Make Identical Five Guys Burgers At Home Using This Simple In-House Method

Anyone who loves Five Guys knows that there is some magic going on in those burgers. It turns out, one of Five Guys' secrets is actually the way in which the chain cooks the patties, and once you know how it's done, it becomes all too easy to recreate your favorite fast food burger at home.

Other burgers may be thicker and aim for a slightly pink center, but Five Guys always cooks its meat well done with a slightly thinner surface area and that creates the signature crispy crust on the outside. In order to make Five Guys-style burgers at home, you want to first form round patties with ground beef (you can also pick raw plant-based options). Make sure to shape and form the patties by hand the way the chain does. 

The meat at Five Guys is always fresh, never frozen so skip the burger patties in the freezer aisle and use ground beef instead. Place these hand-rounded patties on a seasoned grill with no oil (Five Guys cooks them on grills seasoned with nothing but the meat's natural fat and juice), and once they start to look gray, flip them over, and press them with a burger press. If you have no burger press at home, a spatula will do the trick, just don't press too hard as these aren't smash burgers.

While, of course, nailing the patty is essential, it's only part of the overall experience. If you really want to cook a copycat burger as close to the original as possible, you need to also think about the buns, cheese, and toppings. In Five Guys restaurants, buns are toasted on a dedicated grill rather than in a toaster, which keeps them from going soggy but doesn't let them crisp too much. At home though, you could toast them on the same seasoned grilled as the patty or your toaster.

Then, Five Guys famously offers a free and unlimited toppings to choose from. You can go all the way and throw on everything: shredded lettuce, grilled onions, pickles, grilled mushrooms, tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, and mayo. At the end of it, just make sure you wrap your burger in foil for the real Five Guys experience.

And what is extra nice about a hack like this is that while vegans still have to avoid ordering at Five Guys as the chain doesn't offer plant-based burger patties, this DIY means even the non-meat eaters can get in on the fun. Once you understand the system is just thinner, crispier, hand-formed patties layered on a toasted but soft bun with fresh toppings, you're closer than you think to Five Guys at home any time the craving hits.