stovetop. It's why after tens of thousands of years humans still cook over fire.
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