The Ultimate Burger: Plus DIY Condiments, Sides, and Boozy Milkshakes

by America's Test Kitchen (editor)

Achieve burger greatness, with updated classics, regional favorites, homemade everything (from meat blends to pretzel buns), and craft-burger creations, plus fries and other sides, and frosty drinks.

What is the "ultimate" burger? Ask that question and you will ignite an enthusiastic debate about meats, cooking methods, degree of doneness, bun types, condiments, toppings, and accompaniments. The Ultimate Burger has the best answer to all of these questions: The ultimate burger is what you want it to be. And America's Test Kitchen shows you how to get there.

Craving an all-American beef burger? We've got 'em: steak burgers, double-decker burgers, and easy beef sliders. Travel beyond beef, with options for turkey, pork, lamb, bison, salmon, tuna, and shrimp burgers before exploring the world of meat-free burgers, both vegetarian and vegan. Then it's go for broke, featuring out-of-this-world creations like a Surf and Turf Burger, Loaded Nacho Burger, Grilled Crispy Onion-Ranch Burger, and Reuben Burger. You want sides with that? The sides chapter covers the crunchiest kettle chips, the crispiest French fries, and the creamiest coleslaws, and we've even thrown in some boozy milkshakes and other drinks to help everything go down just right. We even guarantee bun perfection with all sorts of homemade buns to lovingly cradle your juicy patties. And we reveal the ATK-approved store-bought buns, ketchups, mustards, and relishes to complement your burger, along with recipes for plenty of homemade condiments like Classic Burger Sauce, Quick Pickle Chips, and Black Pepper Candied Bacon to mix and match with the recipes.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction

256 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2019

About the author

America's Test Kitchen, based in a brand new state-of-the-art 60,000 sq. ft. facility with over 15,000 sq. ft. of test kitchens and studio space, in Boston's Seaport District, is dedicated to finding the very best recipes for home cooks. Over 50 full-time (admittedly obsessive) test cooks spend their days testing recipes 30, 40, up to 100 times, tweaking every variable until they understand how and why recipes work. They also test cookware and supermarket ingredients so viewers can bypass marketing hype and buy the best quality products. As the home of Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country magazines, and publisher of more than one dozen cookbooks each year, America's Test Kitchen has earned the respect of the publishing industry, the culinary world, and millions of home cooks. America's Test Kitchen the television show launched in 2001, and the company added a second television program, Cook's Country, in 2008.

Discover, learn, and expand your cooking repertoire with Julia Collin Davison, Bridget Lancaster, Jack Bishop, Dan Souza, Lisa McManus, Tucker Shaw, Bryan Roof, and our fabulous team of test cooks!

Learn more at https://www.americastestkitchen.com/.

Reviews

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great publication from America's Test Kitchen!
As always, it is filled with delicious recipes and great information. I also feel this book is very visually appealing: it is eye-catching without being overwhelming, and it is easy to navigate. There are icons used to easily assess what a recipe is: a grill and/or skillet to indicate how the recipe can be cooked, and symbols for if the burger is beef/bison, turkey or chicken, pork, lamb, seafood, or a vegetarian or vegan burger.

Some ATK books are quite lengthy, and I love that! This books is a good length without being too short or too long. And it delivers what it promises: the ultimate burger. The added recipes for classic burger sides make this book well-rounded. Naturally, if you wanted even *more* options or recipes for shakes, fries, or slaw, you'd have to look in another book. But I think the amount they added to this book is just perfect, and it keeps the focus on the main star (burgers) without making the book unwieldy.

Here are the chapters:
0. Burger Basics
1. The Perfect Patty
2. We the People
3. Beyond the Beef
4. Let's Go for Broke
5. From the Field and Garden
6. You Want Fries with That?
7. The Bread Aisle

"Burger Basics" is the intro chapter which covers the anatomy of an ultimate burger, the do's and don'ts of buying store-bought ground beef as well as other burgers (bison, shrimp, and veggie, to name a few), how to grind your own burger, how best to shape and cook a burger, and a guide to the best-rated equipment and ingredients for burgers based on ATK's testings.

"The Perfect Patty" chapter lays the foundation for the book with a few classic recipes and also guides to making/grinding your own blends for different types of beef patties, a turkey blend, and the ultimate veggie burger. There is also a delicious smattering of toppings and condiments, with everything from ketchup (with smoky chipotle and balsamic-spice variations) to relish (the pickle kind, and the red pepper kind), from shoestring onions to candied bacon.

"We the People" features "classic and modern takes on beef and poultry", and features recipes such as smash burgers, drive-through-style burgers, stuffed or topped or buttered burgers, and even spiced turkey burgers with mango chutney and buffalo chicken burgers.

Chapter three moves "Beyond the Beef" with bison, pork, lamb, and seafood. I love the variety of flavor profiles: everything from a banh mi burger to a grilled harissa lamb burger.

Chapter four means it when it says "Let's Go for Broke" with some "showstopping stacks for the burger enthusiast". There are French onion burgers, donut shop burgers, loaded nacho burgers, and Mediterranean turkey burgers with shaved zucchini salad and ricotta.

In chapter five we get vegetarian and vegan burgers. I'm sure some "carnivores" out there don't think this chapter should be in the book, but that's just silly! These great recipes help round out the book, and they aren't some afterthought to give you options to begrudgingly include your veggie friend at your cookout; they're thoughtful and tasty recipes in their own right that definitely need to be tried by all! There are vegan pinto bean and beet burgers, spicy brown rice-edamame burgers, curried millet burgers with peach-ginger chutney, and even burgers made of falafel or mushrooms or cauliflower!

The final chapters support all your burger-eating adventures. Chapter six has fries, chips, and onion rings, as well as salads and slaws and some milkshakes and drinks too! Chapter seven is all about breads and making your own burger buns, such as potato buns or kaiser rolls.

Naturally, I would not recommend this book for a vegetarian, since there are so many meat- and fish-based recipes, but it is a great book for an omnivore who really wants a well-rounded variety of burgers and flavors. And as I said before, this book delivers what it said it would: a guide to the Ultimate Burger.

[Jbussen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay book. But how much can you really add to a burger? They do tell you in almost exacting terms how to grill a patty or skillet, gas, charcoal etc. SO far I tried the Watermelon Feta salad. It was okay. Interesting. I don't know if I'll make it again. Next up is a turkey burger. I'll update. Update book is meh, just use for ideas. Not very good.

[Eric Mesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book that covers both indoor and outdoor burgers. It covers beef, poultry, and vegetarian burgers. They teach you how to make your own burger blends, too. The only bummer is that they ONLY show how to do it with a food processor. I was hoping they'd use one more page to also cover using something like the Kitchen Aid grinding attachment.

Also, eventually the burgers get a bit gimmicky. (I've had the same issue with some Pizza books, too)

[Starr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked this out at the library because I was afraid it would be nothing but fluff. I think the first part was, although we already get a grass fed cow yearly, the second part hit it out of the park. I ordered the hard book because it inspired my take on what I can do with all my hamburger!!

[Becca Goodrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Put this cookbook on my Amazon wishlist.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Made a vegan version of the Potato Salad. It was well received!