The Grand Burger Challenge - Round Three - The Wagyu Burger
If I’m being totally honest; this is the one I was looking forward too. I was determined to still judge it on its merits, but how could a foodie not be excited by the prospect of a 600 day grain fed Wagyu beef burger?
Wagyu is not something you see much of in the UK, well, not outside London anyway. I’ve been reliably informed that it’s starting to creep onto menus here and there, but it’s at UK prices plus a premium. When I first arrived in Sydney I was stunned to find that you can buy it pretty much anywhere. It’s available in every butcher I’ve been to and it features on at least eighty percent of the menus I get my hands on.
First time I tried it was at the Japanese place just up the road (another thing that is wonderful about Sydney is the sheer number of good Japanese restaurants. Edinburgh has two). I was expecting some tasty beef but not prepared for the taste sensation that ensued.
Wagyu is special. Not special in that ‘foodie’ ‘oh it’s tastes of rainbows and honeysuckle pixies’ way, but really properly special. It has a higher percentage of monounsaturated fats than normal beef and yet it manages to taste like it’s been dipped in butter. It’s rich, velvety and smooth.
But does it make a good burger?
Yep. Damn skippy it does.
It was a sunny afternoon so we, me and five hungry colleagues, phoned in an order for six Wagyu burgers. Happily Plan B is just over the road and right next to a nice little garden, which is a bit of a rarity in the city centre. It’s a perfect place for lunch on a sunny day. The burgers are a bargain at $10 a pop.
Twenty minutes after picking up the phone we went and collected our burgers and headed for a spot in the sun.
The burgers aren’t huge. That’s a good thing. They are a decent size and the burger is almost round, like a mini cricket ball. It comes on a toasted brioche with a thin slice of cheddar, some lettuce, pickled beetroot, caramelised onions and a dollop of mayonnaise.
The full recipe can be found here – make your own Wagyu Burgers.
The wagyu has great depth of flavour. One of my colleagues, Tom, mentioned it had a bit of a clove flavour to it, which I agree with, but they are nowhere in the recipe. The beetroot is quite subtle and the onion is sweet and adds a little sharp twang. The bun works really well, providing a bit of sweetness and yet it’s lighter than a normal bun and doesn’t overwhelm the wagyu. Nothing could overwhelm the wagyu. As I bite into it the fat runs down my chin. I can’t help but grin. It’s rich, filling and spicy.
Even a strong black coffee back at the office doesn’t quite cut through the fat coating my mouth.
I asked the guys to rate the burgers out of ten taking only flavour into account as much as possible.
Dom – 9/10 – needs to be bigger!
Tom 1 – 7/10 – Not bad, better than the last one. Tastes a bit ‘clovey’ and could do with being bigger.
Simon – 7/10 – Tasty but not as good as the burgers at Silks.
Matt – 8/10 – Liked the sweet buns, but I suspect he just wanted to say ‘sweet buns’ a lot. Wanted a sausage roll when we were done. Fat git.
Tom 2 – 7/10 – Bun a bit soggy but otherwise not bad. Could be bigger.
And what did I think? Well it was better than the Big Mac! Big surprise, eh? It really was though. Admittedly it’s twice the price but it’s also easily an<script type="> ced/langs/en.js?1254614361" type="text/javascript"> twice the burger. It looks nice for one thing. The ingredients are quality, which means they are starting from a position of strength straight away, but I think the real difference is that a bit of effort has been put into it. The Big Mac was relatively inoffensive fuel; it’ll keep you alive....probably. The wagyu burger was to be savoured (although not at the speed Dom ate his!).
Sorry if it’s a bit predictable but that’s the way it goes sometimes. The wagyu burger is going to be tough to beat.
