Burger Boards Make It Easier To Build Exactly What You Want At BBQs

Do you ever have decision fatigue when it comes to selecting your favorite toppings for home-cooked burgers? After all, burgers are a versatile meal that can be dressed up or down with a whole host of flavorful toppings and condiments. Whether you're grilling your next round of burgers for an outdoor get-together or making a few for a simple weeknight meal, when you want to offer more variety in regards to toppings, build a burger board.

Instead of serving juicy beef patties with only the basics (think ketchup, mustard, lettuce, onions, and tomatoes), use burger boards to transform the process of dressing burgers into a fun, creative, and more personalized experience. The process is simple: Arrange your buns, sliced cheeses, various toppings, and a range of condiments on one large serving board. You can also set up several smaller serving boards to organize toppings based on type to break up lines at big gatherings. Come dinnertime, each guest can build their own burger with whatever fixings they're in the mood for.

Burger boards are especially beneficial at barbecues since you can use your grill to make much more than just the burgers themselves. For instance, place a cast-iron pan over your grill grates to prepare hot, savory toppings like caramelized onions, fried eggs, and bacon. At mealtime, serve any cooked toppings together on one smaller board and situate your buns, cheese, and chilled toppings and condiments on additional boards or platters. Feel free to get even more creative by adding a board of fried burger toppings like fried jalapeños and potato chips. You can even assemble a board of sweet ingredients for savory burgers with mango chutney, hot honey, and grilled pineapple.

To set up your burger boards, start by prepping any chilled ingredients a few hours in advance and keep them stored in your refrigerator until mealtime. Wash your lettuce, slice your onions and tomatoes, and arrange your pickles all on the same tray, and cover it with plastic wrap. If you're serving a variety of sauces in smaller serving bowls, portion them out in advance and keep the bowls covered in your fridge until the burgers are ready to be assembled. Not only does this save you time in the long run, but it makes setup less stressful. Speaking of proper timing, prepare your burgers and cooked toppings like eggs and bacon at roughly the same time so everything can be served warm. 

In the end, if you're overwhelmed by having to decide how many burger toppings is too many, remember simplicity is key. Especially if you make your patties using beef with a higher percentage of fat or Gordon Ramsay's go-to beef blend for juicy burgers (ground chunk, brisket, and short rib), you'll want the flavor of your meat to shine through each and every bite. That said, to simplify your choices, you can serve only classic toppings and condiments, or make a couple themed topping boards with a few special fixings. For instance, set up an Italian-style burger board with sliced mozzarella cheese, tomato slices, and pesto mayonnaise, or a Greek board featuring raw onions, feta cheese, and creamy tzatziki sauce. The possibilities are endless, but you don't have to put together all of them for a single meal — try a couple at one barbecue, and a couple others at your next.