Burger Toppings and Fixin's: The Topic

[Alex]

... and tomato slips past bacon into first place. Pork producers demand a recount. Supreme Court says, "We're staying out of this one." Clickety

[Mayhaw Man]

Tomato

Lettuce

Grilled Onions

Pickles (dill, homemade)

Mayo

Zatarains Mustard

Ketchup

Avacado (sometimes)

Crushed Black Pepper

No Bacon

[picaman]

Here are the results broken out by geographic region.

I'm a burger minimalist. The few items you have on the burger should not interfere with the taste of the meat. With the exception of avocados Mayhaw Man has a pretty good list. I'd just add cheddar cheese.

Jamie

[Devilkitty]

• Bacon, but only if it's good bacon. (Yes, there is such a thing as bad bacon.) I rather like pancetta these days.
  
• Gruyere. Aged provolone, in a pinch. On top of the bacon.
  
• Good, sharp Dijon mustard.
  

Catsup is a tool of Satan.

[Jason Perlow]

Bacon, definitely.

Tomatoes and RAW onion, preferably Vidalia or Bermuda. Also cooked/caramelized onion, so you get both flavors.

Horseradish mixed with mayonnaise and mustard.

[howard88]

Other than S&P, a good amount of slowly sauteed onions with a touch of garlic on a medium rare, 75 percent chuck hamburger. No ketchup, mustared or mayo.

[reesek]

Finally, some of the more unusual burger toppings mentioned by respondants include banana, pudding, peaches, crab meat and artichokes.

pudding?

[Holly Moore]

Vidallia onions seem too meek for a burger. Kinda Richard Simonsy. Red onions strike me as way too foodie. Give me a good ol' yellow or bermuda onion.

My burger tastes are ever changing. Right now I'm tending towards extra greasy cheeseburgers with brown or yellow mustard. Perhaps some fried onions if they're handy.

[Suzanne F]

Finally, some of the more unusual burger toppings mentioned by respondants include banana, pudding, peaches, crab meat and artichokes.

pudding?

Peaches?? Banana?? No, make that

Avocado can be a very nice addition. Except that it can make the whole burger squirt out the other end as you bite it.

[natasha1270]

plain.

muenster, jalapeno & onion (any).

one question: are turkey burgers sacrilege?

N.

[johnnyd]

Horseradish mixed with mayonnaise and mustard.

Dude!

I throw on some good cheddar every now and then, but when forming burgers, I include minced red onion, dash or two of Worceshire, couple good grinds of each of my pepper mills, chopped fresh thyme and oregano and Janes Krazy Mixed up salt to the ground beef and mix well. They come out grand.

[kitwilliams]

Iceberg lettuce, THICK slice of tomato, two dill pickles (no more), either the perfect combination of mayo, ketchup, mustard, relish or whatever the secret sauce is and bacon and avocado. There must be that hint of char. And if the bun is slightly grilled but still soft on top and you squish it together with just the right amount of pressure, the avocado doesn't squidge out! (To anyone who lives near an Archibald's burger joint you can get the above-mentioned burger there. Very good for a chain. Very inexpensive.)

[beans]

Yesterday it was what was in my burger. A thin portion of boursin cheese was what my patties were formed around. Fresh pepper and a lovely ripe tomato atop. They were sublime.

[GG Mora]

Nothing too wierd....ketchup, cheddar (melted), thinly sliced onion, sliced tomato (in season). My heresy goes inside the burger: A1 Steak Sauce mixed into the meat, with a little Woosterchestershire®.

Anyone make their own burger buns? I use the recipe from "City Cuisine". A good bun hides a multitude of sins.

[ludja]

too many choices... depends on the mood!

bacon, cheese, tomato and a little mayo

swiss cheese and grilled onions, with or without ketchup

blue cheese and bacon

sharp cheddar cheese, with or without ketchup

avocado and bacon

Hmmm.. bacon seems to be a common theme...I'm probably in the minority not really liking lettuce on my burger... it okay sometime--but for added veggies, it's usually only added sliced tomato or avocado...

Jason's horseradish mixed wtih mayo and mustard sounds really good too...

