In this video, learn how to make Chef John's unique and delicious Hamburger Bun Bread Pudding! He transforms leftover hamburger buns into a delightful dessert, combining rich, custardy goodness with a hint of savory flavor. Perfect for using up extra buns and impressing your friends and family with the creative result.
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00:00Hello, this is Chef John from FoodWishes.com with Hamburger Bun Bread Pudding.
00:08That's right, believe it or not, the most refined and luxurious bread pudding is made
00:13with stale hamburger buns.
00:15And when you serve this, not only are you sharing a great recipe, you're also going
00:20to be sharing a great story, which we will get to momentarily.
00:24But for now, let's go ahead and get started with 8 Stale Hamburger Buns, which I'm going
00:29to go ahead and lay out on this sheet pan, because mine weren't stale, they were fresh.
00:33So what we'll do in that case, after arranging those as shown, is transfer those into a 250
00:39degree oven for about 20 minutes to dry them out and very lightly toast them.
00:45And by the way, if your buns are already actually stale and dry, you don't have to do this.
00:50And that's it.
00:51Once those come out, we'll simply let them cool while we move on to make a very simple
00:54custard batter, which we will start with 5 large eggs, to which we will add a nice
00:58big pinch of sugar, followed by a nice splash of whiskey, which is optional, but also mandatory.
01:06We will also want some real pure vanilla extract, as well as a nice touch of cinnamon, and of
01:12course we'll also need a little bit of salt.
01:15And then we'll finish this up with our dairy products, which for me is going to be milk
01:18and cream.
01:19Alright, some people use one or the other, I like to use both.
01:24And then last but not least, our highly controversial secret ingredients, which because we're doing
01:29hamburger bun bread pudding, is going to be a little touch of ketchup, mustard, and mayo.
01:34And before you turn the video off, while I whisk this all together, please hear me out.
01:40No one is actually going to be able to taste and identify any of those three ingredients,
01:44so you might be wondering why I add them.
01:47Well first of all, while very subtle, they will be adding a little something to the flavor
01:51profile, but mostly they're in there so once people finish, and they're raving about how
01:56good this is, we can say you'll never guess the secret ingredients.
02:00It's ketchup, mustard, and mayo, which is going to make for a great story for them to
02:04share.
02:05And the only thing better than a great recipe, is a great recipe that also comes with a great
02:09story.
02:11But anyway, once that's all mixed, we'll set it aside, and we will place 6 of our burger
02:15bun bottoms in a very well buttered baking dish.
02:19And then we'll take the other two bottoms, and break them into pieces, and we will squeeze
02:23those into the gaps.
02:25And then, this is going to sound kind of random, but it will make sense when we finish the
02:29top.
02:30We're also going to take one half of one of the tops, and tear that up into a few pieces,
02:35and do the same thing.
02:37And that's it.
02:38Once the bottom of our buttered baking dish has been bunned, if we're going to use them,
02:42we will scatter over a handful of raisins.
02:44And I like to use golden raisins, because I'm fancy.
02:48And of course, raisins are optional.
02:50But I really do love that little extra sweetness they add.
02:53But anyway, you decide.
02:54I mean, you are after all the King Canute, of whether to add some dried fruit.
02:59But either way, once our bottom layer is done, we'll go ahead and ladle over about half our
03:04custard mixture, which I probably could have just poured.
03:08But I've always enjoyed a good ladling.
03:10And because these buns are nice and stale, and or toasted dry, you'll see that custard
03:15soaks in really quickly, which is kind of key.
03:18Okay, if you use fresh buns, it won't soak up as much batter, and you won't be able to
03:22use as much.
03:24Which means our bread pudding will be better than yours.
03:27And then once that's been accomplished, we'll go ahead and place over the tops, using six
03:30whole ones.
03:32And then with the extra buns, we will break those in half, and use those to fill the space
03:36in the center.
03:38And since we only need three halves to do that, that's why we added that other half
03:41to the bottom.
03:42See, I told you it would make sense.
03:45And that's it.
03:46Once we're happy with how everything's arranged, we'll go ahead and pour over the rest of our
03:49custard mixture, at which point we're going to have to wrap this up, and pop it in the
03:54fridge, where we will let it sit as long as we can, so those buns have time to soak all
03:59the goodness in.
04:01And I would say the minimum time would be two or three hours, although if you can, try
04:04to go overnight, which is what I'm going to do.
04:08Since I really do think it comes out much better.
04:10So I did let mine sit in the fridge for about 12 hours, at which point it looked like this.
04:15And as you can hopefully notice, those buns have really swelled up, as they've soaked
04:20in all that beautiful custard mixture.
04:23So yes, this will still work with just a couple hours soaking, but if you can, try to go overnight.
04:28And then before these go in the oven, I'm going to take a brush and brush a little bit
04:31of that custard mixture over the top.
04:34Since I think if we're doing a burger bun bread pudding, we pretty much have to have
04:37some sesame seeds on top.
04:39Or if you wanted, I think poppy seeds would also work nicely.
04:43But anyway, we'll moisten the tops, and shake some kind of seeds over, at which point this
04:48is ready to transfer into the center of a 350 degree oven, for about one hour, or until
04:54our burger buns are beautifully puffed up, and profoundly poofy.
04:58Oh yeah, that does look incredible!
05:02But fair warning, the puffiness will not last, for as it sits, everything's going to deflate
05:07and sink down, which is good, since that's going to create the exact texture we want.
05:13And then personally, I do enjoy this best cold.
05:16But for the sake of the video, I'm going to take one for the team, and serve up a portion
05:20at room temp, which is still going to be absolutely magnificent.
05:24So I went ahead and plated one up, and added a few fresh strawberries from the garden.
05:29And then for a final touch, I drizzled over a little bit of whiskey sauce, which I will
05:34include how to make in the written recipe.
05:36And it's really nothing more than butter, brown sugar, and some bourbon.
05:39And yes, that sauce is kind of hamburger colored.
05:43Which was just a coincidence.
05:45Or was it?
05:46Yes, it was.
05:48And after taking a few too many pictures, I grabbed a fork, and went in for the official
05:52taste.
05:53And that, my friends, is just an absolutely stellar bread pudding.
05:57Although probably much different than most bread puddings you've ever had.
06:00OK, the taste might be similar.
06:03But the texture of this is so luxe, and light, and lovely.
06:06It really is going to be a different experience.
06:08Oh, and feel free to use whatever burger buns you want.
06:12But I do highly recommend the brioche style.
06:14Right, they're just a little sweeter, and a little more buttery, and a little richer
06:18than regular buns.
06:20And they're just perfect for something like this.
06:22And if you do let this cool down, and then refrigerate it, and enjoy it cold, it almost
06:28turns into like a creme caramel experience.
06:31So if I had to describe this to someone who's never had it, I would say it's an incredibly
06:34delicious hybrid between a bread pudding and a baked custard.
06:39And one more time, no, you cannot taste the mustard, ketchup, and mayo.
06:43So please relax if you're still apprehensive.
06:45But even though no one will be able to tell those are in there, if we didn't add them,
06:49I don't think this would be quite the same.
06:52And much more importantly, people would not be able to tell their friends and co-workers
06:57that they had a burger bun bread pudding that actually contained ketchup, mustard, and mayo.
07:02But whether you include those or not, and I really, really hope you do, this is a great
07:07and very gorgeous bread pudding, and I really do hope you give it a try soon.
07:13So please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts, a printable written recipe, and much
07:18more info, as usual.
07:20And as always, enjoy!