A great burger should be a sloppy, messy, overflowing ordeal that leaves your mouth ringed with condiments. It should demand a fork and extra bread to mop up the drippings. It should be intensely flavorful and juicy.

But it should not take much time to build. After all, the hamburger is the icon of fast food. Transforming a generic burger into a gourmet -- but still speedy -- experience is just a matter of lining up the right auxiliary ingredients.

For example, ditch the white bun for thick slabs of challah, replace American cheese with manchego, forgo ketchup for chutney and pile on caramelized onions and peppers, and you've got an intense burger for about the same effort as your typical cheeseburger.

To get you started, here are 10 suggestions for additions (things to mix into the burgers), buns, cheeses, condiments and toppings. Most, including caramelized onions, can be purchased ready to use. That keeps prep to about as long as it takes to grill the burgers.

• Add-ins: minced garlic, finely grated fresh ginger, grated Parmesan cheese, tomato paste and balsamic vinegar, crumbled cooked bacon, minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, curry powder and coconut cream, barbecue sauce, chopped cilantro and lime juice, crumbled chorizo.

• Buns: pita pocket, English muffin, focaccia, flour tortilla, lavash, challah, croissant, baguette, bagel, slice of pizza (wrapped taco-style around the burger).

• Cheeses: manchego, extra-sharp Cheddar, shaved Parmesan, crumbled feta, brie, crumbled blue cheese, chevre, fresh mozzarella, cream cheese, aged Gouda.

• Condiments: hot sauce, whole-grain mustard, mango chutney, pesto, hummus, tzatziki (Greek-style yogurt with lemon juice, dill and garlic), spicy Thai peanut sauce, house sauce (blend of equal parts ketchup, Dijon mustard and mayonnaise), tomatillo salsa, wasabi paste blended with soy sauce.

• Toppings: caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, hot peppers, sliced jarred roasted red peppers, crisped prosciutto, wilted chopped greens (spinach, chard, etc.), macaroni and cheese (the cheesier the better), avocado, chili, refried beans.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@