And few places are better than Five Guys Burgers and Fries at quenching that craving
In this article, we’ll examine in greater detail how the beef for Five Guys’ renowned burgers is sourced and prepared.
We’ll examine what makes these burgers so delicious, from the quality of the meat to the cooking method.
Therefore, grab a napkin (or two) and prepare to dig into some juicy details.
The beef Five Guys uses at most of its stores comes from Schweid and Sons, and if you live in the right areas, you might be able to buy some down at the grocery store.
There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to make a perfect Five Guys burger.
The restaurant chain takes pride in using daily hand-made beef patties that are made fresh and never frozen.
At my nearby NYC location, I went behind the counter and into the kitchen to take a look at the procedure and see how it’s done.
The chain takes food safety seriously, so I washed my hands before prepping the meat.
Although the staff at Five Guys doesn’t use a timer or a clock to track handwashing, they follow the general recommendation to wash for about 20 seconds in water that is about 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Employees are required to wash their hands every time they change their gloves, in addition to any other time it makes sense, according to Amy Cryzter, the director of training at Five Guys, who was on-site to assist with my fictitious shift.
In order to save staff members from having to walk back and forth each time they need to wash their hands, there are handwashing sinks both in the back kitchen and in the front-of-house, customer-facing kitchen.
The process begins with inspecting the meat shipment to make sure everything arrived safely and properly sealed.
Members of the team examine the box to ensure that it is the proper temperature and that no blood is present. Additionally, they check each vacuum-sealed package to ensure the plastic is not pierced.
The meat is then easily removed by making an easy incision down the middle, lengthwise, with a large knife.
Those packages get broken down into individual, handmade meatballs weighing between 5 and 7 ounces.
The ground beef begins as a meatball before transforming into the incredibly thin patties that consumers have come to love.
When using a small food scale to measure out the ounces, Cryzter advised me that it should take two workers 10 minutes to form an entire case of the meat into balls that are suitable in size.
Then it’s time to shape and stack them up, getting the meat ready to store in the walk-in refrigerator.
I worked to press and stack six patties for storage using sheets of parchment paper cut into 5-inch squares.
I started by centering one of the meat spheres on a square of paper. I pushed a little with my hand to start the flattening, and then covered it with another square of paper.
When properly used, the team’s heavy metal tool squashes the meatball into a thin, round beef patty. It’s harder than it looks; after flattening them out past the edges of the paper, I had to reshape the meat and try at least twice more.
Since Five Guys restaurants lack freezers, the meat is kept in the walk-in refrigerator until it is needed, which could be up to 30 hours.
Ahead of opening the doors for customers, patties get loaded into a drawer below the grill for easy access.
When a customer places an order, the cashier will announce how many patties are required. The worker operating the grill will then pull one out of the drawer and place it on.
Every two hours, the temperature in the drawer is checked to make sure the meat is being kept cold enough.
But before a patty hits the grill, you have to toast that bun it will go on.
Since Five Guys uses its own bread recipe, you won’t find their buns on the shelves of grocery or other retail establishments.
To prevent bread and the occasional grilled cheese from coming into contact with meat, the restaurant is set up with a separate grill section.
A perfectly toasted bun will have a slightly darker color and should feel rough to the touch, according to Cryzter.
Employees are advised to gently touch the top of the bun with the palm of their hand to check the temperature. If it feels warm, the bread is likely toasted enough. If its still cold, chances are it needs more time.
Once the patty number is called out, they get slapped down onto the metal surface in stage one of the three-stage grill.
The grill worker in stage one will keep an eye out for a significant color change. It’s time for the first flip and to move to stage two once the patty begins to take on the familiar gray hue of cooked beef.
After the first flip, the patty gets smushed again and transferred to stage two of the grill.
I smashed the raw side of the patty down onto the hot grill top using a similar but slightly larger smushing tool than the one used to form the patties in the back kitchen. I then transferred it into grill stage two using the wide spatula.
There, staff members wait until they notice blood collecting on the burger patty’s top. Thats when you move it to stage three.
Once clear juices run from the cooked patty, it’s time to add the cheese and pull it from the grill.
A worker will put two slices of cheese directly on one of the two patties in a regular cheeseburger at Five Guys before piling the other patty on top. Then, as soon as possible, that stack is transferred to a bottom bun that has already been dressed, and anyone blocking the way is informed, “Coming through!”
One slice of cheese is melted on the grill for the single-patty little burger for no longer than three seconds before it is added to the cooked meat and placed on the bun.
While all of that is happening on the grill, another employee dresses the bun for each order.
There are a total of 15 different burger toppings available at Five Guys, all of which are free.
Therefore, one worker concentrates on creating the ideal cook for a patty while another worker concentrates on packing the remaining ingredients onto a bun.
The top bun is used for dry ingredients like lettuce, tomato, pickles, and raw jalapenos. Wet ingredients, such as grilled mushrooms and onions, go on the bottom bun, which means that when the sandwich is finished, they will be positioned below the beef.
This team member is also in charge of applying the condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise, to the buns. When the beef patty is finished, other sauces, such as hot sauce and barbecue sauce, are applied directly to it.
The last step is to carefully close the burger and wrap it up securely before placing it in a bag and handing it off to the customer.
When the sandwich is first set down, it’s crucial to place the bottom bun in the center of the foil piece so that everything ends up in the ideal position for wrapping.
After the top bun is sealed, the worker will carefully fold the foil’s opposite corners inward over the bun. Then the other two corners follow in the same path.
I learned that technique is everything at Five Guys. While you want to ensure that each burger is packaged securely, you also don’t want to squash the bun. To ensure the task was completed perfectly, a team member demonstrated how to guide my hands around the parcel very gently.
All in all, making a Five Guys burger is a meticulous process. But I guess that’s why the burgers are so consistent each and every time.
I had the opportunity to observe all the labor that goes into making the delectable burgers I’ve grown to know and love while working behind the counter at Five Guys.
I can see how quality is controlled and maintained throughout the chain’s numerous locations from patty preparation to grilling technique and even down to the specifics of what kind of topping goes on what part of the bun.
How It’s Made: Five Guys Burgers
FAQ
Where do Five Guys get their meat from?
Our Scottish beef is grain finished to give it a marbled texture ideal for patties. All of our food preparation is done daily for maximum freshness, and all of our cooking is done by people rather than machines without the use of timers, and our crews are all trained to determine the readiness of food by sight, aroma, and texture.
Does Five Guys make their own burgers?
Burgers at Five Guys Burgers and Fries are famous for having unlimited toppings and a smashed-style design. The restaurant chain takes pride in using daily hand-made beef patties that are made fresh and never frozen.
Does 5 Guys use 80 20 ground beef?
No, Five Guys does not use 100% beef. Although the restaurant places a strong emphasis on the high-quality beef used in its burgers, its patties are made from a combination of chuck and sirloin. This mixture is specifically chosen to give Five Guys burgers the ideal balance of flavor and texture. It is 80% chuck and 20% sirloin.
What percent beef does Five Guys use?
Although it has more calories, Five Guys’ meat is fresher. Both restaurants use ground beef that is 100% pure. The hand-formed patties at Five Guys are made from a mix of chuck and sirloin and are not frozen.