Half-bun bun, meat patty, lettuce, cheese, and a few sauces: this is the basic formula of the hamburger, the ultimate comfort food. It's one of those dishes that everyone can agree on, eaten strictly with your hands and accompanied by the inevitable French fries. The hamburger is a dish that has conquered the world, not only for its deliciousness, but also for its variety. This is because the beauty of this recipe is that you can truly customize it to your liking, substituting the meat with fish or vegan options and composing it to your taste. Precisely for this reason, it's no surprise to discover that dozens of unique versions of the hamburger have emerged around the world, some that no longer even include meat but rice, noodles, spaghetti, even donuts and peanut butter. Most of the strangest recipes come from the United States —naturally, given that they were born here around 1885—but the rest of the world is also full of bizarre creations. Here are the strangest, most unusual, and most unique hamburgers in the world.
1. Hamdog
Can't decide between a hamburger and a hot dog? The trademarked hamdog is the answer to all your doubts. The idea came to Mark Murray, an Australian, in 2004, who devised a way to combine both. The sandwich is exactly what you might imagine: the filling is a beef patty cut in half with a sausage sandwiched between them, enriched with other classic ingredients like cheese, pickles, sauces, tomato, lettuce, and onion. The bun also has an iconic shape, which reminds us of our Easter dove cake, but overseas has been associated with Saturn due to its rounded shape in the center with two elongated ends.
2. Ramen and Spaghetti Burger
Invented in 2013 in New York City by Keizo Shimamoto, an American chef of Japanese origins, the ramen burger is one of the most famous fusion dishes in the world. In this case, the very structure of the burger is reinvented: instead of bread, there's a nest of crispy fried noodles and inside, a beef patty, spring onions, arugula, and secret shoyu sauce.
The answer to the ramen burger came, again in 2013, from PYT in Philadelphia (famous for its particularly unusual sandwiches, but now closed), with the spaghetti burger: meatballs, mozzarella, sauce, and dozens of other ingredients are placed inside spaghetti cooked in garlic butter, which also act as "buns" in place of the traditional bread. A sort of stuffed pasta omelette, but eaten in one bite, just like the more classic hamburger.
3. Sushi Burger
After noodles and spaghetti, the Asian answer is rice, already offered by some Japanese restaurants in the U.S. and now famous throughout the world. It's the sushi burger, a unique fusion of the two specialties: the bread is replaced with discs of firm, lightly toasted sushi rice, while the filling features typical Japanese ingredients such as salmon or tuna tartare, avocado, seaweed, and sauces.
4. Donut Burger
Let's begin by exploring the multitude of decidedly unique burgers that dot American restaurant menus. Among the strangest offerings, the donut burger certainly stands out. Yes, it's exactly what you imagine: a burger that, instead of bun, uses the famous sweet donuts beloved by Homer Simpson and all Americans, stuffed inside with classic savory ingredients. The original originated in Georgia, an idea from the well-known doughnut chain Krispy Kreme, and is called the Luther Burger, but it's now a hit across the US.
5. Waffle Burger
Also from the United States comes the proposal of the hamburger with waffles, the sweet waffles usually eaten for breakfast but which are also commonly found savory. In the case of the waffle burger, sweet waffles are used: the proposal comes from the Californian chain Bruxie, which uses its famous waffles in place of bread, to enclose an Angus beef burger, cheddar cheese, sliced tomatoes, pickles and crispy lettuce.
6. Twinkie Burger
As open as you are to trying new and strange recipes, we bet this one will challenge you too. The star of this burger is the Twinkie, an iconic snack beloved by North Americans and Canadians: it's a spongy sponge cake log filled with cream produced and distributed by Hostess Brands. Canadian Kyu Snack Box had an idea: why not use it instead of bun for burgers? So, at their Winnipeg location, the Twinkie is fried and used to encase Angus beef patties, bacon, and a mysterious cheese they call "mozza". You can also request a dusting of powdered sugar.
7. Cronut Burger
If you think you've heard it all, wait until you hear about the cronut burger: it's a burger whose bun is replaced by two halves of a "cronut," a cross between a croissant and a donut. This very unique burger was created by pastry chef Dominique Ansel, who first introduced it in his New York pastry shop in 2013. It's typically filled with a beef patty and a bacon-maple jam.
8. Peanut Butter Jelly Burger
Americans are so insanely in love with peanut butter that they use it everywhere, even on burgers. The Peanut Butter Jelly Burger is a novel fusion of sweet and savory that originated in the US and quickly became a cult favorite in gourmet restaurants and the most eccentric burger joints in North America, eventually spreading to Europe as an example of an "experimental burger." The PBJ Burger, as it's known among connoisseurs, is a savory take on the traditional American peanut butter and jelly sandwich, enjoyed by generations of American students as a school snack or for breakfast. The bread contains classic ingredients like burger patties, bacon, fried onions, and melted cheese, along with peanut butter and jelly: a truly novel combination, but, according to those who've tried it, irresistible.
9. Black Bun Fried Frog Burger
At the bistro of the Orbi Yokohama Museum in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, during a 2015 exhibition dedicated to venomous animals, a burger stuffed with a fried frog was offered. An added touch: the black bun was made with charcoal. It was a temporary offering conceived just for the exhibition, but it certainly deserves its place among the strangest burger recipes ever created!
10. The Most Expensive Hamburger in The World
The final offering on our journey into the world of the strangest burgers isn't so much special for the ingredients used, but for its price. Introducing SUA,the most expensive burger in the world: it costs a whopping $10,981 and is the creation of chef-influencer Bosco Castro at his Aupa steakhouse, near Barcelona. What makes it so expensive? Good question. The ingredients are top secret; all we know is that they're luxury. It can't be photographed, videoed, or reviewed; it can only be tasted at the chef's discretion and invitation. Perhaps it's precisely this aura of mystery that makes it so coveted, but the fact remains that it's definitely a truly unique luxury burger, not least because of the way it's presented.
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