Guy Fieri and Gordon Ramsay both have 10-minute burger recipes, so I decided it was time for a little showdown.
Ramsay's bacon cheeseburger recipe is featured in his "Ramsay in 10" cookbook, and Fieri himself gave me his burger recipe when I asked for his top burger tips.
"This may be a more complicated answer than you bargained for, because it's not just about a burger recipe," Fieri told me. "It's about the execution of the whole deal. You can get down with whatever toppings you want, but the basics have to be covered."
I whipped up both recipes at home to decide who truly had the best — and quickest — burger. Here's how it went.
Fieri's burger is all about classic ingredients.
To make Fieri's perfect burger at home, you'll need:
- Ground beef (Fieri recommends 80% lean, 20% fat)
- American cheese slices
- Brioche buns
- Lettuce
- Tomato
- Onion
- Pickles
And there's very little prep.
Fieri told me it's important to shred the lettuce, slice your tomato, and "cut those white onions so thin that they only have one side."
I also buttered the brioche buns and popped them into the oven so they could get nice and toasty, per Fieri's recommendation.
Then I made my patties.
I seasoned my ground beef with salt and pepper, then shaped it into balls.
Once my patties were ready, I threw one on the griddle and smashed it with a spatula.
Fieri said it was essential that I cook my burgers "on the hottest griddle or cast iron pan you can get."
"You smash it down hard — we're talking a half-inch thick," he added.
The Mayor of Flavortown also told me it was important to let my patty crisp up to "get all that delicious caramelization going." I waited until the edges of my patty got crunchy before flipping it over.
After flipping my patty, I added the cheese.
Fieri loves using American cheese slices on burgers because "they melt really well," he told me.
Next, it was time for Fieri's special cheese-melting trick.
First, I sprayed some water around my burger. Then, per Fieri's instructions, I had to place "some sort of dome or metal bowl" over my patty.
"That steam will melt your cheese before you overcook your burger," he said.
I didn't have a metal bowl on hand, so I used an old Marie Callender's pie tin I found in my parents' kitchen.
My cheese melted perfectly.
Look at how beautiful it is!
Constructing my burger was super easy.
I placed my patty on the bottom bun, then added the tomato, onion slices, and pickles. I placed the shredded lettuce on the top bun and voilà — I was done!
Fieri's burger tasted just as good as it looked.
What impressed me the most about Fieri's burger was how juicy it tasted, with just the right amount of crispiness. The perfectly cooked patty truly stood on its own; it didn't even need any condiments!
The brioche bun added a nice hint of sweetness, and the beautifully melted cheese tasted almost buttery. The burger was pure perfection.
Ramsay's burger has quite a few more ingredients than Fieri's.
To make Ramsay's cheeseburgers at home, you'll need:
- Ground beef
- Brioche buns
- Cheddar cheese
- Egg yolks
- Frozen red chile
- Tomato
- Onion
- Bacon
- Little Gem lettuce
- Mayonnaise
- Sriracha
First, I prepped my burgers.
I added 16 ounces of ground beef to a bowl along with two egg yolks. I sprinkled some salt and freshly ground black pepper on top, plus one grated frozen chile.
After mixing everything by hand, I made four patties, each about 1 inch thick.
"Remember that the thicker you make the patties, the longer they will take to cook," Ramsay writes in his cookbook. "So if you want these on the table in under 10, press your burgers until they are a little thinner for a quicker cooking time."
I drizzled vegetable oil on my griddle and threw my patties on top.
I let my patties cook for four minutes over medium-high heat, seasoning them with more salt and pepper. Never forget to season!
After adding my bacon and onion slices, I increased the heat to high and let everything cook together.
I prepped Ramsay's special sauce as my burgers cooked.
I mixed four tablespoons of mayonnaise with two teaspoons of Sriracha, plus some salt and pepper.
I also toasted my buns and prepped my veggies.
I washed some gem lettuce leaves and sliced one tomato for the bottom of my burgers.
I also toasted my buns in the oven for about two minutes.
I flipped the burgers, bacon, and onions, and let them cook for another five minutes.
I took the bacon and onion slices off the griddle first, placing them on a plate lined with a paper towel.
Ramsay and Fieri use the same trick to melt cheese.
Ramsay also covers the patties to help the cheese melt. But, unlike the Mayor of Flavortown, he doesn't spray the burger with water first.
Per Ramsay's recipe, I added some butter to the griddle, placed the cheese slices on top of my patties, then covered both with a metal bowl.
The cheese melted beautifully.
This is such an easy trick and clearly worked well for both Fieri's and Ramsay's burgers. I now consider it an essential step for making a great cheeseburger at home.
Once my patties were ready, I built my burgers.
First, I spread some of Ramsay's Sriracha mayonnaise on my bottom buns. Then I added the lettuce, tomato, and onion slices, along with my cheeseburger and bacon.
After I threw a few more onion slices on top and spread more sauce on my top buns, my burger was ready to go.
Ramsay's burger looked straight out of a restaurant.
There's no denying how impressive this burger looks, and it tasted great, too. The patty was plump and juicy, and I loved the kick of heat from the Sriracha mayonnaise and grated chile.
The bacon and onion also gave some nice crunch and savoriness, while the tomato and lettuce added a dose of freshness.
Both Fieri and Ramsay have fantastic burgers, but the Mayor of Flavortown takes my top spot.
You have to keep track of quite a few steps to make Ramsay's burger happen in 10 minutes. Fieri's recipe is far simpler, and still delivers fantastic results.
Plus, I couldn't believe Fieri's burger tasted so good without any sauce or condiments. I've found his burger to outshine those I've had from places like Five Guys, and it's comparable to the gourmet burgers I've tried all over New York — for a fraction of the cost.
But at the end of the day, you really can't go wrong with Fieri or Ramsay. Either way, you're going to have one very delicious burger.
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Anneta Konstantinides is a lifestyle correspondent at Business Insider, with a focus on food and travel. She loves taking readers inside Michelin-starred kitchens and exploring the world of fine-dining, and she's always trying to find the best Ina Garten and Gordon Ramsay recipes. Her second home is LAX, where she's often catching a flight and reviewing airlines.Anneta has also been reporting on the pageant industry for the last six years and has interviewed every Miss USA and Miss Universe winner since 2019. She was a finalist at the LA Press Club Awards for her investigation into the 2022 Miss USA scandal and was featured in The New York Times Presents episode "How to Fix a Pageant" on Hulu in September 2023. After graduating from UCLA with a B.A in English Literature and a minor in film & television, Anneta worked as a journalist in London, Sydney, New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. You can reach Anneta at [email protected].
