The beef has been talked about, and I’ve devoted an entire column to condiments. But what about the rest of it? Not to be overlooked is the bun. You may cook the meat to a perfect medium-rare, season it beautifully and have the cheese fully melted and ready to go. But it’s almost all for nothing if you make the incorrect choice in bun. The bun, for literal purposes, holds it all together. Too big and it compromises the hamburger itself, too small and it just falls apart. But what is the right bun choice? In all honesty, different buns work with different burgers, and there is no singular answer. You have options when crafting a burger; Potato Bun, Classic Hamburger Bun, Whole Wheat, Poppy Seed, Sesame Seed, Kaiser Roll, Brioche, English Muffin, Portuguese Roll, Ciabatta, or Texas Toast. I can’t help you if you put your burger in a piece of lettuce and call it a wrap. 51 Lincoln serves their burger on thick toast, ala Texas Toast and it works. Ditto for Russell House Tavern, who utilize the English Muffin as their bun of choice and it’s successful. I’m not that much of a purist or an elitist that I declare all burgers must be placed in between a soft white bun to actually be considered a burger. When it works it works, when it doesn’t it completely messes everything up.
I’ve been a long time detractor of the Brioche Bun because most of the time it doesn’t make sense. Not always though, the occasional Brioche Bun can be appropriate (see Harvest or Lineage) but those are very few and far between. The problem is, simply put, the Brioche is usually too much bread. Unless you have a massive burger, it’s almost guaranteed you’re going to end up with more bun than desired. The ideal burger should be a beautiful symphony of flavors; the beef, gooey cheese, and toppings all coming together in unison with the bun. Too much bread and you end up alternating bites of meat with bites of the bun. The bun should play a supporting role, and it should never be a distraction. The Potato Bun is popular and for good reason, it’s soft, squishy, and just pliable enough to have some textural integrity. Shake Shack made it famous, but those in the know have been utilizing Martin’s Potato Buns for years. They are the perfect match for a thin griddled burger because it fits the burger like a glove. There aren’t too many Potato Buns used in Boston Burgers, and it’s a mystery. Then again, there aren’t too many places that choose to griddle instead of grill either.
The best burger buns I’ve come across pair with the best burgers, and that’s not a coincidence.
I’m talking about the buns at: Craigie on Main, Back Bay Social Club, The Beehive, Market, and The Gallows. Back Bay Social Club specifically, has the best burger bun I’ve ever had; it’s soft, pillowy, and the perfect match for arguably the best tasting burger in the city. To list all the burgers ruined by Brioche could take hours, had a different bun be used, some mediocre burgers would probably leap to the top of my accolades. It has nothing to do with the popularity of Brioche Buns, or the pretentiousness of using it, put the trends aside and think about how it works with the burger. It may look sexy, tall and glistening, but it’s a carb overload waiting to happen. A bun should always be warmed, even slightly, bonus points for crisping it up in a little butter. Using a stale bun is unforgiveable, aside from not tasting adequate, it’ll be too crumbly and most likely too dense. Ideally you want soft and firm, crispy and tender, akin to the French Fry if you will, it’s all about balance and simplicity. Anything not in line with those parameters and it’s destined to disappoint.
So please, take care with your burger buns, every good burger deserves it.
Boston Burger Blog’s Richard Chudy weighs in weekly in all matters meat.
READ MORE RICHARD AT THE BOSTON BURGER BLOG
