The great burger debate: 10 top Irish chefs on where to get the best burgers
Prepare to be hungry (and maybe even shocked!) by what these chefs have to say about burgers
Sun’s out, buns out, so what better time to ask a brigade of chefs to describe their dream burger and to share whose they rate? From pro cooking tips to quirky condiments, prepare to be hungry (and maybe even shocked!)
Andy Noonan, Festival Director of Big Grill BBQ & Food Festival
It has to be a smash burger. I like to keep it pretty simple here - fatty beef mince smashed about 1mm thick with two slices of American cheese, pickles, ketchup and mustard in a toasted brioche bun. I heat up a cast iron plancha on the grill until it’s smoking hot. Smash the patty down with a strong spatula, turn once after a nice crust has formed and add the American cheese straight away to the cooked side, cook for another 3 minutes and plate up. I hate burgers that are too tall. I’m also not a fan of those that have a watery, too-thick slice of tomato in them. Bunsen is my go-to burger joint, but I’m a big fan of Dash Burger too. They’re both very different but I probably get to Bunsen more regularly as there’s one closest to home.
Jenny Flynn, Executive Chef, Faithlegg House Hotel
My star of the show for a burger is a good Irish beef burger with loads of streaky bacon. And I love to elevate it with a spiced cheese. For the perfect barbecue burger, use good quality mince and make sure you season it well, I don’t add breadcrumbs as I find them a bit crumbly, instead I use an egg yolk to bind it and some finely chopped shallot. I love to cook up a whole red onion on the barbecue first to season the grill and it also goes well in the burger itself. Cook up your streaky bacon on the barbecue and top the patty with the cheese. For sauce you can’t beat a smoky onion mayo! I have to say BuJo burgers are brilliant and of course the Waterford brioche they use holds a special place in my heart.
Jess Murphy, Chef and Owner, Kai
My idea of a good burger would be served with a stunning mayonnaise, acidity from a dill pickle, and a raw onion (a mild one like a pure white Spanish style that you can eat raw without having a family pack of Nexium). I love a smash burger, it gets all crispy all over or a good solid chicken burger. I want homemade nacho cheese, no artisan cheese belongs between two burger buns, and it has to be a sesame seeded bun, nothing artisan. My favourite burger in Ireland is Smash Burger in Galway’s West End. What doesn’t belong on a burger? Med Veg (Mediterranean vegetables). Even the description sends shivers down my spine and those gross, limp, unloved crispy dried onion things. What are they? Where did they come from?
J.P. McMahon, Chef, Restaurateur, Author
For a great burger, use a good farmhouse cheddar cheese, homemade pickles (onion or cucumber) and lettuce with tomato, ketchup and mayonnaise. A homemade ketchup is really nice to make especially if you’re having a barbecue during the summer. Get yourself a meat thermometer. Cook the burger to 65°C. Allow to rest for 3-4 minutes before making your burger. Also, get your burgers from a craft butcher to ensure quality. I don’t like sriracha, chilli, bacon, or avocado on a burger and my favourite burger joint is Handsome Burger, in Galway.
Meeran Manzoor, Executive Chef at Rare at The Blue Haven
I like my burger with a traditional burger, it has a zing to it, preferably on a buttermilk brioche bun. Instead of buying patties readymade, get mince and make your own with spices of your liking. Make a meatball of your desired weight, on a hot pan place the meatballs and press them flat to seal in all juices and flavours and add the cheese, then it’s ready. I don’t like anything other than cheese, sauce and the bun with my burger. My favourite burger joint is either Son of a Bun or Bunsen in Cork.
Grainne O’Keefe, Chef-Patron Mae
I’m the perfect person to ask about my favourite burger, as I spent two years working to create my vision of the perfect burger. The result? BuJo of course. I worked with farmers, food scientists, food technologists, nutritionists and more to create the perfect beef blend and find the minimum weight required to have the beef patty super thin but also be able to be chargrilled. Summed up, it’s 2 patties of 100g each, chargrilled on both sides. For the sauce, I like a mayo base, lightly spiced with onion, garlic and cayenne. I love pickles and American cheese slices (the best for a neutral flavour to let the beef shine). The bun is brioche style but with less sugar.
Richie Wilson, Chef and Culinary Director Fire Steakhouse & Bar and Sole Seafood and Grill
I have pretty strong feelings about what makes a good burger. First and foremost, it has to be “beefy”. I think a pure beef patty with 10% fat is the way to go, with just salt and pepper added and formed into 85g balls. The cooking method is key, I prefer the “smash” burger technique on a plancha for a great crust. For the cheese, I prefer American cheese, occasionally switching it up.
Cheddar is a no-no. I always go for brioche buns then I mix mayo and American mustard for the sauce, topping the burger with iceberg lettuce, tomato slices, crispy bacon, caramelised onions, and sliced gherkins.
Gary O’Hanlon, Executive Head Chef, The K Club
My ideal hamburger is a smash burger, there is nothing worse than an overly stacked burger.
There are two perfect ways to dress a burger, either with plenty of melted, sharp cheddar, pickles and a burger sauce, or with crisp lettuce, tomato and lots of finely sliced raw red onions, mayonnaise on one bun and Heinz ketchup on the other.
My top tip would be to avoid open bar grills and instead cook on a flat plancha-like surface. I’m often in Cork cooking on the Today show and my wee treat to myself is to shoot into MKT Burger in Cork and get my hands on their smash burger. It never, ever lets me down. Epic stuff.
Denis Vaughan, owner of Vaughan’s Anchor Inn, Vaughan’s on the Prom and Spooney’s, and Head Chef at Vaughan’s on the Prom
For a perfectly cooked burger, it’s hard to beat the char you can get from a Josper Grill, I love the flavour it adds to meat and fish.
The bap is key for me too, we use crystal bread which is really light sourdough – it’s not stodgy or doughy, so that with every bite you can really taste the filling rather than get a mouthful of bread. Guinness-braised onions are a delicious addition to burgers, and some simple red cheddar.
I don’t like lettuce on burgers, as the burger heats the lettuce; lettuce should be crisp and cool.
My favourite burger restaurant is probably Bunsen, it’s very classic in terms of the options available, a simple menu done really well.
Eunice Powers, chef and owner of AndChips
I love a loose medium rare juicy burger, the type that falls apart and reveals its rare centre when turned on a charcoal barbecue, served on a Waterford Blaa, with a big slice of beef tomato and a few leaves of butterhead lettuce doused liberally with ketchup.
I love to eat burgers outside, be it huddling up around a fire at night time or at the beach on a summer’s day. I don’t particularly like strong cheese or many additions at all to a burger.
Keep it simple, fresh and messy to eat. And the best burger?
AndChips …of course.
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