Shakeshack’s – ShackBurger DIY

I first got to try Shake Shack about 10 years ago in Dubai, but it was a work stint in Hong Kong where I became a big fan.  The KY Style concrete (their term for an extra thick shake) is a mix of frozen custard, waffle, peanut butter, banana and maple sauce.  Best breakfast ever!  Anyways, with Covid keeping me from enjoying it in person, I was pretty excited to order their DIY kit.  It did not disappoint, read on to find out why I liked it…

What we have in store

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The Bun: 18/20

This is my new gold standard for how a bun should taste.  It looks like the golden brown brioche that is becoming standard, with no seeds on top, but they call it a ‘potato bun’.  They were a little crushed in delivery but 2 hours later they had puffed back up impressively.  The taste was excellent, just a little more depth to the flavour then others so I wondered what the trick was.  I read through the ingredients and there are indeed potato flakes in there although I don’t think they were noticed in any way, although perhaps they added a little strength. But there is also ‘sourdough flavouring’ and I suspect it that subtle taste that just makes this a little better than all of its competitors.  The instructions called for butter and a little griddle time and that was the perfect call in my opinion.  They held together perfectly and a couple of my fellow tasters commented on how good the buns were.  So why not 20 out of 20?  Because we were all hungry after one burger.   If these were a third bigger and the beef patty the same, I suspect I’d be giving out my first perfect perfect scores.

The Toppings: 5/10

The kit comes with a whole tomato and a few slices of lettuce.  Nothing special with the tomato but the lettuce was really good, which is not something I normally notice.  I like whatever variety that is, seemed somewhere between butter lettuce and regular lettuce.  I did add onions to my second burger and felt that it improved the flavour a little though, and my wife added pickles to her and thought the same, but those of course are personal choices.

The Condiments: 8/10

They keep it simple at Shake Shack.  No scraping unwanted goop off your burger, and now standing at the counter feeling the pressure to decide what you want on your burger.  They give you Shack Sauce and you can add anything else yourself after.  The DIY kit was the same.  Shack Sauce is a very good burger sauce: mayo, mustard, ketchup, paprika, onion & garlic powders, with just a hint of chipotle Tabasco sauce.  It was a great complement to the beef, cheese and bun.  I did copy what I do in Shake Shack and added mustard and American style green relish to my second burger and liked it more.  Would have given full marks if they included some of those items in the kit.  

The Cheese: 20/20

Ok, actually here is my first perfect score.  This American cheese is absolutely ideal for beef and bun.   The moderately thick slices were actually a little bigger across than the beef patties or the buns so we got to put a little extra on top.  It melted perfectly and didn’t run off in blobs… adding an incredible creaminess and subtle flavour to the burger.  We have played with Shakeshack quite a bit you can check out one of their other high scoring reviews here

The Patty: 18/20

Wow, this was great.  Just as good as in the restaurant.  Patties come in puck form and then you pressed on the grill.  I liked that style as it gave each that home-made look without all the messy work of trying to get each patty the right size.   They didn’t shrink too much, or create too much splatter on the griddle, but had enough fat that they were nice and juicy in the middle.  No gamy aftertaste at all.  The patties were 4 oz (115g) each and felt just a little small.  Add in a side of fries and a thick shake and one burger might have been enough, but this wasn’t.  Equally I didn’t necessarily want a full second burger, although they were so good I did have one.  I just feel that a 5-6oz patty would have made this perfect.  

The Taste: 19/20

Really just an excellent cheeseburger, well done Shake Shack and PlateAway, the company that arranges the kits.  No exotic cheese, or funky meat blend, or crazy condiment/topping just to please Instagram.  It just takes all the basic components of a cheeseburger and does them really, really well.   Everything was in harmony.  No one element overpowered any of the others.  Each bite was savoury and delicious.  Sounds weird to say but the textures of everything were really good too.  

Our Verdict: 88/100 

Perhaps the most important point is that everybody liked them.  They are basic enough that they appeal to all, and I say that in a house with picky teenagers.  Everyone wanted more; that is both a blessing and a curse, as these were just a little too small.   Perhaps if they sold a double shack burger kit that would solve the problem very well.  If you want an excellent cheeseburger that is pretty easy to cook at home and that everyone will love, this is a winner.  You should check out Shakeshack website here if you would like to see a list of locations