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Aussie Burger With The Lot

This loaded Australian burger is not for the faint of heart. But, if you’re up for the challenge, you will be rewarded by the stellar combination of flavors that is an Aussie Burger. When you load a burger with egg, bacon, onion, pineapple, pickled beets, and more, you get a combo that is unlike anything you have ever tasted!

This loaded Australian Hamburger is a mile-high burger with egg, bacon, cheddar cheese, pineapple, pickled beets, sweet onion, lettuce, tomato, and a chili mayo sauce. If you love burger toppings, this Aussie Burger is for you! | www.CuriousCuisiniere.com

DISCLOSURE: We received samples of the Certified Angus Beef ® brand hamburger patties mentioned in this post. Honestly, we would have used Certified Angus Beef ® brand beef even if we hadn’t been given the patties. We just love their beef that much. You can read about why below. 

What Is A Traditional Australian Hamburger?

Turns out, Australians really like their burger toppings.

I mean REALLY.

A loaded Australian Hamburger gets topped with fried eggs, crispy bacon, sharp cheddar cheese, pineapple rings, pickled beetroot, sweet onion, crisp lettuce, fresh tomato, and a chili mayo sauce. If you love burger toppings, this Aussie Burger is for you! | www.CuriousCuisiniere.com

Now, we love a good loaded burger.

Blue cheese, bacon, avocado, mushrooms, grilled onions. Give us the works!

But, when we saw the list of toppings for a traditional Australian hamburger with the works (also known as “the lot”, we stopped dead in our tracks.

  • Lettuce, tomato, and cheddar cheese. Sounds like a good standard so far.
  • Onions, bacon, and a chili mayo sauce. Bring it on.
  • Grilled pineapple. Sure, why not?
  • A runny fried egg. We’ve seen it done before. We’re still on board.
  • Beets…. Sorry. You lost us.

Don’t get me wrong, I do love beets, but on a hamburger, with pineapple, bacon, cheddar cheese, and a fried egg?

I just couldn’t wrap my mind around it.

This loaded Australian Hamburger is a mile-high burger with egg, bacon, cheddar cheese, pineapple, pickled beets, sweet onion, lettuce, tomato, and a chili mayo sauce. If you love burger toppings, this Aussie Burger is for you! | www.CuriousCuisiniere.com

But, we refuse to be bested by any burger.

So, we vowed to give it a try, in its full glory, before we formed any opinions.

Turns out, wrapping our minds around the concept of flavor combinations in this Australian burger was the least of our worries.

As we piled our sturdy bun high with toppings, we started to wonder how we were going to wrap our mouths around the six-inch tower.

Starting With A Good Burger

Now, some people would argue that all these toppings just take away from the flavor of a good ol’ hamburger patty.

I mean, why do you need quality beef with all those other flavors going on?

But, we’d argue just the opposite.

Certified Angus Beef ® brand patties on the grill | Curious Cuisiniere

Good beef, a good hamburger patty, is what anchors all the other flavors in this hamburger together.

The robust meaty flavor of a good beef patty anchors the acid of the pickled beets and the sweetness of the pineapple.

A beef patty with quality beef has the perfect texture to complement the melting cheese and crisp lettuce.

And, the juiciness of a perfectly cooked hamburger patty is just what you want to mingle with the runny goodness of the fried egg.

We typically make our burgers from scratch using Certified Angus Beef ® brand beef, because we know that their beef is always going to be incredibly flavorful and juicy. Basically, the two most important things when it comes to a burger.

We typically stay away from frozen patties because they come out dry and seriously lacking in the flavor department. But, when we were sent these Prime Beef Patties from Certified Angus Beef ® brand, we were excited to see what a different Certified Angus Beef ® brand beef would make, even in a frozen patty.

And, after tasting them, we knew that they would be the perfect base for this glorious Aussie burger.

Certified Angus Beef ® brand Patties from the grill | Curious Cuisiniere

We give you instructions for making your own burger or using a pre-made burger in the recipe below. But, if you choose to use a pre-made, frozen burger patty, do your Aussie burger a favor and look for a Certified Angus Beef ® brand patty.

You won’t be sorry.

Tasting An Aussie Burger With The Lot

So how does this monstrous, loaded burger taste?

