Test of Burger King’s gourmet burgers

You do not have to go far to find a really good burger in the capital. Good burger places are soon closer than real estate agents in the center and entice with josper grills, truffle mayonnaise, sweet potato fries and fries of the loaded kind. No wonder the burger chains are following suit.

McDonald’s was out early and courted the hipster audience and launched Homestyle Juicy, burger with truffle mayonnaise, and sweet potato fries in 2017. Since then, Burger King has also had at least one truffle variant on the menu. In recent years, the chains have competed to launch good, meat-free alternatives. And now Burger King is betting even harder on the gourmet segment with two new burgers. We have tested.

At the same time as the two new burgers appear on the menu, the burger chain strikes and launches a non-alcoholic beer in collaboration with the Danish microbrewery Mikkeller, The King’s Cup. The beer, a hoppy wheat ale, is available as long as the stock lasts.

A very good idea, we should believe Viktor and David Dörrich, the Swedish brothers who are behind Kverneriet, one of Norway’s most popular burger chains – and also the one who ran away with the victory when we voted Oslo’s best burger on the doorstep last year. They joined to evaluate the two new burgers ahead of the launch.

– The new burgers are a step up, but some details are still missing. But the beer, it works with the burgers, they actually taste better, says David Dörrich excitedly.

– Properly thought out

Three things in particular have been important, when the burger chain now launches gourmet burgers, says Heidi Moss, marketing manager at Burger King Norway.

The burger itself is delivered, like all Burger King burgers, by Jæren Kjøtt, but it is larger than usual, 150 grams against 113 which is standard on a Whopper. The bread is brioche, instead of the usual burger breads topped with sesame seeds.

The salad has also been upgraded, and the burgers are served with a mix of frissé and arugula salad, which Bama has developed especially for the new burgers.

– This is the starting point, and then we have developed two new flavors, says Moss: – The wild Bar’B’Que, with pickled red cabbage and BBQ sauce, and The hot Avocado with aioli and guacamole.

– The premium burgers have come to stay, but the accessories will probably vary, says Moss.

– Here they have thought very correctly. Especially bread and burgers are important to have in place, if it does not work, then it does not help how much good accessories you have, says David.

They have a long way to go with that, we must believe the test panel, especially the meat impresses.

– The ratio, how much meat and accessories there are in relation to the bread, is also important, Viktor adds.

All in all, the test panel is impressed with the burgers, which is a clear step up compared to their bestseller Whopper Cheese.

– With small adjustments, both the new burgers could easily have been a fiver. One has a bit to go on in balancing taste, the other in balancing quantity.

It is the burger where the test panel is left with the good aftertaste that goes off with the victory this time.

– They are talking about something here. Thumbs up!

This is how we tested

• We have tasted the new gourmet burgers for Burger King.
• The burgers are prepared by Burger King staff. This is a tasting, and the test has therefore not been carried out as a blind test.
• In the test panel are Viktor and David Dörrich from Kvärneriet.
• The burgers are assessed by appearance, consistency, composition, relationship between the elements and taste. The beer is considered a non-alcoholic beer – to be served with burgers.

The Wild Bar’B’Que

Price: 129 for burger, 169 for menu.

This burger is very appealing, and the test panel praises the colors: Yellow, red, purple and green decorate a well-fried burger.

Here the bread is topped with bbq sauce, then burger, cheese, bacon, pickled red cabbage, tomato and salad.

This burger has nice textures. The cabbage is crispy and with good chewing, it is nice with lettuce and tomato, and the burger is well balanced in the ratio between meat, bread and accessories.

The meat impresses the test panel. It has good chewing, it is well cooked, and has a good barbecue taste. The bbq sauce is quite ordinary, a little on the sweet side, and the test panel lacks acid. The red cabbage is pickled, but is more bitter than sour – so even though it gives a nice texture, the taste is a bit unbalanced. This lacks the slightly sour, fresh element to balance the bbq sauce.

The test panel is also a little disappointed that such a well-fried burger is accompanied by a little soft bacon. It would have taken a few more minutes.

– The taste is unfortunately not quite there, but the actual implementation, bread, meat, condiments and accessories – is the better of the two. They’re in on something, but it does not quite hit.

– This burger gets good help from the beer, which cuts through the slightly bittersweet.

– When I get that meat, I’m happy! That caramelization there I would have been happy to be served anywhere.

The Hot Avocado

Price: 125 for burger and 162 for menu.

– Whenever in doubt, put avokado on it …

This burger has a thin layer of guacamole on the bottom, then burger, cheese, crispy onions, salad mix and aioli. The presentation is nice, it is wrapped in paper and then a hard box, but it is unmistakably a fast food burger – albeit with very tempting meat.

Made with guacamole is disappointingly thin. When something is called avocado, you expect a little more flavor, but here it drowns a little. The meat is juicy and good, and has a good grill taste, and the combination with cheese, crispy onions and salad is good. The aioli also falls in taste, and here the hot element emerges: some chili gives a good stitch, which stays a little in the mouth.

The test panel is disappointed that the cheese has not melted.

The relationship between burger, accessories and bread is also not quite in place. There is a lot of bread in the lid, and it dominates the taste. But there is not much to do here, just small adjustments: A little more salad, and some more guacamole, then the balance will be right.

– What makes me still like this is that the meat is really good. It may not be extraordinary, but really good, much better than expected.

The King’s cup

0,3 %

The test panel was impressed by the burgers, but it is the beer that brings out the biggest excitement.

The beer is light, clear and has a pleasant light carbonation. It is fresh, fruity and despite being a hoppy wheat ale, it is not too strong hop bitterness.

It is a non-alcoholic beer, and you can taste it – but without doing anything. It’s fresh and refreshing, and the test panel is over.

– It also goes well with the burgers. Not only does it taste good, it makes The Wild BarBQue burger taste better.

– This is a product I want to give a six. A fantastic product, not only because it looks cool, but the quality of being here at a fast food restaurant … I may not think it can get any better.

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