Beef and Heat with Burgers By Josh
We find out the inspiration behind one of Sydney’s most Instagrammed burger pop-ups.
Burgers by Josh has built a cult following since starting from humble beginnings in 2014. Nearly 20,000 Facebook followers watch with awe as Josh Arthur dishes out American style burgers and epic fried chicken. We sat down with Josh to see how Burger’s By Josh came about and how he uses hot sauce to create his jaw-dropping burgers.
How did BBJ begin?
We started off in a little cafe in Dee Why Beach. It became quite popular so with some encouragement from my friends I started my own thing. We started doing small pop-ups at cafes and bars around the CBD, they were ticketed and sold out very quickly. We then decided to do longer term residency in different locations like North Sydney, Hotel William followed by our current residency at The Annandale. We are working on a few other locations in the meantime.
Tell us about a BBJ burger
We use a lot of bulk flavours and make them big – they are pretty out there! I’m always experimenting with new flavours and take inspiration from the American style of food, like Man vs. Food. When I started there wasn’t too many people doing that American style now there a lot of people who have caught onto it. Burgers are a real passion and I love experimenting.
How do you use TABASCO in your burgers?
I have been using Tabasco since I started; it’s a real American product that complements our style. We use it in our burgers and regularly in our specials; it fits well with what we are trying to do.
I like using the Tabasco Buffalo Style Sauce mixed with butter and salt as a brine to coat our chicken in. We do this in our Scorpio Chicken Burger which we marinate for 24 hours. I love the flavour of the peppers, it complements the chicken perfectly. We then serve it with a ranch dressing, lettuce and pickles.
With our beef burgers, we make a Premo Sauce that’s a chipotle infused mayonnaise using the Tabasco Chipotle Sauce. I like to use the Tabasco Chipotle Sauce in this way because of the smoky flavour and the peppery bite it adds.
What is your favourite flavour combo?
It would have to be beef with a smoky flavour and peppery bite.
This is part of a six-part series brought to you by TABASCO, where we’ll take you through the versatile ways it’s being used by chefs in commercial kitchens in Australia. You can also visit tabascosauce.com.au for more inspiration.
