Burger lovers will always argue about which fast food restaurant has the best hamburgers, but there's no denying that Five Guys will usually be in the conversation. The chain makes their dedication to good burgers quite clear, and even if you have to wait a little bit longer than at McDonald's, the fresh burgers are worth it. What does the chain do to make their burgers stand out against the rest? From the unique texture of the buns to all the different ways you can customize your burger, let's take a look at why Five Guys' burgers are so delicious.
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00:00When you want to satisfy an intense burger craving, there's one place to go, Five Guys.
00:05We all know that a Five Guys burger is amazing, but what exactly makes it so good?
00:10Let's talk about the secrets of some of the best burgers around.
00:13Five Guys won the Harris Pools Burger Brand of the Year Award in 2017 and 2018, beating
00:18In-N-Out Burger both years, which is no easy feat considering how passionate people are
00:22about In-N-Out Burger.
00:23In-N-Out, In-N-Out, that's what a hamburger is all about."
00:30They've also come out on top of 17 other burger chains, including the usual suspects like
00:34McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, and Carl's Jr., and even the more posh burger spots Whataburger
00:39and Shake Shack.
00:41And that speaks volumes about their legions of fans.
00:43In-N-Out may have regained the title in 2019, but holding that honor for two years is something
00:47to be proud of, and it shows just how much people love Five Guys.
00:51Why do we love them so much?
00:53Five Guys is known for two things, burgers and fries.
00:56They also offer hot dogs, and you can get a grilled cheese on the same bun and with
00:59the same cheese that's used for a burger, if you're the type of person who actually
01:02orders grilled cheese at a restaurant.
01:04But here's the thing, Five Guys doesn't serve chicken sandwiches or filet-o-fish sandwiches
01:08or rib sandwiches or fancy salads.
01:11It's burgers and fries.
01:12They focus on making those things great, and they're clearly succeeding.
01:15As of 2013, Americans were eating about 50 billion burgers a year, which equals out to
01:20about three juicy hamburgers per person per week.
01:22"...I would like to buy a hamburger."
01:24"...I would like to buy a hamburger."
01:28About 60 percent of all sandwiches purchased worldwide are actually hamburgers, and that
01:32just shows Five Guys has some serious critics to please.
01:35To co-opt another slogan from another burger chain, you can definitely have it your way
01:39at Five Guys, because they offer 15 different toppings to choose from.
01:43These include mayo, ketchup, mustard, A1 sauce, barbecue sauce, hot sauce, lettuce, tomatoes,
01:48pickles, onions, relish, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, green peppers, and jalapeno peppers.
01:54You can choose as many of these toppings as you want, for free, and heck, you can stick
01:57all 15 of them in your burger if that's what you're into.
02:00Compare this to the standard burger you can order at Burger King, which comes with ketchup,
02:04mustard, and pickles, or the McDonald's hamburger, which offers the same condiments as BK, with
02:08the addition of a few chopped onions.
02:10Sure, there's something to be said for the simplicity of a burger with just ketchup and
02:13mustard, but having the option to add as many as 15 toppings to the situation is one of
02:18the things that makes Five Guys' burgers so delicious and crave-worthy.
02:21And thanks to those 15 toppings, there are a whole lot of ways that customers can satisfy
02:26whatever their cravings are.
02:28The combinations are basically endless, and it doesn't matter how big of a fan you are,
02:32you're just never going to get to try them all.
02:34Sorry, that's because there are more than 250,000 ways to customize a burger.
02:38It's no surprise that fans of this fast food joint are pretty passionate about their favorite
02:42combos.
02:43In fact, just thinking about them is enough to make you grab your car keys and head to
02:46your local Five Guys to explore some of these crazy delicious-sounding options.
02:50Sure, you can order 15 different toppings and customize your burger about 250,000 ways,
02:56but that doesn't mean all those toppings are going to be piled on all willy-nilly.
03:00That would be chaos, and yes, the order really does matter when it comes to quality.
