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Menu curation isn't as simple as offering a handful of traditional favorites. There has to be something that sets your brand apart from the others; something that results in repeat customers and generates word of mouth. The burgers atFive Guysare smashed, which makes them unique, and according to one employee, this also makes them more desirable. "We want our burgers leaking. So when you bite into it, it will be satisfying," Maezion Henix said to Insider. The company's goal is to make the burgers just flat enough, which creates crispy edges and a nice crunch. Employees use a specific apparatus to make this possible.
Some people enjoy Five Guys' burgers so much that they try to find ways to replicate them. When a social media user asked for tips via Reddit, a self-proclaimed former employee tried to explain the process. "[After cooking the burger], smash it like they do in the restaurant," they wrote. "This'll probably be [the] most difficult step to reproduce as they have a special tool to make sure it gets smashed the perfect amount."
Perfecting the ideal burger can't be accomplished by solely smashing the meat, which is why Five Guys uses other methods to amp up its famed patties.
Five Guys has other secrets for perfecting its patty
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The folks at Five Guys follow specific rules when cooking burgers. In an interview with Insider, employee Maezion Henix explained the three-step process. "Stage one is the raw burger. Stage two is where you press on it. When you see the blood from the real beef, that's when you move it to stage three, where you let it finish cooking." In total, the patties cook for four to four-and-a-half minutes.
Another reason Five Guys' burgers are so delicious is because they are never frozen. In fact, the restaurants don't even have freezers — only coolers to keep ingredients at safe temperatures. All the food is prepared in-house each day, and as a result, employees must show up three hours before opening. Finally, each burger is cooked well-done to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. This means they must reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit before removal from the grill.
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