Edited July 1, 2004 by ludja (log)

[NulloModo]

I have two different types of burgers I can enjoy, one is your basic flip joint style, thin pattie, cooked all the way through, slice of raw onion, bit of iceburg lettuce, american or mild cheddar cheese, yellow mustard, ketchup, tomato, and a couple dill pickle chips, served up on a plain bun (no seeds, no crustyness, just your average wonderbread of buns) that has been squished down a bit.

The other, and in more substantial burger is more of the gourmet type I suppose.

Thick rare ground sirloin/regular ground beef blend patty.

Thick slice of strong Onion (raw)

Dijon Mustard

Tomato

Crispy Bacon (I like bacon solo to be sort of still chewy, but for a burger, crispy is better)

Good slather of Mayo (no miracle whip ever, blech)

Provolone Cheese

Good amount of nice thick dill pickle

Also good is a more foodie variant:

Thick rare sirloin/regular patty

Sauteed Carmelized Onions

Bleu cheese crumbles

Mayo

Portobella mushroom cap

[FistFullaRoux]

The burger patty is formed of 20% fat ground chuck, salt, pepper, a generous dose of shredded basil, and a squeeze of lemon.

Formed into a reasonable size (4 - 5 oz) and slow roasted on a moderate grill, basting alternately with butter and lemon.

Onto a toasted bun, super-ripe ripe tomatoes (canned works in a pinch), finely shredded iceberg or bibb lettuce, mayo on both sides, creole mustard on one, no cheese, no other sauces. OK, a slice of American (Deluxe, please) if you must.

Damn. Just made myself hungry.

[douginvirginia]

option 1 - some type of spicy mustard, slice of vidalia, plenty of dill pickle chips

option 2 - dukes mayo, iceberg, slice of vidalia, tomato

note: option 2 only when homegrown tomato is available

both options - toasted or grilled bun

ketchup is for fries!

doug

[elfin]

No ketchup or mayo. Raw onion, dill pickle, yellow or brown mustard, iceberg lettuce-crunchy and tomato. Grilled bun. Cheese gets lost if there is a good char.

[rlm]

Niman Ranch beef grilled with whatever spices/herbs strike my fancy on that day (garlic pepper, cayenne, parsley) along with a bit of Worcestershire and liquid smoke. Topped with melted Swiss cheese goodness followed by raw diced red onions or carmelized yellow/white onions; Claussen dill pickles or homemade spicy bread-and-butter pickles; crispy bacon; avocado slices; ketchup; and either spicy brown, stone ground, or horseradish mustard. Mmmmmmm.

[yellow truffle]

Truffle oil mayonnaise.

[slkinsey]

Here are the results broken out by geographic region.

Cities included Athens, TX; Honolulu, HI; Omaha, NE; Redding, CA; Topeka, KS; Tyler, TX; and Wichita, KS.

• Largest population: Omaha, NE
  
• Easternmost city: Topeka, KS
  
• All cities West of the Mississippi River
  

Hardly representative of America as a whole, I'd think.

My personal favorites:

• Bacon
  
• Good aged cheddar
  
• Onion (grilled and/or raw)
  
• Shredded iceburg lettuce
  
• Slightly underripe tomato (i.e., not so soft)
  
• Pickle slices
  

Usually not all of these together, though.

[hjshorter]

blue cheese (Forme d'Ambert works beautifully)

caramelized onions

burger

Dijon mustard

bacon (Whole Foods slab bacon...mmmmmmmmm)

on a good crusty toasted roll

Or

ketchup

mustard

dill pickle

american cheese

burger

tomato

lettuce

good mayo

on a regular old bun

In that order.

Edited July 1, 2004 by hjshorter (log)

[picaman]

lettuce

tomato

Heinz 57

french fried potatoes

big kosher pickle

a cold draft beer

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

Jamie

[picaman]

Here are the results broken out by geographic region.

Cities included Athens, TX; Honolulu, HI; Omaha, NE; Redding, CA; Topeka, KS; Tyler, TX; and Wichita, KS.

• Largest population: Omaha, NE
  
• Easternmost city: Topeka, KS
  
• All cities West of the Mississippi River
  

Hardly representative of America as a whole, I'd think.

Indeed. The home office is in Wichita, so I'd guess they didn't want to travel too far to find out "how America voted."

Jamie