When re-imagining classic dishes, chefs often have to remember that sometimes less is more - and, on occasion, the original cannot be improved upon.
According to late chef Anthony Bourdain, who shared his tips for making the perfect burger, the advice was especially true with burgers.
In a video for Tech Insider, Bourdain, who died on June 8 by suicide at 61-years-old, described what makes a burger flawless, and what to avoid.
The celebrity chef, who’d eaten various burgers all over the world, was adamant that burgers include just three staples.
First, burgers need a “soft squishy potato bun.”
A “hunk of well-ground good-quality beef” was also key, and finally, “processed meltable cheese.”
Compiled into a burger, these three ingredients usually make for a meal that you can eat with one hand - while getting a “representative chunk of all the elements.”
So when contemplating additional toppings for a burger, one must consider the burger from a more complex level than just “Will it taste good?” he said.
According to Bourdain, the important question to ask oneself was: “Is this thing I’m doing to this perfectly good, classic dish - is it making it better? It might make it more entertaining. It might dazzle people and say ‘Oh look how clever he is.’
“You might deconstruct it in a way that impresses people, or delights them, or astounds them… but does it make it better?”
For the Parts Unknown host, the answer was typically no - the additional or varied toppings would not improve on the classic.
After all, over-complicating a burger can offset the delicate balance of ingredients, making it hard to consume - which Bourdain views as “one of the greatest sins in ‘Burgerdom.’”
Some ketchup was approved by the beloved chef, and maybe some mayonnaise, but apart from that, Bourdain believed simple was better when it came burgers.
