How to master the burger at home

From brioche buns to bunless, burgers are back in new interesting forms. Here’s how to create your own ‘burger experience’

Making the most of my Netflix subscription, last week I decided to move away from the stream of crime dramas I’ve binged watched over the last few weeks, and started a new series based in the UK where food start-up companies compete for major investment from F&B entrepreneurs. One couple in particular caught my eye — an East London-based pop-up burger company who claimed to have created the ‘best burgers in town’, a big claim as one of the judges had launched one of the most successful burger companies in the city over the last few years. From their street food stall they wanted to open a small intimate restaurant. Sadly, after failing to impress the judges, they didn’t secure the investment they needed but ‘learnt a lot from the experience’.

I’m a sucker for a well-grilled pattie. Dubai certainly caters to that. Just take a drive along Jumeirah Beach Road and you’ll find a burger joint on every corner — I often refer to it as ‘Jumeirah Burger Road’.

During my college days I worked part-time at a popular burger restaurant, synonymous with the golden arches. The long shifts hunched over a hot grill, flipping frozen burgers was gruelling, but the camaraderie was fun — we were all young and the atmosphere was always friendly.

Since leaving, I’ve rarely visited the food outlet. Back in the late 80s, fast food didn’t have the stigma it has now. It was quick convenient food; popular with the kids and a real treat, I even met the main character Ronald.

It was Morgan Spurlock’s 2004 indie film

Super Size Me that catapulted the industry into the news headlines. We’re all told everything in moderation, but his movie made a lot of people question the nutritional content of all fast food and what it was doing to people’s health.

The burger is now back in a more sustainable form, handmade from free-range locally sourced beef. People now want the ‘burger experience’. From Brioche buns and black buns to bunless burgers, you can

find pretty much any burger you want in Dubai.

I love a classic cheeseburger, with American style mustard, ketchup and some sweet pickles; the kind of burger that requires stacks of napkins or a bib.

I’ve experimented with different recipes from jerk chicken burgers to spicy beef burgers.

I resent seeing freshly made burgers in packs on sale in stores; it doesn’t take any time at all. Any food that’s celebrated with a national day is clearly a dish that people love. But why not celebrate this food favourite any day?

But not every day - you saw what happened to Morgan Spurlock!