The "Real Best" Burger

Nothing is better on the 4th of July than the classic American standby: The burger! Find out what the best burger recipe is so you can please your patriotic palates this Independence Day!

The contenders:

The nitty-gritty:

Each burger was scored on a scale of 1-10 (where 1= that’s food? and 10= the best burger that has ever entered my mouth) for overall score, the boyfriend/husband test, and the leftover test. We also provide other comments.

The Hungry Cat’s Pug Burger Recipe

Overall score: 9

The boyfriend/husband test: 7

The leftover test: 8

Comments: These were pretty good. Next time I would make them without the blue cheese!

Guy Fieri’s Killer Inside Out Burger with Worcestershire Tomato Ketchup

Overall score: 7

The boyfriend/husband test: 7

The leftover test: 7

Comments: I was so sad that this burger was just not good… there are so many ways to make it better but here are the main problems:

Need to season the beef (there was no seasoning what so over, just the stuff in the middle)
WAY too much beef (this recipe calls for 2 pound of beef but only makes 4 burgers… they are HUGE… and take a bit longer to cook then the recipe says)
Need to disperse ingredients throughout the beef (instead, you just put the yummy-ness in a hole in the middle… only get a few real good bites)
Need to put extra cheese on top (only cheese is in the middle)

This burger was a decent amount of work and it just did not live up to the time and money I put into it. Many people could tell you I (Jen) am a ketchup connoisseur (note from Megan: She really is. She even puts ketchup on macaroni & cheese…) and the ketchup here was just ok… nothing special, or that I would make ever again. Hubs said it was “okay” too but definitely not worth all the time he waited for it… the leftovers tasted exactly the same. Overall, I would try this again but mix the ingredients into the meat, season the meat, and make smaller burgers as a whole!

Allrecipes.com- Bacon Wrapped Hamburger

Overall score: 5

The boyfriend/husband test: 8

The leftover test: 8 (according to the boyfriend)

Comments: I (Megan) didn’t really like this burger. It was really dry and not super flavorful, in my opinion. In addition, it took FOREVER to get the bacon to cook (I’m still not sure it cooked all the way…), which caused the burger to be way overcooked. However, my boyfriend loved it. If I made this again, I’d definitely precook the bacon and add cheese at the end. But.. I probably won’t make this again.

The winner:

The Hungry Cat’s Pug Burger Recipe

This burger is sure to please on a hot, summer, 4th of July day! Enjoy!

Special Diets:

While we can’t guarantee the results, here are some ideas you can use to customize the winning burger to your dietary needs:

Gluten-free: Check your grocery store (or a specialty store) for gluten-free kaiser rolls or gluten-free hamburger buns. Double check that everything else you plan to use is also gluten-free!
Vegetarian: Skip the bacon, and consider other options instead of the sirloin… for instance, black bean burgers!
Lower fat: Use ground turkey instead of ground sirloin, and turkey bacon instead of regular bacon. Also, look for lower fat mayo options.