top to bottom:
top bun/bread
"soft" condiments (sauces/dressings, etc.)
acidic "hard" condiments (pickles/onions, etc.)
neutral/textural toppings (lettuce)
[special exception layer: carmelized acidic toppings like sauteed onions or peppers go directly on cheese]
cheese
meat or meat substitute
bottom bun/bread
Thank you I will be taking no questions.
There should be condiments on both pieces of bread. Oil-based condiments (mayo, oil, avocado/guac) should be on the top bun. Sweet or sour condiments (mustard) should be on the bottom. If using oil or other liquid dressing, it should go on top of the other condiments.
Edit: if the meat or equivalent is dry (e.g. turkey) then there should be oil on the bottom layer of bread as well as the top.
If a BBQ sandwich, BBQ sauce goes on top of the meat.
In reply to JG Pasterjak :
No real argument there, but one clarification:
If tomatoes are present, they go above lettuce and below pickles / onions.
(Note - I personally consider lettuce / tomatoes / pickles / onions as "fixins" rather than "condiments", but I'll allow it.)
Disagree on condiments on the bottom bread. That is reserved for delicious burger juice.
Alton Brown did an entire episode of Good Eats on building the perfect sandwich in which he explains something to the effect of "placing slidey ingredients with layers in between so the sandwich doesn't fall apart."
I can live with JG's thoughts as long as I can have mustard on the the bottom bun.
z31maniac said:Alton Brown did an entire episode of Good Eats on building the perfect sandwich in which he explains something to the effect of "placing slidey ingredients with layers in between so the sandwich doesn't fall apart."
Alton Brown also hawks brain pills on late night infomercials so he may not be the reliable narrator we once thought he was.
Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) said:I can live with JG's thoughts as long as I can have mustard on the the bottom bun.
Whatever man it's your funeral
Okay, startled to hear that about Alton Brown. Bummer.
Mostly agree, but you're making it difficult to think through since I never assemble a sandwich from the top down.
I think I've recently been putting tomato and avocado directly above the cheese but with lettuce on top to stop the tomato soaking the bread. Which may be moot thanks to the mayo/mustard. (I haven't assembled a burger recently since I've been on a rotating Sonic/DQ/A&W comparison kick and don't need to add more burgers to my diet; this is how I've been doing turkey sandwiches lately)
I think next batch I'll probably go (from the bottom) turkey->cheese->avocado->lettuce (in a possibly vain attempt to separate the relatively slidey avocado from the...)-> tomato->salt & pepper->mayo & mustard on top slice.
Shockingly, we are 8 posts into this invigorating discussion, and still no mention of where goes the fried egg?!
In reply to 1988RedT2 :
Bottom bun
Sauce or lettuce (to prevent burger juice from destroying bun before the halfway point)
Patty
Fried onions
Cheese
(Optional extra patty, onion, cheese)
Bacon
(This layer reserved for fancy places that let you get pulled pork or brisket on the burger)
Egg
Top bun
Not sure why this is so confusing, but I can't take advice from someone who watches late night infomercials.
The egg goes on top so the yolk drips into the rest of the sandwich. You are leaving a runny yolk, because why bother otherwise?
I put the lettuce on top of the pickles because the lettuce seems like a weak foundation for your “hard” condiments. Pickles stick to the burger (or bun) but seem to want to slide off the lettuce.
Just putting it out there.
Where are the fried egg and the tater tots? A good burger needs those two.
Bun
Mayo
Mustard (Ka-Me hot mustard preferred, Yellow if not available)
Salt & Pepper
Tomato
Lettuce
Onion
Fried Egg (over medium please)
Burger (Fresh ground and medium rare please.)
Tater Tots
Mayo
Bun
I don't care about the order, but please don't put the condiments on the bread. It just makes it soggy.
Cheese must go on burger first, too, and should be melted. (Before the condiments, of course)
Also, a good burger needs a good roll. It's so underrated. I prefer kaiser rolls myself.
In reply to Toyman! :
According to the 1980s, you're supposed to avoid the egg altogether. 
Also, for mustard, there can be only one: Ba-Tampte.
J.A. Ackley said:I don't care about the order, but please don't put the condiments on the bread. It just makes it soggy.
Cheese must go on burger first, too, and should be melted. (Before the condiments, of course)
Also, a good burger needs a good roll. It's so underrated. I prefer kaiser rolls myself.
If you don't have to eat the last 25% of the burger with a fork with juice dripping off your elbows, it wasn't a very good burger.
J.A. Ackley said:
Also, a good burger needs a good roll. It's so underrated. I prefer kaiser rolls myself.
