We're celebrating all things fast food this week, which, surprisingly enough, may inspire the home cook in you. Sure, spending a couple bucks on a flattened, well-done burger with a squirt of ketchup, a slice of American cheese, and a sesame bun is as American as… baseball, or whatever. But so is firing up your grill—or your cast iron—and making a meaty sandwich that's DIY and to-die-for.We've put together a list of some of our favorite soigné burger recipes that can satiate your fast food cravings in the safety of your own kitchen.
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We've got the whole spectrum of burger subspecies, from mammoth to slider, from meat to beet.
What makes an Aussie Burger an Aussie Burger? There are a lot of variations out there, but the recurring theme is a fried egg. This riff on the Aussie staple is also loaded with a bunch of thick-cut bacon, so feel free to have it for breakfast.RECIPE: Aussie Burger
You're probably thinking, "Oh god, another veggie burger?" But we promise that this mushroom-based patty from Burgerlords will convince or at least confuse even your most carnivorous buddies that meat-free is not a bad way to be.RECIPE: Burgerlords Veggie Burger
This recipe may hail from Copenhagen's Fedtegreven Bistrobodega but it's a masterful ode to American fast food and junk food. Not content with the run-of-the-mill (pun intended) flour dredge in most fried chicken recipes, the mad geniuses at Fedtegreven Bistrobodega decided to coat these chicken thighs in pulverized store-bought tortilla chips. Pick your favorite powdered-cheese flavor and blast your taste buds with a sodium bomb.RECIPE: Nacho-Fried Chicken Burger
OK, so this isn't technically a burger, but it's like the first cousin of the burger, and sometimes you just don't have sesame buns handy. But a beef patty tastes just as good on a loaf as it does in a bun, especially when the meat is hand-cut and slathered in béchamel and caramelized onions.RECIPE: Patty Melt
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When Matty Matheson makes burgers, he strives for nothing less than perfection, which, if you follow his recipe, is attainable. Seriously, this is the one true cheeseburger.RECIPE: Perfect Cheeseburgers
What this burger lacks in meat, it makes up for in flavor. Gracias Madre's Chandra Gilbert beet patties look suspiciously like beef, but are loaded with healthy plant-based ingredients like black beans, rice, and pumpkin seeds, and topped with decadent chili mayo and truffle cashew cheese.RECIPE: Vegan Beet Burgers
Sometimes, smaller is better. When you have an insane amount of topping choices, you might not want to commit to a hulking six-ounce patty. And when you have bone marrow, Cheddar mayo, and homemade pickles, you won't even miss all that extra beef.Don't think outside the bun—just think better buns.RECIPE: Beef Sliders