03:03Five Guys has a specific way of placing add-ons onto your burger for the ultimate yum factor.
03:08Onions and bacon go underneath the patty, while tomatoes and pickles go on top of it.
03:12Burger aficionados have many different opinions on what the actual correct placement of condiments
03:16and toppings on a burger are, but it appears that Five Guys does it so the warm toppings
03:20stay with the warm toppings, and the cool toppings mingle together separately.
03:24There's also a lot of speculation about why Five Guys puts your french fry order on top
03:27of your burger in the brown bag it comes in.
03:29When this question was posted on Reddit, a commenter responded,
03:32"...I always thought this was so that the burger just gets a little bit warmer, the cheese
03:36melts a little more, the bun gets a little steamy and soft."
03:39Even though you can customize your burger at Five Guys a gazillion different ways, there's
03:43one way you can't customize it — how much it's cooked.
03:46No, you can't get it bloody or still mooing or even medium-rare, because every burger
03:50cooked at Five Guys is prepared well done, but that's a good thing.
03:53Five Guys hasn't officially explained the reasoning behind this policy, but it's likely
03:57that safety is one of the concerns.
03:59There are some major health risks associated with eating raw meat, including the consumption
04:02of bacteria like E. coli and salmonella.
04:05Because of these risks, the FDA advises that ground beef be cooked to a minimum internal
04:08temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
04:11And even if you opt for making your burger a little differently at home, well, you should
04:14be grateful Five Guys goes a little further with theirs.
04:17No one wants a side of salmonella with their burger.
04:20The hamburger buns used for Five Guys burgers are the perfect vehicle to get that juicy
04:24slab of meat into your mouth.
04:26They're soft, fluffy, and perfectly toasted on the grill.
04:29Five Guys doesn't use a standard bun toaster because it doesn't give you that caramelized
04:32taste that cooking them directly on the grill does.
04:35Can you imagine a Five Guys burger without that slight char on the bun?
04:38Perfect toastiness aside, the buns only contain a few ingredients, and they're basically the
04:42same ingredients that are in your average cake.
04:44They also contain twice as many eggs as normal buns, which explains their dreamy texture.
04:48On Inc., founder Jerry Murrell explains where these magical buns come from.
04:52We make the same bun we started with.
04:54We hired the old guy who used to bake our bread for the first store and one of his partners.
04:58My bakery was two doors from the restaurant, and I went in and told them they needed a
05:04better bread.
05:05They work in the Virginia Bakery.
05:06We have 10 bakeries scattered around the nation.
05:09Our bread is baked daily, picked up by 3 p.m., and put on a truck or plane so every store
05:13gets fresh bread every morning, even if they are 400 miles away from the nearest bakery.
05:18As they say, if it's not broke, don't fix it.
05:20Did you know that the Green Bay Packers have an official bacon?
05:23Well, they do, and it happens to be the same kind of bacon that Five Guys uses on all of
05:27their burger offerings with bacon.
05:29If it's good enough for the Packers, it's good enough for you.
05:32Just what makes it so special?
05:33Five Guys bacon is applewood-smoked, and that's important.
05:36Why?
05:37It's all about the flavor.
05:38Nothing burps better than bacon.
05:41The New York Times and Today have this to say about what makes applewood-smoked bacon
05:44incredible.
05:45Applewood chips result in bacon that is mildly sweet and smoky.
05:48It is the second most popular wood used after hickory, as it results in bacon that is perfectly
05:52balanced between smoky and sweet.
05:54You can definitely taste that perfectly balanced flavor on each and every one of Five Guys'
05:58bacon burgers, and if you haven't yet, try out one of the bacon burgers on your next
06:02visit.
06:03Or if you want to skip the burger altogether, you can also simply order a BLT, with extra
06:06bacon, because it's the good stuff.
06:09Not that other stuff
06:11Would you like to sample our vegan bacon?
06:13100% meatless.
06:14Yes, please.
06:21You aren't going to get some weird pre-formed freezer-burned patty when you order a burger
06:25from Five Guys, because their stores don't even have freezers.