Burger-wise I think the default setting is the Martin's Potato Roll. It brings a lot to the table, without overpowering anything. But, yeah, a kaiser or brioche can also work, but I think any burger bread has to be soft enough so when you bite through it you get a clean bite and don't smoosh the patty (I'm looking at you, pretzel buns). I also think it's important for the meat to touch the bottom bun so the bottom bun can soak up some meat juice. Like, I'll entertain arguments (nicorrect, though they may be) for mustard or mayo on bottom buns, but GTFO with lettuce under a burger patty. My ancestors didn't die on the beaches of Calgary so you could put lettuce UNDER a dang burger.
J.A. Ackley said:Also, a good burger needs a good roll. It's so underrated. I prefer kaiser rolls myself.
I'm not too picky about the type roll, though it shouldn't impact the flavor of the whole burger/sandwich too significantly.
Also, don't forget to toast the buns. Just a couple of seconds to add a little texture.
JG Pasterjak said:z31maniac said:Alton Brown did an entire episode of Good Eats on building the perfect sandwich in which he explains something to the effect of "placing slidey ingredients with layers in between so the sandwich doesn't fall apart."
Alton Brown also hawks brain pills on late night infomercials so he may not be the reliable narrator we once thought he was.
I've got to back up RevRico on your judgment being suspect if you're watching late night infomercials.
But actually the perfect burger, is the Oklahoma Onion Burger from Robert's in El Reno (their chili, slaw, and coneys are also fantastic). It's tiny dive of a place with maybe 15 seats around bar top (no beer or alcohol), opened in 1926. In which the construction ends up from the bottom up:
Bun
Patty/onions that have been smashed and cooked into the meat.
Cheese melted into the patty (although that probably wouldn't have been included back then due to the entire reason for the onion burger)
pickles
mustard all over the pickles (pickles and mustard are on the side so you can decide your particular ratio)
The buns are "steamed" on top of the patty/onion/cheese "conglomerate" so they get warm and soft.
Onion burgers were originally invented during the great depression to stretch expensive meat with cheap onions.
https://okmag.com/blog/roberts-grill/
Side note: You're a damned heathen if you're putting ketchup on a burger. The sweetness covers up the taste of everything else.
I will not be convinced otherwise.
z31maniac said:JG Pasterjak said:z31maniac said:Alton Brown did an entire episode of Good Eats on building the perfect sandwich in which he explains something to the effect of "placing slidey ingredients with layers in between so the sandwich doesn't fall apart."
Alton Brown also hawks brain pills on late night infomercials so he may not be the reliable narrator we once thought he was.
I've got to back up RevRico on your judgment being suspect if you're watching late night infomercials.
But actually the perfect burger, is the Oklahoma Onion Burger from Robert's in El Reno (their chili, slaw, and coneys are also fantastic). It's tiny dive of a place with maybe 15 seats around bar top (no beer or alcohol), opened in 1926. In which the construction ends up from the bottom up:
Bun
Patty/onions that have been smashed and cooked into the meat.
Cheese melted into the patty (although that probably wouldn't have been included back then due to the entire reason for the onion burger)
pickles
mustard all over the pickles (pickles and mustard are on the side so you can decide your particular ratio)
The buns are "steamed" on top of the patty/onion/cheese "conglomerate" so they get warm and soft.Onion burgers were originally invented during the great depression to stretch expensive meat with cheap onions.
https://okmag.com/blog/roberts-grill/
The onion burger gets a special exemption for allowing the onions below the meat because a) it's awesome and b) the onions are an integral part of the cooking process and thus are granted special rights and allowances.
JG Pasterjak said:top to bottom:
top bun/bread
"soft" condiments (sauces/dressings, etc.)
acidic "hard" condiments (pickles/onions, etc.)
neutral/textural toppings (lettuce)
[special exception layer: carmelized acidic toppings like sauteed onions or peppers go directly on cheese]
cheese
meat or meat substitute
bottom bun/bread
Thank you I will be taking no questions.
To steal from the old Porsche ads: meat, there is no substitute!
So, where do the mustard Skittles go? Okay, I'll walk myself away from this thread. :-D
z31maniac said:Side note: You're a damned heathen if you're putting ketchup on a burger. The sweetness covers up the taste of everything else.
Only if you put too much ketchup - be sparing - and fail to add mustard to back it up.
JG Pasterjak said:Burger-wise I think the default setting is the Martin's Potato Roll. It brings a lot to the table, without overpowering anything.
Now that is too sweet. Tolerable if there are not other options, but brioche, kaiser, and plain white buns (in that order) are all better choices.
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