One bite in, and we couldn’t form any words but “wow.” (And, that’s not because our mouths were stuffed so full of this Aussie burger goodness.)

Each bite was the perfect combination of sweet and tangy, fresh and meaty, creamy and sharp flavors.

For the beets, we used pickled beets, and they added a bright sweetness and sharp acidity, like you would get from a sweet cucumber pickle. (We’ve had quite the debate in the comments below about the state of the beets. Have a read, and if you’ve experienced a true Aussie burger, leave us your thoughts!)

The flavors of the beets mesh perfectly with the pineapple and cut through the robust and rich flavors of the beef and bacon.

The cheddar cheese adds a sharp creaminess, while the egg and chili mayo add additional layers of creamy goodness.

The spice from the chili mayo is just enough to add a flavor undertone, but not enough to add a whole lot of heat.

And, let’s not forget the saltiness and crunch of the bacon that, although almost lost in the sea of toppings, adds supporting flavor and a bit of texture to this sea of creamy goodness.

This loaded Australian Hamburger is a mile-high burger with egg, bacon, cheddar cheese, pineapple, pickled beets, sweet onion, lettuce, tomato, and a chili mayo sauce. If you love burger toppings, this Aussie Burger is for you! | www.CuriousCuisiniere.com

It’s a burger you have to get your whole face into.

But, oh my goodness, it is worth it.

This loaded Australian Hamburger is a mile-high burger with egg, bacon, cheddar cheese, pineapple, pickled beets, sweet onion, lettuce, tomato, and a chili mayo sauce. If you love burger toppings, this Aussie Burger is for you! | www.CuriousCuisiniere.com
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4.87 from 15 votes

Aussie Burger With The Lot

This loaded Australian Burger is a mile-high burger with egg, bacon, cheddar cheese, pineapple, pickled beets, and more. If you love burger toppings, this one is for you!
Yield: 4 burgers

Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Australian, Oceania
Keyword: burger, grilling, summer
Servings: 4 people
Author: Sarah | Curious Cuisiniere

Ingredients

For The Chili Mayo Sauce

  • ¼ c ketchup
  • ¼ c mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp hot sauce (Sriracha or your favorite)

For The Burger

  • 4 slices bacon
  • 4 eggs
  • 4 hamburger patties *
  • 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, sliced
  • 1 sweet onion, sliced into thick rings **
  • 4 pineapple rings, patted dry **
  • ¾ c pickled beets, drained, sliced, and patted dry
  • 1 tomato, sliced
  • 4 lettuce leaves, washed and patted dry
  • 4 hamburger buns

Instructions

  • Preheat your grill to a medium heat.
  • In a small bowl, mix together ketchup, mayonnaise, and hot sauce. Set aside.
  • Fry your bacon in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until cooked to your preferred doneness. Remove the bacon from the skillet and place on a paper towel-lined plate. 
  • Crack the four eggs into the hot bacon grease and fry the eggs until the whites are cooked, but the yolks are still jiggly, 2-3 minutes. Remove the fried eggs from the pan. 
  • Place the burger patties on the preheated grill. Cook for 5-7 minutes on each side, until firm and cooked to your desired doneness. (Actual cooking time will depend on the thickness of the burgers and the heat of your grill. If using packaged burgers, refer to the package instructions.) Remove the burgers from the grill and let rest for 2-3 minutes, covered with aluminum foil to keep warm.
  • Construct the burgers by layering lettuce, tomato, pineapple, beets, and onion on one half of the bun, followed by the burger patty. Continue, layering the cheese, bacon, and finally the fried egg. Top everything off with the top bun, slathered with the chili mayo.
  • Un-hinge your jaw and get ready to enjoy this epic tower of a burger!

Notes

To Make Your Own Burger Patties:
INGREDIENTS 1 lb ground beef, 85% fat, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp ground black pepper. 
INSTRUCTIONS In a medium bowl, mix together beef, salt, and pepper. Divide the meat into four portions and shape each portion into a 3 ½ – 4 inch patty. Set the patties aside.
** If you like, you can grill your onions and pineapple rings. — Take a toothpick and push it through the side of the onion slices to hold the rings together on the grill. Brush the onion slices and pineapple rings with a little olive oil and grill until you get nice grill marks. 