06:28Everything is made fresh to order.
06:30Five Guys is so committed to freshness that it takes an entire three hours to open the
06:33restaurants each day, because everything from the burgers to the produce that is sliced
06:37and chopped to go on your burgers is prepared that morning.
06:40They also use wireless freshness sensors, and to get all technical and fancy about it,
06:44the RFID Journal explains it like this.
06:46The system uses active 900 megahertz sensors from Point6 Wireless and helps to ensure that
06:51raw ingredients are stored at a safe temperature and are not served if they have exceeded their
06:55approved temperature threshold.
06:57In other words, technology is making sure you aren't going to get some germ-ridden,
07:00warm, slimy lettuce on your burger that could make you sick, and that's a great use for
07:04today's modern technological marvels.
07:07One of the coolest things about the burgers at Five Guys, and why their burgers are such
07:10a great value, is that their standard burger isn't even a burger at all.
07:14It's two burgers.
07:15That's a lot of beef for your buck.
07:16There's two of them!
07:18If you just can't deal with that much beef, you can request a Little Burger, which is
07:22a single patty.
07:23But let's be honest, it's a double every time, right?
07:26As with all good things, there's a catch.
07:28All this delicious cow comes at a hefty nutritional price point.
07:31If you opt for that Little Burger, you're going to be getting a meal clocking in at
07:34542 calories and 26 grams of fat.
07:37Numbers that will, of course, vary with whatever toppings you decide to layer on.
07:40Upgrade that to a bacon cheeseburger, and you're looking at 1,064 calories and 62 grams
07:45of fat.
07:46Plus, again, all those toppings you'll pick.
07:48If you're one of those that likes mayo on your burger, you can add another 100 calories
07:51to that total.
07:52And just in case a double isn't enough, you can definitely pile on another patty or two
07:56for just a tad bit extra, if that's the way you roll.
07:59You only live once, after all.
08:01Oh, that's too much?
08:02Order your burger in a bowl and cut out the bun altogether.
08:05Any way you slice it, that's still a huge amount of calories for just one meal.
08:09But isn't that a huge part of what makes something taste oh-so-good?
08:12Tomorrow's another day, right?
08:13This is definitely what I'm having on my cheat day.
08:17Considering the fact that your burger is made from scratch, Five Guys does a great job of
08:21getting you fed rather quickly.
08:22Sure, it may take a few minutes longer than ordering a burger from a place with the clown
08:26as their mascot, but Five Guys is more of a fast-casual restaurant than a fast food
08:30joint.
08:31They hand-form all the patties, they grill the bun, they also don't use any timers in
08:35their restaurants, and that's because they always say their cooks are good enough to
08:37know when a burger is just the right amount of done.
08:40Your burger will be served fresh to you when it's done, and it won't sit under some heat
08:43lamp waiting for anyone to come in and order it, and that's a good thing.
08:46No, Five Guys won't take as long as a sit-down restaurant with silverware and cloth napkins,
08:51but if the restaurant is busy, you can expect to wait a bit.
08:53Anybody want a peanut?
08:55Gah!
08:56That's what all of those free peanuts are there for, so you can chow down while you
09:00wait for your burger to be prepared.
09:02Five Guys has two important things going for it, excellent customer service and happy
09:06employees.
09:07Both of those things make any meal more enjoyable, and it's impossible to stress just how much
09:11better a burger tastes when it's handed to you by someone who's smiling.
09:14And according to those who have worked there, it's not just an act.
09:17One former employee took to Reddit to talk about just what it was like to work at Five
09:20Guys, saying,
09:21"...fun for the most part, due to the fact that it's an open kitchen, the employees are
09:25encouraged to joke around and have fun, even to the point of all-out dancing, as long as
09:28you can keep on track with the job you're doing."
09:31If your food is prepared with happiness, it's just going to taste better.
09:34No one wants a burger made by some angry dude who hates their job.
09:37I'm gonna show you dog food!