I Made Gordon Ramsay’s Perfect Burger, and It Was Delicious

To whip up four of Ramsay’s perfect cheeseburgers, you’ll need: 

• 16 ounces of ground beef 
• 4 brioche buns
• 4-8 slices of bacon 
• 4 slices of cheddar cheese 
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 frozen red chile
• 1 tomato, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• Little Gem lettuce 

Ramsay’s recipe recommends adding two slices of bacon to each burger. Since the hickory-smoked bacon I had in the fridge was already quite thick, I decided to use only one slice per burger instead — but feel free to add as much bacon as you wish! 

To make Ramsay’s Sriracha mayonnaise, you’ll just need: 

• 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise 
• 2 teaspoons of Sriracha 

Ramsay says you can add more Sriracha if you want some extra heat. Since I was also making burgers for my parents, who don’t love spicy food, I stuck to these measurements. 

And if spice just isn’t your thing, don’t worry! Ramsay says you can easily swap the Sriracha for English, Dijon, or whole grain mustard.

Ramsay recommends always keeping a handful of chiles in the freezer for burgers, curries, and sauces. 

“Freezing the chile makes it really easy to grate with minimum fuss,” he writes in his cookbook. 

I took Ramsay’s advice and threw my chile in the freezer the night before I made these burgers. I also followed his tip to deseed the chile before grating it for a milder heat. 

First, I cracked my egg yolks into the bowl with my ground beef. Then, I added my seasonings, sprinkling salt and freshly ground black pepper on top.

After throwing in my grated chile, I mixed everything together with clean hands.

“Remember that the thicker you make the patties, the longer they will take to cook,” Ramsay writes in his cookbook. “So if you want these on the table in under 10, press your burgers until they are a little thinner for a quicker cooking time.”

Ramsay recommends using either a griddle or a frying pan for this recipe. Since I was making four burgers, I opted for the griddle so I could cook everything together.

I allowed my patties to cook for about four minutes.

I added my mayonnaise and Sriracha into a small bowl, threw in some salt and pepper, and mixed everything together — so easy. 

Once the bacon and onion slices were on the griddle, I increased the heat to high.

I cut up some tomato slices and lettuce leaves for the bottom of my burgers. 

Per Ramsay’s recipe, I allowed them to cook for another five minutes. 

I toasted my buns in the oven for two minutes, and they came out perfect. 

I placed them on a plate covered with a paper towel, per Ramsay’s instructions. 

First, I added a bit of butter to the griddle, then threw cheese slices on top of two of my burgers.

Ramsay recommends covering the patties with a lid or upturned saucepan to help the cheese melt — a similar method to the one I tried while making Guy Fieri’s perfect burger. 

I opted for a metal bowl instead, which perfectly covered both patties. 

I mean, just look at that photo! Ramsay’s trick definitely delivered. 

I repeated the step for my remaining two patties, then placed all four on a plate.

I placed the bottom buns on a plate and spread some Sriracha mayonnaise on top.

Then, I added a lettuce leaf on each, followed by tomato slices and onions.

I drizzled some extra sauce on my top buns and was done.

Barely 10 minutes had gone by, and my burgers were ready to go.

From the plump patty with oozing cheese to the crispy bacon right on top, this towering burger looked seriously impressive.

It made for a great Instagram picture, but would Ramsay’s burger taste as good as it looked?

Oh yeah. 

The patty was beautifully juicy, and the Sriracha mayonnaise and grated chile added just the right amount of heat. The bacon and onions also gave each bite some nice crunch, while the fresh tomato and lettuce cut through the heavy ingredients. 

All in all, it was a total slam dunk. 

I’ve tasted some of the best restaurant burgers in the game, from the iconic cheeseburger at Peter Luger to Obama’s favorite burger at Upland in Manhattan. And honestly, Ramsay’s homemade burger recipe is right there with them. Plus, it’s so easy and cheap to make at home.

With summer on the horizon, barbecue season is here. And I can guarantee Ramsay’s burger will impress at your coming Memorial Day and Fourth of July parties.