This is one of the recipes from the early days of Curious Cuisiniere. We’ve updated our pictures since we first shared it, but we’ve left some originals here, in case you’ve found us in the past and are looking for that old, familiar image.

You haven't met a loaded burger until you try this Australian classic. They call it a burger with "the lot." And once you see the list of toppings, you'll know why. | www.curiouscuisiniere.com
You haven't met a loaded burger until you try this Australian classic. They call it a burger with "the lot." And once you see the list of toppings, you'll know why. | www.curiouscuisiniere.com
You haven't met a loaded burger until you try this Australian classic. They call it a burger with "the lot." And once you see the list of toppings, you'll know why. | www.curiouscuisiniere.com
This loaded Australian Hamburger is a mile-high burger with egg, bacon, cheddar cheese, pineapple, pickled beets, sweet onion, lettuce, tomato, and a chili mayo sauce. If you love burger toppings, this Aussie Burger is for you! #hamburger #grilling #loadedburger | www.CuriousCuisiniere.com
Recipe Rating




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TC

Monday 11th of March 2024

As a fair dinkum Aussie, what you have put together sounds pretty good except you forgot (I think) the sauted onions and back in Oz, we generally put the lettuce, tomato, beet root and fine coleslaw ontop of the hot stuff. Also loose the mayo - despite what some have said - tomatoe sauce or barby sauce or even HP (Brown) Sauce works with a burger and the egg hgas to be "runny", that's a must for obvious reasons :)

Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere

Monday 18th of March 2024

Thanks for sharing TC!

Andrew

Wednesday 3rd of January 2024

GD is being a tad doctrinaire, especially regarding tomato Sauce/ketchup. I have been eating hamburgers for over 60 years and my earliest memories are all with tomato sauce (maybe it's a regional thing, but I don't remember barbecue sauce existing in the late 1950s or earl 60s). As for tomato sauce and mayonnaise, again it may be regional but in my experience it's one or the other, not both. Moreover, as times do change some burger joints will add some type of chutney/relish instead. The really controversial issue is pineapple. GD seems to be in the for camp, but still under states the case. Yes he is right, you are either for or against it, but people get quite passionate about it. The for and against camps are fairly evenly divided, though slightly in favour of it, I am in the against camp to the point (like many others) that if the cook will not make the burger without pineapple I will remove it myself and not return. (I also hate pineapple on pizza). Finally, you asked for opinions on beetroot/beets. For most Australian the most basic burger (Bun, patty, lettuce, onion, tomato, sauce) must include canned beetroot -- yes it is lightly pickled. If you are not Australian and really can't come at the beetroot I would suggest substituting sweet pickled cucumber (NOT dill), from my limited experience, apart from the colouring, the vinegariness of the beetroot is the problem for some and a sweeter pickle may provide a better balance. I which case, I for one will not view it as some form of cultural agression.

Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere

Monday 8th of January 2024

Thank you for sharing Andrew. It is so interesting the regional and personal preferences that come into play for these much-loved recipes.

GD

Sunday 20th of August 2023

The Aussie Burger. You've nearly got it right. The obvious thing you got wrong is the sauce. Chilli Mayo Sauce will see you deported instantly, and your visa stamped never to be allowed back. Even though Tomato Sauce (what you guys call ketchup) is very popular in Oz, the sauce on a burger is most definitely (or should be) Barbecue Sauce. Some local weirdos do have Tomato Sauce, but they are mocked mercilessly by their mates. You can have it on your chips but not on a burger. It is un-Australian, and you simply should never do it.

The Aussie Burger menu begins with the Plain Hamburger which is (or should be) the universal starting point. The hamburger bun (w/ sesame seeds) is a very light, slightly flatish, plain, slightly sweet, white bread bun, toasted under the gas grill flat top. No exceptions (*see note below). To butter or not is debateable but if you don't say not to apply it, you should get it. However, be warned. It is usually margarine, not butter. On this bun you should get a simply seasoned and cooked beef patty and fried onion along with sliced tomato, preserved (pickled) beetroot, lettuce leaves (may be shredded) and Barbecue Sauce. That's it. The Plain Hamburger. No deviation from this is tolerable. The beef patty should be cooked through but still juicy.

