How to make a perfect Five Guys burger
You'd think that making a copycat Five Guys burger would be pretty easy; it's just meat and bun. But naturally there's a bit more to it than just throwing some beef on a hot surface. Five Guys uses very specific products to get that taste exactly right. Surprisingly, a lot of what goes into a Five Guys burger can be easily found. If you use the correct stuff, and follow the formula, you'll be making burgers just like they do at Five Guys.
What do you need for burgers? You need meat. I mixed equal portions 80/20 chuck with 90/10 sirloin. You'll also need sesame seed buns, deli-style Kraft American cheese, ketchup, mustard, hot sauce, and mayonnaise. For equipment, you'll need two cooking areas, nonstick parchment paper, a cookie sheet, a food scale, and aluminum foil. (Full ingredients list is at the end with the recipe.)
The beef Five Guys uses at most of its stores comes from Schweid and Sons, and if you live in the right areas, you might be able to buy some down at the grocery store. Five Guys uses a blend of chuck and sirloin, and none of its restaurants have freezers on site, so to get the perfect Five Guys burger, buy your meat fresh and only refrigerate it.
Schweid and Sons does not sell a straight-up chuck/sirloin mix, so we'll have to fake that part. Alton Brown splits his chuck/sirloin mixture 50/50, and if it's good enough for Alton, it's good enough for me.
Five Guys does not add anything to the meat; no salt, no pepper, no onion powder — nothing. It's just meat and bun. As for the specifics, Five Guys will tell you that the meat is "twice ground." If you head to your local grocery store and ask the butcher for some "twice-ground" meat, he'll laugh a little and point to the meat sitting in the rack. All grocery meat is ground twice: once at the packing facility and once in store. So it's just the same meat you purchase for meatloaf night.
80/20 chuck, about ¼ pound
90/10 sirloin, about ¼ pound
2 sesame seed buns
4 slices Kraft American cheese, deli style
ketchup
mustard
hot sauce
mayonnaise
2 cooking areas (one for buns, one for meat)
non-grease parchment paper
cookie sheet
food scale
aluminum foil
Mix even proportions of chuck and sirloin. Make 4 meatballs, weighing 3.3 ounces each. Flatten balls between nonstick parchment paper.
On different grills, simultaneously start cooking burgers on medium-high and toasting buns on medium-low. At 30 seconds in, flip and flatten burgers.
When buns are lightly toasted, remove from heat. Coat top bun with generous helping of hot sauce and mayo. Coat bottom bun with 3 rings of ketchup and 2 rings of mustard.
About 2 minutes after the first flip, flip burgers again and flatten to your liking. Flip again 2 minutes later, flattening again.
Top each patty with 1 slice cheese. Put 2 patties together cheese to cheese, and place stack between buns.
Wrap burger in aluminum foil. Keep wrapped for at least 1 minute, then unwrap and enjoy.
The beef Five Guys uses at most of its stores comes from Schweid and Sons, and if you live in the right areas, you might be able to buy some down at the grocery store. Five Guys uses a blend of chuck and sirloin, and none of its restaurants have freezers on site, so to get the perfect Five Guys burger, buy your meat fresh and only refrigerate it.
Schweid and Sons does not sell a straight-up chuck/sirloin mix, so we'll have to fake that part. Alton Brown splits his chuck/sirloin mixture 50/50, and if it's good enough for Alton, it's good enough for me.
Five Guys does not add anything to the meat; no salt, no pepper, no onion powder — nothing. It's just meat and bun. As for the specifics, Five Guys will tell you that the meat is "twice ground." If you head to your local grocery store and ask the butcher for some "twice-ground" meat, he'll laugh a little and point to the meat sitting in the rack. All grocery meat is ground twice: once at the packing facility and once in store. So it's just the same meat you purchase for meatloaf night.
The hardware
80/20 chuck, about ¼ pound
90/10 sirloin, about ¼ pound
2 sesame seed buns
4 slices Kraft American cheese, deli style
ketchup
mustard
hot sauce
mayonnaise
2 cooking areas (one for buns, one for meat)
non-grease parchment paper
cookie sheet
food scale
aluminum foil
The process
Mix even proportions of chuck and sirloin. Make 4 meatballs, weighing 3.3 ounces each. Flatten balls between nonstick parchment paper.
On different grills, simultaneously start cooking burgers on medium-high and toasting buns on medium-low. At 30 seconds in, flip and flatten burgers.
When buns are lightly toasted, remove from heat. Coat top bun with generous helping of hot sauce and mayo. Coat bottom bun with 3 rings of ketchup and 2 rings of mustard.
About 2 minutes after the first flip, flip burgers again and flatten to your liking. Flip again 2 minutes later, flattening again.
Top each patty with 1 slice cheese. Put 2 patties together cheese to cheese, and place stack between buns.
Wrap burger in aluminum foil. Keep wrapped for at least 1 minute, then unwrap and enjoy.
