Hamburger
The seared patty on a potato bun with no cheese, and a quiet test of the kitchen. With nothing to hide behind, you can taste exactly how good the crust on the beef is. Add pickles, onion and ShackSauce and it becomes a clean, bright burger that suits people who find the cheeseburgers a little rich.
The story
The potato roll is doing more work here than it gets credit for. Martin’s, a family bakery in Pennsylvania, had been making soft, slightly sweet potato rolls for decades when American chefs started using them for burgers in the 2000s, and Shake Shack was among the restaurants that made them the default. They matter because they are soft enough to compress around a thin smashed patty instead of fighting it, which is the whole point of a burger built on crust rather than thickness.
What’s inside
Make it at home
There is no copycat of the Hamburger yet. Until there is, these recipes on the site come closest to it, judged by what goes into the bun.
- Shares beef and a special sauce
McDonald's Big Mac (Copycat) - Shares beef
McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese Deluxe (Copycat) - Shares beef
Whopper (Copycat) - Shares beef
McDonald's McFeast (Copycat)
Similar burgers at other chains
Built around the same things as the Hamburger.- Eddie Rocket's · beef and a special sauce
SignatureThe Classic - Agadir · beef and a special sauce
SignatureAgadir (330 g) - Carl's Jr. · beef and a special sauce
SignatureFamous Star with Cheese - Burger Lounge · beef and a special sauce
SignatureLounge Burger
More from Shake Shack
About Shake Shack
Shake Shack began as a hot dog cart in New York’s Madison Square Park in 2001, run by restaurateur Danny Meyer to support an art project in the park. The lines got so long that a permanent kiosk opened there in 2004, and the ShackBurger it sold became one of the most imitated burgers in America.
Hundreds of Shacks across the US, plus locations in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
Not affiliated with Shake Shack. Trademarks belong to their owners.