Becoming A Culver's 'Grill Master' Is No Easy Feat — The Title Must Be Earned

As someone with years of experience barbecuing, I used to call myself a "grill master." Now, I call myself a grilling expert and let other people call me by the m-word, if the spirit moves them. This is because the title of master in any discipline is one that must be earned, and an individual can't in good faith confer it on themselves. At Culver's restaurants, this is part of the cooks' ethos, especially when it comes to the chain's signature ButterBurgers, and it makes it all the more meaningful when one of them attains the title. The grill master is an important job, and there's a rigorous set of criteria each cook must meet before they can wear the coveted uniform and chef's coat. 

It's the grill master's responsibility to ensure each ButterBurger is cooked to perfection and made just as the customer has requested. So, at the core of the requirements for the title is one-on-one training to be conducted until the employee has learned how to do just that, a process that typically takes several months. There are rules that must be followed: For starters, salt and pepper is used to season the meat. The burgers must be pressed the right way so that they will cook evenly, and they must be properly seared to lock in the meat's juices. And here's the part I found most interesting, which will probably change the way I cook beef patties from now on: Grill masters aren't allowed to flip the burger more than once, since meat tends to lose a little juice each time it's turned over. The final rule is to make sure those juices are clear, the telltale sign the meat's done right.

Ever since the Culver family opened its first restaurant in Sauk City, Wisconsin in 1984, Culver's has been serving up fresh, never-frozen ButterBurgers made with beef sourced from American farms — along with a healthy side of Midwestern hospitality. The eatery offers several variations of these burgers, and when you add in all the myriad ways patrons can customize each, the possible combinations are extensive. Check out our 5 Culver's ordering tips to get the best results. 

The original ButterBurger can be ordered plain or topped with pickles, onions (raw or grilled), lettuce, tomato, and/or mushrooms. Want to turn up the heat? Add jalapeños. Make it a meat-lover's burger with the optional addition of thick-sliced bacon. For condiments, choose ketchup, mustard, or mayo. The ButterBurger cheese features all the same options plus American, cheddar, or Swiss. Extra-hungry diners can order the deluxe version with double the meat and cheese, or the bacon deluxe with all that plus two strips of thick-cut pork. The standard way to get each burger is on a toasted, buttered Kaiser roll, but Culver's also offers sliced bread with its sourdough melt and its Wisconsin Swiss melt on rye, each of which comes with the same optional toppings as the other ButterBurgers. Want our review? We tried seven burgers from Culver's, and this was the absolute best.

From the beginning, the chain has been pairing its patties with another Wisconsin favorite: frozen custard, which, like the burgers, is handmade on-site. The restaurant also offers french fries, but those are just one of 15 possible Culver's side items, including cheese curds, onion rings, and chili.