Where do you put your pickle(s)?


 
John K BBQ

John K BBQ

TVWBB All-Star
Thought this would be a fun/light topic for the forum.... most of us like cheeseburgers but where do you put your pickles and other condiments? I'm sort of a random guy and don't follow a pattern but maybe there's a best practice I need to follow? I just noticed by avatar shows pickles on top, but last night I had pickles on the bottom bun. I think the burger is a little more "pickle forward" this way, with some mustard helping to accentuate the flavor of the pickles and meat....

Do you like pickles on your cheeseburger? If so, do you always put them on the bottom bun or the top? How many do you put on your burger? I'm strictly dill on mine, but would you ever use bread and butter? Would you ever consider applying a dill "relish"?
 
I'm with you, John, and I'm typically pretty random about placement. I do like to put some topping on the bottom bun for just the reason you mention.....it separates it from the rest, so is more apparent in the bite. I also don't really like to load up with too much stuff (kinda like pizza....it's a balance thing.) I usually max out at three toppings (ie: cheese, mushrooms, pickle.....)

So.....

Yes, I like pickles on my burger
I don't have a preference on pickle location
If sliced "rounds", four.....if lengthwise slices, two
Dill only for me
Not a fan of relish
 
I’m picturing Jack Nicholson on the stand:
The truth is, you want pickles on that burger, you need pickles on that burger.
You want answers? There’s only one correct series of answers, so here there are:
Anywhere.
As many as I feel like at that moment.
Dill. Is there any other kind?
Im not even going to acknowledge the relish question. That sounds like a punchline.
We put pickles on burgers, or people die.

Hope this gets a laugh, I laughed writing it, but I’m a nerd that way.
Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there.
 
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Here's my relish idea - get some good quality dill slices, dice up up fine (maybe a half cup) mix is a table spoon of finely diced shallots, and enough mustard so it will spread, maybe a little mayo to get that "special color".... Spread that on your bottom or top bun and then you get some pickle in every bite....
 
John K BBQ said:
Here's my relish idea - get some good quality dill slices, dice up up fine (maybe a half cup) mix is a table spoon of finely diced shallots, and enough mustard so it will spread, maybe a little mayo to get that "special color".... Spread that on your bottom or top bun and then you get some pickle in every bite....
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Dead silent stare from Jack…..
That does sound good. Try it and post results with pics😎
 
Nice Jason!🤣 Great movie!

Pickles yes, I don’t care what kind. Usually on bottom but that’s a solids thing, I try to put lettuce bacon onion and pickles on bottom, so they don’t slide out, and ketchup and spicy mustard up top. I’m pretty random though so however works for me
 
Wow, that subject heading was interesting!

As for burgers, I like to add bottomings, not toppings, sans the thinly sliced onions on top. Everything else is a bottoming. It just makes for a burger staying together better.

Most importantly, the bun needs to be toasted. Without a strong foundation, the bun will fall apart when loaded with bottomings and your burger.

As for where I put my pickle…….







In the fridge so they don’t rot.
 
Rich G said:
I'm with you, John, and I'm typically pretty random about placement. I do like to put some topping on the bottom bun for just the reason you mention.....it separates it from the rest, so is more apparent in the bite. I also don't really like to load up with too much stuff (kinda like pizza....it's a balance thing.) I usually max out at three toppings (ie: cheese, mushrooms, pickle.....)

So.....

Yes, I like pickles on my burger
I don't have a preference on pickle location
If sliced "rounds", four.....if lengthwise slices, two
Dill only for me
Not a fan of relish
Click to expand...
Does that make you a “no spread” In N Out guy?

We like spread at home too. Really ads a nice flavor to burgers, and spread has relish in it.
 
Brett-EDH said:
Does that make you a “no spread” In N Out guy?

We like spread at home too. Really ads a nice flavor to burgers, and spread has relish in it.
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Well, I don't go to In N Out, so.... :) I have a tendency to not like spreads, though. Pretty much a straight up mustard and ketchup guy. On occasion, I'll make a chipotle mayo or something similar to complement what's going on the burger (like, say, some jalapenos that have gotten some char on them.
 
