The Fake Shack (or the Shack Burger at Home)
Note: Read my breakdown of the burger's components to see how I came up with this recipe.
- makes 4 burgers -
Ingredients
8 ounces beef sirloin, trimmed of gristle, and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 ounces well-marbled beef chuck, trimmed of gristle, and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 ounces well-marbled beef brisket, fat cap intact, trimmed of gristle, and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 Martin's Sandwich Rolls
4 tablespoons Shack Sauce (recipe follows)
4 leaves of green-leaf lettuce, clipped
8 center-cut slices ripe plum tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
Kosher salt and fresh-ground black pepper
4 slices yellow American cheese
Procedure
1. Place feed shaft, blade, and 1/4-inch die of meat grinder in freezer until well-chilled. Meanwhile, place meat chunks on rimmed baking sheet, leaving space between each piece and place in freezer for 10 minutes until meat is firm, but not frozen.
2. Combine meat in large bowl and toss to combine. Pass meat through grinder twice. Form into four disks, about 2-inches tall, and 2.5-inches wide. Refrigerate until ready for use.
3. Open buns but do not split hinge. Brush lightly with butter, then place under broiler or in toaster oven until golden brown, about 1 minute. Spread 1 tablespoon Shack Sauce on top half of each bun (for true authenticity, squirt out of squeeze bottle into three lines, three passes on each line). Place 1 leaf lettuce and 2 slices tomato on top half of each bun.
4. Using wadded-up paper towel, rub inside of heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet with vegetable oil, then place over medium-high heat until just beginning to smoke. Season beef pucks on top side with salt and pepper, then place, seasoned side down, in skillet. Using back of heavy, flat spatula, press down on beef pucks firmly to form 4-inch round patties, being careful not to let it stick to bottom of spatula. Season top side with salt and pepper. Cook until crisp brown crust has formed, about 2-minutes.
5. Carefully scrape patties from skillet, and flip. Top each patty with 1 slice American cheese. Cook until cheese is melted, about 1 minute longer. Transfer patties to burger bun bottoms, close sandwiches, and serve.
- makes about 3/4 cup sauce -
Ingredients
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
4 slices kosher dill pickle
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
pinch cayenne pepper
Ingredients
Combine all ingredients in blender until smooth, scraping down sides of blender with rubber spatula as necessary.
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8 Comments:
Just read from the thread on the actual article that the real recipe contains chipotle. I think the paprika and cayenne help add some of those smoky spicy notes (especially if you use smoked paprika), but if anyone wants to tinker with the above recipe and see what some chipotle would do to the mix, I'd be interested in knowing the results!
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at 11:00AM on 10/16/09
I'll have to try this. Cooks Illustrated had an article/recipe that was similar last summer called " Best Old-Fashioned Burgers" they state they were going for the "Shake Shack" burger. Theirs is pretty dead on, but I will be trying this recipe too and will follow up! Thanks!
CarolineD at 1:03PM on 10/16/09
@CarolineD
Actually, that recipe was mine as well. It was kind of a toned-down version (only two cuts of meat instead of three - I started out with three cuts, but most of our reader surveys indicated that it was just too much effort to find the right cuts). That's a great burger too, though it uses a different method and gets a different effect at the end. In that burger, you don't smash it down, so you end up with the nooks and crannies, rather than the flat crust on a shack burger. I actually like both styles a lot. Hard to decide which is better :)
That burger also has a thousand island in-n-out style sauce.
J. Kenji Lopez-Alt at 1:08PM on 10/16/09
Yeah, PLANKTON Rules :) lm!
Chanio at 1:10AM on 10/18/09
Okay, but there's a lot of variation in Kosher Dills. Are we talking something like Vlassic or Claussens, something from the deli, Bubbies, homemade?
lemonfair at 9:24AM on 10/19/09
Sorry, maybe newbie question, but what are considered slices when it comes to the pickles?
madturk at 6:41PM on 10/19/09
Thanks for the recipe. I will be making the Shack-Stack this weekend. As a side note: I do not like ShackBurgers. I do not like their vegetarian Shroom Burger. But if you add the two together you get the Shack-Stack. I really unique burger experience.
PS I also really don't like eating there during busy hours. The vultures won't let you eat in peace as they hunt for a place to sit.
scientificlee at 2:10PM on 10/20/09
After drooling over the picture, I made the Fake Shack today and had no problem polishing off two of them. By far, the BEST burger I have ever made in my own kitchen.
katmancan at 12:38PM on 11/07/09