Bun fight: Battle for NSW’s best burger
Winning a best burger competition is about a lot more than taste. The Daily Telegraph joined burger experts to rate 11 burgers as part of the Australian Hotel Association’s quest to find the state’s best burger.
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Winning a best burger competition is about a lot more than taste.
Value for money, presentation, meat-to-bun ratio and even how many likes it can attract on social media are all key components of a prize burger.
The Daily Telegraph joined experts to rate 11 burgers in our video above as part of the Australian Hotel Association’s quest to find the state’s best.
The 11 burgers were short-listed by judges who travelled around the state testing pub staples in search of the best burger.
The Daily Telegraph was invited to taste the short-listed burgers ahead of the AHA awards on November 19 and were given the opportunity to crown one of the meals as the People’s Choice winner.
Alongside veteran chef and burger innovator Adam Moore and social media burger influencer Isaac Martin the judges decided the People’s Choice award should go to a burger that can be enjoyed by everyone, is a little unique but still affordable for most families.
After munching through 11 delicious burgers the Village Green Hotel’s ‘Big Knotty’ was named the winner.
Chef Daniel Walden said he makes between 100-200 of these burgers a week for hungry locals in Grafton.
“It is a bit of an institution in town. Everyone knows the Village Green Hotel and everyone knows the ‘Big Knotty’ it’s named after the manager Knotty – he’s a bigger bloke so it works well,” he said.
“It is just a really solid burger. The chicken is always fresh and moist and the way that it tastes it’s a burger for anytime of day, whether it’s lunch, dinner or after a few beers.”
The grilled, or crumbed, chicken breast is accompanied by lettuce, tomatoes, a pineapple ring, bacon, American cheddar cheese and a healthy drizzle of bernaise sauce.
Chef Moore said the cooks at the Village Green Hotel clearly are not cutting corners when it comes to this burger.
“Firstly, there is a giant chicken breast butterflied in the bun. That’s great value for money at $21,” he said.
“Secondly the bernaise sauce can be tricky to make in large batches so they would likely be needing to whip up a new sauce, which can be time consuming.”
Mr Martin said the fresh white bun, oozes with thick, rich sauce and makes for a great picture on social media.
“For it to pop on social – the burger has to be sexy. It’s got to be balanced with the proteins and the salad, but a little but naughty, a bit different, and obviously taste good too,” he said.
While the Big Knotty has taken out the honours for this category all 11 burgers are still in the running for the AHA Best Burger Cook Off – with the winner to be announced on November 19
AHA NSW CEO John Whelan said burgers had become one of the most hotly contested categories at the awards with more than 50 nominees this year from across the state.
“You can’t beat a good pub burger and these finalists are the best of the best,” he said.
“Today, pub chefs are going above and beyond to create burgers that not only taste great – but set the social media world alight.”