Pickles go on the bottom bun, nestled in the mayonnaise. It is a free country, so others have a right to disagree. ;-)

I worked in a well-known fast food restaurant, a long long time ago. We were trained to make their burgers a certain way. How do I remember that @#$@#$!!! recipe after so many years? When business was slow, the manager would force us to use a scale and weigh the ingredients as we made the burgers, so we would learn to make them consistently according to their formula. Here is the formula for their flagship burger, in order:

Fast Food Restaurant Burger Formula from Long Ago
  • Top Bun, toasted
  • 1.5 oz mayonnaise and
  • 1.5 oz "special sauce"
    • The mayo and special sauce were applied with separate spreaders from two separate bins, but blended together on the top bun.
  • Cheese slice (optional)
  • Charbroiled 1/4 pound hamburger patty (Note: The patty weighs 1/4 pound before cooking.)
  • Thin onion slice(s), raw
  • Tomato slice(s)
  • Lettuce
  • Three dill pickle slices
  • 1.5 oz mayonnaise
  • Bottom Bun, toasted
The "special sauce" came premixed to the restaurant. My best guess: A blend of ketchup and ordinary sweet pickle relish.

Burgers were prepared when the customer ordered them. Customers could ask us to hold ingredients or add extra. A few would ask for "grilled onions", which meant that we ran an onion slice down the conveyer belt through the char broiler. For the meat, patties came out medium, but customers could request anything from rare to well-done. It was not common. A few customers asked for raw meat, which was not allowed. For rare (or "raw"), we would insert the patty partway down the line on the conveyer belt, but the outside had to be darkened at the very least. For well done, the patty got an extra trip partway down the conveyer belt. A full second trip would have yielded nothing but char.

The main reason I applied to work at that restaurant was because I liked their burgers. When we have burgers at home, I still assemble them the same way.
 
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Rich G said:
Well, I don't go to In N Out, so.... :) I have a tendency to not like spreads, though. Pretty much a straight up mustard and ketchup guy. On occasion, I'll make a chipotle mayo or something similar to complement what's going on the burger (like, say, some jalapenos that have gotten some char on them.
Click to expand...
Spreads can be good if they got some kick.
 
Mustard on the bun bottom, then sliced onions and dill pickles.
Then the burger patty.
Lettuce, then sliced tomato on the patty (in that order).
Then the bun top, which has been slathered with mayo.

This is the ONLY way to assemble a home cooked burger. 😜

I normally order cheeseburgers when out, but rarely add cheese at home (no idea why).
If I do add it, it goes on top of the meat, under the lettuce.
 
I usually do a couple of Kosher dill spears on the side. Lettuce, thin sliced onion and homegrown tomato (in season) under the patty with yellow mustard and pickled Jalapeños on top. Gotta have the Jalapeños.
 
It all comes down to which taste receptor cells one wants to stimulate first. In competitive bbq, it's not unusual to use a different rub on the rib backs than the rest of the rib. If eaten as normal, the rib backside spices hit the tongue taste receptors while the rib's frontside spices hit the taste receptors in the upper mouth. Obviously those spices combine once the rib meat is chewed. But that next bite will repeat that taste sensation.
 
Spears or halves on the side.

This thread reminds me of something that I heard years ago but never tried:
A Big Mac tastes completely different if eaten upside down!
 
This will have about as many opinions as a " what's the best charcoal " thread.
I make my burgers different all the time just to switch things up a bit.....from very basic to fried shrooms, bacon and blue cheese.
If there was only one way to have a burger for the rest of my life......that's simple.
Mustard and pickles....it doesn't matter what side of the bun touches it because it still tastes the same.
It's burger night tonight........the MRS will want fried shrooms and onions I bet....which also pairs perfectly with mustard and pickles.

All pickles are dill right????? What is a non dill pickle?
 
Darryl - swazies said:
All pickles are dill right????? What is a non dill pickle?
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no. pickles can be vinegar brined or naturally brined in salt water (3.5-4% salinity).

there's a big flavor difference between the two. one is hot brined and the other is cold fermented.

cold fermented could be a half-sour or sour pickle. i'll stop here unless you really want to discuss more.
 
No no.......
I ferment my own pickles at home.........
My pleasure for dills is high, almost all other pickles do not exist in my world.
Just being mildly humorous
 
Bob H. said:
I like pickles on hot dogs, but not so much on burgers.
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Never could get on the relish/pickles on hot dogs band wagon.. mustard & chili, no problem.... anything pickle-ish doesn't seem to work. Now, I will say that I'm in Chicago a lot lately, so could be convinced to try again...
 
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