When we think of burgers in the test kitchen we don’t just picture buns, meat, and lettuce. Sometimes we envision the green chile mixture served as a topping on Green Chile Cheeseburgers from New Mexico, or the bright Pimento Cheeseburgers from South Carolina.
Regional
7 of the Greatest Regional Burgers in America
Try the best hometown burgers all the way from New Mexico to Middletown, Connecticut.
By Published Aug. 21, 2018
Regardless of how we mentally picture a burger to be, we’ve learned that our choice of burger isn’t any less (or more) American than the person’s burger choice next to us. To equally spread the love for this All-American meal we’re sharing seven of the greatest regional burger recipes we’ve come across during our recipe-research trips around the country.
1. Green Chile Cheeseburgers from New Mexico
In New Mexico, green chiles are a regular on menus everywhere—even fast food joints. However, the hot green chiles from Hatch, New Mexico weren’t easy to find at local supermarkets. To get the same heat and captivating sweet, smoky flavors from the green chiles from New Mexico we combine Anaheims with jalapeños in our recipe. [GET THE RECIPE]
2. Connecticut Steamed Cheeseburgers from Conn.
You may think steaming cheeseburgers sounds like a peculiar or unexpected idea but it’s actually brilliant. You get incredibly juicy medium-well cooked meat coated in a gooey, molten cheddar. If that’s not a win-win, we’re not sure what is. [GET THE RECIPE]
3. Pimento Cheeseburgers from Columbia, S.C.
These aren't ordinary cheeseburgers, where a ho-hum slice of cheese plays second fiddle to the burger. The neon spread—made with orange cheddar, chopped pimentos, mayonnaise, cream cheese, mustard, and cayenne pepper—is the emphasis of this burger and happens to taste as bright as it looks. [GET THE RECIPE]
4. Shrimp Burgers from Beaufort, S.C.
Many shrimp burgers in Beaufort, South Carolina are dressed with nothing more than a smear of mayonnaise. In our version, we add a subtle tang and brightness to the salty-sweet shrimp burgers with freshly made tartar sauce. They'll never take the place of a trip to the Shrimp Shack, but these burgers will tide any home cook over. [GET THE RECIPE]
5. Queso Fundido Burgers from Calif.
If you’ve been to California before you know that they don’t take their queso game lightly. Our version of the Queso Fundido Burger is packed with bold flavors, sports a caramelized crust, and can easily be made in 30-minutes or less. [GET THE RECIPE]
6. Oklahoma Fried Onion Burgers from El Reno, Okla.
The fried onion burger (or FOB, to locals) was born in the 1920s out of Depression-era necessity at the Hamburger Inn out on Route 66 in El Reno, Oklahoma. By adding thinly sliced onions into the mix, cooks could use less meat without reducing the portion size.
We make our fried onion burgers thick (no more wartime shortages, after all), and serve them on toasted-and-buttered hamburger buns with classic yellow mustard, pickles, and American cheese. These burgers are wickedly delicious—salty and sweet, tangy and juicy, and very hard to stop eating. [GET THE RECIPE]
7. Wisconsin Butter Burgers from Milwaukee, Wis.
“Are you really putting butter on a burger?” Yes, and the minute a skeptic tries a bite of these butter burgers they’ll be convinced—like we were—that the folks over at Solly’s Grille in Milwaukee, Wisconsin are doing something right. [GET THE RECIPE]
If you’re looking for more burger ideas, we’ve got you covered with our dozen of burger recipes.