The One Element Of A Burger You Should Never Overlook, According To Guy Fieri

As the host of "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" on Food Network, Guy Fieri has traveled across the country sampling foods and diving into the heart of America's restaurant scene. Thanks to these adventures, he's tried a lot of burgers and has some opinions about what a good burger entails. Apparently, some of us have been neglecting what he considers a crucial part of the dish.

On a 2018 episode of "The Moment" with Brian Koppelman podcast, Fieri expressed his grievances over cooks forgetting to consider the bun when making a burger. He described the effort put into all the other ingredients, such as the aioli and toppings, despite neglecting the very thing holding the burger together. "You slap it on a bun out of a plastic bag, and you didn't toast it? You didn't butter it? You've got to give it treatment," he said.

It would seem that you can't take your burger to Flavortown without a little bit of warm-baked flair — and rightly so. The heat of toasting melts the butter, allowing the bread to absorb it, keeping the interior soft and supple. Toasting the burger buns also gives them a satisfying bite that complements the tender, juicy burger patty within. The scientific term for this process is the Maillard reaction: a process during which sugars and proteins produce flavor chemicals when exposed to heat.

When it comes to Guy Fieri's perfect burger, he typically puts more emphasis on the preparation than the type of bread. Improving something by toasting, buttering, seasoning, or saucing is classic food wisdom. However, the type of burger you're preparing may require a specific kind of bun to bring out its best flavors. The Big Mac wouldn't be the same without a sesame seed bun, and potato rolls are the secret to Shake Shack's iconic burgers. That means you need to find what works for your recipe.

That said, in an interview with Business Insider, Fieri shared that he prefers brioche. Brioche is a strong choice for many burgers thanks to its fluffy interior and smooth crust. It has a mild sweetness and a buttery taste that pair well with various ingredients. These buns are ideal for upscale burgers or those with heavy or wet toppings, such as a mushroom-Swiss or pimento cheese burger, which need the extra structure an enriched bread like brioche provides. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the kind of smashed cheeseburger you peel out of warm tin foil benefits from a sesame seed or potato roll (which was Anthony Bourdain's preferred burger bun). Whichever bun you choose, just make sure to give it Fieri's toast-and-butter treatment at a minimum.