The stuff(ing) of legends
In case you missed the memo, stuffed burgers are currently all the rage. TASTE takes a look at the origin of these ingredient-oozing wonders
What could possibly be better than a burger? A stuffed burger, of course! Just ask TASTE’s online content producer Ashraf Booley, who simply can’t get enough of the filled patties at Inside and You’re Out (IYO), which is just a stone’s throw from our offices at New Media. But how did this become a trend, you might ask. And, more importantly, who came up with the novel idea of filling patties with gourmet ingredients?
Many say what we now know as the stuffed burger was first conceived of somewhere around the 1950s in the USA’s Minneapolis, and started out as the Jucy Lucy [sic] – a burger with a cheese-filled patty, and topped with extra cheese.
Two restaurants, both located on Minneapolis’s Cedar Avenue, claim to have come up the Jucy Lucy: Matt’s Bar (“Home of the original ‘Jucy Lucy’”) and 5-8 Club (“Home of the Juicy Lucy”). Matt’s Bar is known to say: “Remember, if it’s spelled correctly, you’re eating a shameless rip-off”, while 5-8 Club counters this with “If it’s spelled right, it’s done right.”
Semantics and copyright issues aside, the cheese-filled patty became an instant hit (it was even named one of Time magazine’s 17 most influential burgers and recently re-emerged into the spotlight when Burgerbusiness.com named 2011 the year of the stuffed burger, largely because fast-food giants Burger King added cheese-stuffed burgers to their repertoire.
As with all trends, the original concept has evolved. Just take a gander on the internet and you’ll find innovative gourmet fillings including the likes of Swiss cheese, BBQ sauce and horseradish; mushroom and blue cheese; and bacon, onion and Cheddar.
While you could easily make your own stuffed burger without any fancy equipment (YouTube is awash with easy tutorials such as this one, there are also some clever folks who have devised special gadgets to help you churn out stuffed patties like a pro. Whatever method you employ, you’re sure to be crowned mister or miss popularity if you whip up a couple of these babies at your next dinner party.
Discover more ultimate burger recipes here.
Have you recently eaten a stuffed burger? Have you tried making your own? We’d love to hear your take on the trend. Leave your comments below.
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