I love a good burger and have often used work trips to London as an excuse to stuff my face at many of the Capital’s burger joints.

One such burger joint that I have always been keen to try, but have never got around to visiting, is Burger and Beyond in Shoreditch.

Lockdowns (numbering what now seems like 3.0 Million), however, have removed the option of an in person visit for the foreseeable, but afforded me the ability to try their very well regarded burgers in the comfort of my own home (the only option at the moment). Not via a Deliveroo driver hurtling down the M4 on their moped, but rather a “make up at home” kit delivered by courier.Big old box which contained two double butter bacon burger kits (enough for 4, with J taking the second one and the below picture being my split of the burger kit).and a fried chicken kit (all for me)with chicken tenders also included.

It all came in a very well insulated box, with very clear instructions.The sesame demi brioche buns were browned off in a cast iron pan with butter and then left to steam. In the meantime, the bacon was crisped up and the mince rolled into 4 balls – with the patties being of the smashed variety.

A short cook time of 1 minute 30 seconds per side, with double cheese added to side two of each of the patties, a mandatory 3 minute rest period and some assembly time made for a surprisingly quick dinner.

Toasted bun ✔
Crispy bacon ✔
Gooey cheese ✔
Smashed patty✔.

The B&B’s house blend that made up the patties is 35 day dry aged beef with a nice fat content.  Whilst cooking they gave off a glorious beefiness that really got the juices going.

With the suggested cook time, the patties had a nicely caramelised, gnarly, exterior and a blushing pink interior.

Exactly how I like a burger, with the melted American cheese (has to be American with a burger in my humble opinion), crispy bacon and burnt butter mayonnaise adding to the richness.  Some nicely sharp pickled onion acted as a pleasing counterpoint to all that richness.

A lovely burger, with some seriously quality meat in the patties.

I have to say I was rather impressed with myself in terms of the look of the finished product.

Tasted bloody good too, with the bun doing an admirable job in terms of retaining structural integrity. No mean feat with free running, fatty, beefy juices from both patties

I think I would have been very happy if I was served this in any burger joint and would certainly like to try it cooked by the professionals onsite at B&B.

I also included in my order their bacon poutine tots.

Zero out of ten for my presentation skills, these were quite rich with a really intensely bacony sauce and cheese curds. Nice, but a bit too much (can’t believe I have said ” too much bacon”!!!) with the double bacon butter burger and perhaps just a little pricey (£9.95) for what they were.

I love a bit of fried chicken and it was a no brainer to include, as part of my order, their fried chicken kit.

Again very easy to follow recipe,

with all the necessary ingredients including chicken tenders and seasoned buttermilk to marinade them in.Cooked in the deep fat fryer, the instruction and timings provided and the dredge resulted in a juicy interior and a light and crisp, beautifully seasoned,exterior.With the secret sauce slathered over it,this was a cracking plate of fried chicken. Some pickled cucumber (in the box) worked a treat as a condiment.

Drinks pairing wise, a decent crianza rioja would work a treat with the burger,

but I took a more Sideaways approach and finished off a batch of 2000 clarets (from a Mystere Wine Club tasting which contained two of the top 10 wines I drunk in 2020) with my burger (as you do). Some great combinations with a bacon cheese burger to be had here have to say.

With the fried chicken, the classic pairing is fizz.

I think a dry furmint
or a gruner veltliner would work well wine wise.

I also think a good dry cider would work well too, like this number


from Pilton Cider.

I, however, opted for a beer in the form of a Coolbox (session helles) from Yonder Brewing and Blending (just up the road from Pilton Cider).

Good pairing I though, with the clean crisp flavours of the helles working well with the not overly spicy coating to the chicken and the tangy secret sauce. 

The verdict

I really enjoy both the burger and the fried chicken kits. Both combined top quality ingredients, with easy to follow instruction, to produce results I was very happy with.

Prices range from £25 for the single patty kits (4 single patty burgers) to £33 for the double patty kits (4 double patty burgers). The fried chicken kit was £10.95 (enough for two) and the bacon poutine tots were £9.95.

With free delivery over £50, it is worth sharing with a mate (as I did with J). Worth noting that there is (or at least was when I ordered) a first order discount of 10%,  but if that drops you below the £50 mark on checkout then the delivery charge kicks back in which seems rather unfair.

Would I order again? Yes, I was very impressed with the results – if an utter incompetent like me can get good results from these kits anyone can.

I would probably go single rather than double patty next time, as they were big patties and I personally think one is more than enough.  I would also probably skip the tots and do my owe fries next time.

Once I am back in the office and meetings in London are back on the agenda, I will certainly be visiting this place in person.

The onsite menus look awesome,

especially the Happy Hour menu (Mon- Thursday – 17.00 – 19.00) – love a bargain me.


I note the much acclaimed Hills in Brecon (whom I have been rather remiss in not yet visiting to date) are doing Hills@home burger kits, which I will definitely be ordering in the future. Will be interesting to compare the two.

Details

Website: https://burgerandbeyondshop.co.uk/diy-kits/#mains