It's a fixture in backyard barbecues, a staple of fast-food culture and even makes appearances on the menus of snooty French bistros. Why is the burger so ubiquitous? Because of its versatility and ease of preparation. A neighborhood diner can fry it up, slap it on a bun with mayo, pile it high with lettuce and tomato, and it will taste just as good as an intricately prepared, grilled Kobe burger on a baguette with Brie and truffles. It's just the Way of the Burger.
But with so many options in front of us, how can we sit down and properly order this American icon? Follow these simple steps.
Allot Yourself A Decent Amount Of Points® Values
A small cheeseburger on a bun with condiments and vegetables is going to run 11 Points at McDonald's and 30 Points at TGI Friday's. There are ways to dress up some of the healthier options to bring that number down considerably (substituting with turkey or leaner beef, for instance), but when you start knocking off Points, you're also more likely to knock off flavor. And if we're going out instead of just whipping up a few patties at home, then losing the flavor kind of defeats the purpose.
Types of Burgers
(Remember to add 2 to 6 Points to any numbers below to account for the bun.)
Chuck/beef: This is the classic All-American hamburger that we've all come to know and love. It's simply ground beef (and 90% lean or leaner ground beef is a ZeroPoint food).
Wagyu/Kobe: Fancier restaurants and bistros are beginning to make their burgers with Kobe beef. The cut, from Japanese cattle, offers better flavor because of the increased marbling but comes with a much higher price tag.
Bison/Buffalo: Leaner and healthier, the bison burger may need to be dressed up a bit, as the lack of fat in the cut can lessen the flavor. Still, a leaner cut of meat will end up being healthier for you (93% lean ground bison is a ZeroPoint food).
Ostrich: It's markedly harder to find an ostrich burger than a bison one, but when you do, your Tracker will thank you, as a quarter-pound of ostrich meat runs a Points value of just 4.
Turkey: A quarter-pound of 90% lean or leaner ground turkey is a ZeroPoint food and it's both tastier and a little less weird to eat than the ostrich.
Veggie: Because veggie burgers are a ground-up mash of beans, olives, onions, peppers, grains, cheeses, and pretty much any other non-meat option the chef would like to throw in, ranges can vary from 2 to 8 Points.
How can I make it healthier?
- Casting aside the bun and eating just the meat may save around 5 Points.
- Eating at a restaurant where the burgers are grilled and the fat is allowed to drip off will end up being healthier and tastier than at a diner or fast-food joint where the burgers are fried.
- Watch your toppings: bacon, heavy cheese and pan-fried mushrooms all add more Points than the staples of lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion. If you really want to shave Points, ditch the mayo and just stick with mustard.
How You Want it Cooked
On a scale from "bloody" to "burnt to a crisp," there are five general options you have when ordering a burger: rare, medium-rare, medium, medium-well and well. Generally, "medium" will get you enough crispiness on the outside and pink on the inside to make that perfect complement, but it never hurts to ask the waiter to suggest a temperature, just in case the chef seasons the burgers in a way that would make one temperature better than the rest.
Toppings
Order as much tomato, onion, pickle, and lettuce on your burger as you'd like; they're going to run you 0 Points each.
Mustard is also a free pass (as long as it’s not honey mustard), but ketchup will run you a Points value of 1 for a tablespoon. Honey mustard is 2 Points for 1 tablespoon. Mayonnaise can cost 3 Points for 4 tablespoons of a fat-free option or for 1 tablespoon of regular.
Cheese
A slice of American cheese is going to run you 5 Points. Cheddar, blue, pepper jack, Brie and even feta cheese are all in the same neighborhood. Ask your waiter if there's a low-fat cheese option, or forgo the cheese altogether and dress up your burger with a little barbecue sauce (about 3 Points for 2 tablespoons) instead.
"Fries or a salad?"
A small serving is about 9 Points. Opt instead for a salad, baked potato with salt and butter, or maybe some kind of vegetable offering. The Points you save on your side dish could buy you some cheese or bacon (3-5 Points) on the main attraction. And the burger is the reason you're out anyway.
Burger and a beer
Having two light beers (about 8 Points total) as opposed to two regular beers (about 10 Points total) just bought you a few Points you'd need to add some cheddar cheese on top of the burger.
Burgers in pop culture
- Burgertime: This 1982 video-game classic features a frenzied Peter Pepper being chased by Mr. Hot Dog, Mr. Pickle and Mr. Egg as he runs over toppings to make burgers.
- Ronald McDonald: First appearing in commercials in 1963 (played by now-famous weatherman Willard Scott), Ronald, just like the burgers he hawks, has more than one story of origin. Both Scott and a man named George Voorhis claim to have invented the icon.
- Cheeseburger in Paradise: the 1978 Jimmy Buffett hit made its way to #32 on the Billboard Hot 100.
- Burgermeister Meisterburger: The mayor of Sombertown in the Claymation classic Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, Meisterburger outlawed all toys and inadvertently spawned the creation of several Christmas traditions.