Today is National Burger Day (and Other Burger Facts)

 

Hamburger America - A State-By-State Guide to the Best Burgers

Today is National Burger day. The Hamburger gets its name from Hamburg Germany, much like we get the Frankfurter from Frankfurt (also in Germany) and the Wiener, which is named after Vienna. While the hamburger (also burger for short) is a sandwich consisting of one or more cooked patties of ground meat, usually beef, placed inside a sliced bread roll or bun, burgers can also be made from buffalo, as in the buffalo burger, but also venison, kangaroo, chicken, turkey, elk, lamb or even fish like salmon, as in the salmon burger. There are also meatless sandwiches as is the case with the veggie burger.

According to White Castle, Otto Kuase was the inventor of the hamburger. In 1891, he created a beef patty cooked in butter and topped with a fried egg. German sailors would later remove the fried egg. However, it is entirely possible that more than one person came up with the idea at the same time. Seymour Wisconsin, the arguable Burger Capitol of the World, claims Charlie Nagreen, sold a meatball between two slices of bread at the Seymour Fair in 1885, hence creating the first burger.

One of the first major burger chains was White Castle. They opened in 1921, and with the anti-German sentiment at the time, they had to rename the hamburger as Salisbury Steaks. They also created the square slider, and they added five holes in each patty, which help them cook evenly and eliminate the need to flip the burger. Krystal burger got in on the burger sliders when they opened in 1931. Big Boy created the double deck hamburger when they opened in the 1936. 

According to Spoon University, the 15 best burger chains are White Castle (15), McDonald's (14), Sonic (13), Carl's Jr (12) Wendy's (11), Cheeseburger in Paradise (10), Whataburger (9), Fuddruckers (8), Johnny Rockets (7), Five Guys (6), Culver's (5), Red Robin (4), Steak 'n Shake (3), In-n-Out (2), and Shake Shack (1).

McDonald's Big Mac is one of the top selling hamburgers in the world, with an estimated 550 million sold annually in the United States.

At $499, the world's largest hamburger commercially available tips the scales at 185.8 pounds and is on the menu at Mallie's Sports Grill & Bar in Southgate, Michigan. It is called the "Absolutely Ridiculous Burger", which takes about 12 hours to prepare.

There is a two pound Quadruple Bypass Burger available at the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas. Once you finish this burger, you are placed on a wheelchair and wheeled out to your vehicle by your "personal nurse".

Americans eat over 50 billion burgers a year, and one Burger King fan, David S. Kime, Jr, loved his burgers so much that some BK employees attended his funeral, and a burger was actually lowered into the grave with his coffin.