What do fast food places do? I ask 'cause when I order a SuperStar from Carl’s jr it comes with mayo and ketchup, and those condiments stay drippy and wet through the whole eat.
Now I usually toast my buns, but the last couple of burgers I’ve made (which I thought had plenty of condiments) seemed to dry out about a third of the way into 'em. I really can’t explain it as I have never noticed this before. Were my last package of buns just crap? Does browning them in butter shield/seal them from absorbing the condiments?
I know this may seem like a very rudimentary issue, but after the second time in a row it has me wondering WTF?
The Safeway was out of the buns I usually order so went with another brand I’d never bought before, so I am thinking these are the issue. Do lousy burger buns suck up condiments like a sponge?
Should I just toss them, or will browning them in butter prevent the absorption issue.
for most sandwiches, toasting the bread is a bare minimum, and grilling in butter is the extra luxury version.
There ARE exceptions: for hot dogs, I prefer steamed buns. The soft white bread coming up against a good solid Kosher Vienna dog (with natural casing, for proper snap) is part of the Chicago dog experience.
I also generally like a steamed bun for fish sandwiches, but others differ.
The most ‘extra’ sandwich I’ve ever had was Ron’s Special Beef, from the long closed Cap’s Pizza in Skokie. Take a Chicago Italian beef sandwich. Now, instead of a plain french roll, brush that with garlic butter and grill it on the flat top. Now the beef, some pizza sauce, and handfull of mozzarella. Toss it in the pizza oven for just long enough to melt the cheese. Serve w/ a cup of the beef juice for dippin’.
You can TRY to eat it by hand, but you WILL resort to a knife and fork after a couple of bites.
I do think some buns soak up more liquid than others. I do think toast them alone will help. It will stiffen the texture and essentially putting a thin barrier between the liquid and the rest of the bread. The toasted buns do not work for you?
Most burger joints (not your typical fast food places, but corner burger joints) toast the buns on the same flattop that’s used to cook the beef patty.
So you just naturally gets this nice slightly toasted bun that’s sealed in a nice greasy sheen.
Normally (over 5 decades) they have, but not with these (Ball Park) buns. First was a Tommy’s style chili burger and the mustard disappeared. The second was today at lunch (a Mcdonalds’ quarter pounder with cheese clone) where I put extra large dollops of ketchup and mustard on top of the cheese… dry less than halfway thru.
Most chains toast. McDonald’s famously quit for a time, but brought it back when customers fled because the untoasted burgers ate like cold, wet cardboard. They made new franchisees buy $7k vertical toasters.
Toasted buns just taste fresher, by dint of steaming the crumb. And your fast food burger stays warmer longer.