Now comes the list of "extras", which are added individually or in combination, by request and at additional cost. The only acceptable extras are:

1/ Cheese. A plain pre-cut slice of Cheese. Most likely Chedder or Colby, but nothing fancy. Just cheese. What you guys might call a Jack Cheese. 2/ Bacon. While the beef patty and onion are being cooked the cook will throw a few pieces of bacon on as well. Usually streaky bacon, or what is referred to as Cafe Bacon. 3/ Egg. Also, while the beef and onion are cooked an egg will be dropped on the flat top. This should be well timed and cooked to still have a runny yolk. If you're a wuss who doesn't like runny yolk, don't order the egg. Simple. To receive your burger and find it has a hard cooked egg is what we used to call, being jipped or ripped off. 4/ Pineapple. Rarely included on its own, a ring of pineapple is briefly cooked on the grill plate and included on the assembled burger. Some will argue that it has no place on a burger, but it has been on the menu for over half a century and people either love it or hate it. Regardless of your stance, it must be available to those who want it, and for one very good reason. ie: The Works Burger, or as some places say, "Burger with the lot".

The Works Burger, or Hamburger with the Lot, includes all of the above.

These are The Rules as they have been for over 50 years of me eating the Aussie Burger. No pickles. No grated carrot. No cucumber. No exceptions.

The flat top grill plate was usually a gas fired indoor barbecue grill with a pull-out grill rack underneath (what you guys call a broiler. Some places will use electricity these days, but it makes it harder to toast the bun. The timing of the toasted buns was a skill to be admired. A skilled cook would do many at a time without burning any, all the while doing the beef patties, onions, bacon and eggs and pineapple as required for multiple orders. The tools used were a simple set of long handled spatulas. These were used to flatten the patties, which were thrown on as round balls and also to flip and move everything around.

This ritual was (and remains) a cultural experience, over here, although the takeaways, beach kiosks and milk bars that used to be everywhere are disappearing. My favourite is the Hamburger with Bacon and Egg, but a well-prepared Plain Hamburger is a delightful thing. Fortunately for me, there is one of the best remaining Australian Takeaways at the end of my street, being Gab's Gourmet Takeaway.

*Note: Toasting the bun by other methods is acceptable for home cooking.

Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere

Monday 21st of August 2023

Thank you for your thorough description GD!

Kim

Thursday 10th of August 2023

You were misinformed. The beets on a traditional Australian burger are most definitely pickled and cut in larger diameter slices. While I’m at it I will also take exception with the addition of mayo. Good old ketchup or a BBQ sauce is what it takes. The fuel for a thousand summer surfing odysseys.

Russell

Thursday 17th of August 2023

@Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere, I was going to say the same. It's just that most Aussies don't realise they're pickled. It doesn't say it on the can. It just says "beetroot slices". Most people don't eat non-pickled beets.

Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere

Monday 14th of August 2023

Thanks for sharing Kim. It seems parts of the toppings on these burgers are pretty hotly debated.

Miles

Monday 22nd of May 2023

Living in Switzerland for the least 14 years, the two foods I miss most from Australia are the Great Aussie Hamburger and the humble but amazing meat pie (many variants thereof). Clement largely nailed it with his comment but I can't agree with his assessment that Aussie burgers are made with smashed patties and shredded lettuce to keep the bulk down and facilitate squeezing them into human mouths.

Unless things have changed dramatically since I grew up in Sydney in the 60s, 70s and 80s, Aussie hamburgers are huge and almost unmanageable. Nothing is squashed or compressed and the lettuce leaves should be iceberg, whole and produce a satisfying crisp crunch when eaten.

Technically, the hamburger in this recipe isn't a "burger with the lot". It's actually one better! This burger was sold by milk bars (fast disappearing, now — on a recent trip to Sydney, I mentioned "milk bars" to a local woman in her early twenties and she had no idea what one was) on the Northern Beaches of Sydney as "hamburger with the lot plus pineapple". 🤣

Options to load the burger even further include avocado (now that you can smoosh to your heart's content!) and mushrooms, typically the small, sliced, tinned variety — drain them well and fry them with the onions.

Congratulations on an excellent, authentic recipe! Now you've got me salivating and even more excited about my next trip home, just a month and a half away!

Sarah - Curious Cuisiniere

Wednesday 24th of May 2023

Thank you! And than you for sharing!

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